[Question #8257] Follow up
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47 months ago
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I just wanted to get a bit more information and clarification. I don't mean to waste your time or nothing.
Q1. So in the future, let's assume my girlfriend has never had HPV and she has already got the vaccination and its not the Gardasil 9, it's the one before that(Gardasil 4 I think that's what it's called? what's the chance that she will be infected by HPV? Would it basically be 0 and therefore, I don't have to worry about transmitting it to her if I have HPV.
Q2. Does the wart causing HPV cause cancer or are they different? Seems to be mixed information about this on the internet.
Q3. You said "Warts are always firmly fixed to the tissues they affect and cannot be rubbed off. " in your previous reply but I think I didn't clarify it properly. It wasn't exactly rubbed off but I think I wiped the area too much or too hard that it seemed to come off, similar to that when you scratch a scab and it becomes loose. Would you still say that my description is not that of a wart at all. Also When warts resolve on their own, what exactly happens? Do they shrink?
Q4. Also a follow up from my previous reply. If I had anal warts/anal cancer, the colorectal surgeon would have definitely felt it/noticed something is wrong when he did the PR exam right? He didn't really use a camera or anything to view up the area but rather just did a thorough PR exam. His diagnosis on my anal issue was a musculoskeletal issue/pelvic issue.
Thank you so much for your help! Sorry if this seems anxiety driven but I really want to just put this behind me and I really don't want to infect someone.
Q1. So in the future, let's assume my girlfriend has never had HPV and she has already got the vaccination and its not the Gardasil 9, it's the one before that(Gardasil 4 I think that's what it's called? what's the chance that she will be infected by HPV? Would it basically be 0 and therefore, I don't have to worry about transmitting it to her if I have HPV.
Q2. Does the wart causing HPV cause cancer or are they different? Seems to be mixed information about this on the internet.
Q3. You said "Warts are always firmly fixed to the tissues they affect and cannot be rubbed off. " in your previous reply but I think I didn't clarify it properly. It wasn't exactly rubbed off but I think I wiped the area too much or too hard that it seemed to come off, similar to that when you scratch a scab and it becomes loose. Would you still say that my description is not that of a wart at all. Also When warts resolve on their own, what exactly happens? Do they shrink?
Q4. Also a follow up from my previous reply. If I had anal warts/anal cancer, the colorectal surgeon would have definitely felt it/noticed something is wrong when he did the PR exam right? He didn't really use a camera or anything to view up the area but rather just did a thorough PR exam. His diagnosis on my anal issue was a musculoskeletal issue/pelvic issue.
Thank you so much for your help! Sorry if this seems anxiety driven but I really want to just put this behind me and I really don't want to infect someone.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
47 months ago
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Q1) That's an irrational assumption. If your gf has had 3 or more sex partners in her life, you can safely assume she has been infected with HPV and may still be carrying it. Over 90% of sexually active people get and often continue to carry HPV. It's a normal, expected consequence of being sexual. There are over 100 HPV types that regularly are sexually transmitted, and the vaccines prevent infection with eitehr 4 or 9 of them, those that cause most important health outcomes.
Q2) Different types cause warts and cancer.
Q3) This more detailed description does not alter my belief that it probably wasn't a wart.
Q4) Normal digital (finger) rectal exam is reassuring, but nowhere near 100% assurance against anal HPV or warts. It's probably pretty good at picking up advanced anal cancer, bu tnot much more than that.
You can never be sure you will not infect someone with HPV. Like your gf, if you've had several sexual partnerships, you can assume you have had (and could still have) HPV. LIke everybody else. It's just no big deal!
HHH, MD
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47 months ago
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Thank you Dr Handsfield
I have a few more queries. What I meant for 2 is does the strain of HPV that causes warts also cause cancer and vice versa so do the strains that cause cancer also cause warts.
1. I've had some itchiness on my genital area (tip of penis) for like 3 weeks but when I looked at it, it doesn't appear to be abnormal and I didn't see any visible warts. If this itchiness was caused by warts, I would have definitely noticed it right?
2. Are warts the only way of knowing that you have HPV for a male or are there any other visible symptoms of HPV.
3. How long does it take the immune system to clear up HPV? When it is "cleared" is it still transmissible. Are there any ways to speed up this clearance process e.g. good diet?
4. Does receipts of oral sex pose much risk for HPV? I read that you basically never get HPV from oral? Is this correct? (I've had the gardasil 4 vaccine before this oral)
5. My anal symptoms were on and off pain and a sensation of a golf ball up my rectum at times(has lasted at least 2 years). One doctor diagnosed me with prostatitis. If this pain was caused by an injured/infected wart, I would assume this pain would be constant rather than this on and off pain right?
I have a few more queries. What I meant for 2 is does the strain of HPV that causes warts also cause cancer and vice versa so do the strains that cause cancer also cause warts.
1. I've had some itchiness on my genital area (tip of penis) for like 3 weeks but when I looked at it, it doesn't appear to be abnormal and I didn't see any visible warts. If this itchiness was caused by warts, I would have definitely noticed it right?
2. Are warts the only way of knowing that you have HPV for a male or are there any other visible symptoms of HPV.
3. How long does it take the immune system to clear up HPV? When it is "cleared" is it still transmissible. Are there any ways to speed up this clearance process e.g. good diet?
4. Does receipts of oral sex pose much risk for HPV? I read that you basically never get HPV from oral? Is this correct? (I've had the gardasil 4 vaccine before this oral)
5. My anal symptoms were on and off pain and a sensation of a golf ball up my rectum at times(has lasted at least 2 years). One doctor diagnosed me with prostatitis. If this pain was caused by an injured/infected wart, I would assume this pain would be constant rather than this on and off pain right?
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47 months ago
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Just to add to my question 1. I was mainly concerned about this itchiness because I read that warts can be very small so I thought it's possible that I can't even see it properly.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
47 months ago
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Previous question 2: I thought the answer was clear. What don't you understand? Wart causing HPV doesn't cause cancer, and cancer causing types generally do not cause warts.
2. Warts generally are the only visible manifestation of HPV infection, but the large majority of infections cause neither warts nor any other symptoms.
3. This is one of the core questions about HPV about which scientific understanding is incomplete and therefore the answers are uncertain. HPV DNA often (usually? always?) persists, but the immune system generally shuts down active infection over several months to a couple of years. However, the virus sometimes reactivates, which can happen years later. Nothing is known that can speed up immune clearance with certainty; or prevent all reactivations. Tobacco has an influence: smokers have an increased chance of cancer and probably delayed reactivation. Vaccination against HPV primarily prevents new infection, but it also seems to reduce the frequency of reactivation.
4. Oral sex is low risk for HPV infection. However, "basically never" is an overstatement: oral sex is a lot less likely than genital to result in HPV transmissions, partly because oral HPV is less common than genital. But probably some small minority of genital HPV infections are acquired during oral sex.
5. Anal symptoms like yours are never due to HPV; and HPV infection and prostatitis would never be confused with one another by a knowledgeable physician.
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47 months ago
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Thank you for your reply!
So few more questions
A few more concerns.
1. So I received oral around 1 year ago during September, but just recently starting seeing(few days ago) these small bumps on my genital area. If it were to be warts, does it occur 1 year later(11-12 months later) or is this very rare.
2. Just for curiosity purposes, for mutual masturbation in which my partner touches his/her genital then touches and masturbates me, would this be a risk for HPV?
Further, would frottage/apposition( I don't know the difference) be a risk for HPV in which my partner(male or female) rubs his/her genitals(rubs her vagina or rubs his penis) against mine. (so a lot of rubbing occuring during the sexual act)
(I am a bisexual male )
I understand that penetration is the biggest risk but just wanted to know about these 2.
Have there ever been any proper/reliable proof that HPV has been transmitted by either mutual masturbation or frottage/apposition? Have you ever seen it transmitted this way?
3. In response to "HPV and genital warts do not itch, and genital itching is almost never a symptom of any STD." I was mainly worried that I had a wart/warts that was injured/infected and that it's very small so I can't really see it which may cause the itching. I would have definitely noticed if I did have an inflamed/injured wart right?
Sorry but I am very anxious about this issue. I know it is rather stupid to worry about it but I'm trying to just put this behind me.
So few more questions
A few more concerns.
1. So I received oral around 1 year ago during September, but just recently starting seeing(few days ago) these small bumps on my genital area. If it were to be warts, does it occur 1 year later(11-12 months later) or is this very rare.
2. Just for curiosity purposes, for mutual masturbation in which my partner touches his/her genital then touches and masturbates me, would this be a risk for HPV?
Further, would frottage/apposition( I don't know the difference) be a risk for HPV in which my partner(male or female) rubs his/her genitals(rubs her vagina or rubs his penis) against mine. (so a lot of rubbing occuring during the sexual act)
(I am a bisexual male )
I understand that penetration is the biggest risk but just wanted to know about these 2.
Have there ever been any proper/reliable proof that HPV has been transmitted by either mutual masturbation or frottage/apposition? Have you ever seen it transmitted this way?
3. In response to "HPV and genital warts do not itch, and genital itching is almost never a symptom of any STD." I was mainly worried that I had a wart/warts that was injured/infected and that it's very small so I can't really see it which may cause the itching. I would have definitely noticed if I did have an inflamed/injured wart right?
Sorry but I am very anxious about this issue. I know it is rather stupid to worry about it but I'm trying to just put this behind me.
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47 months ago
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Adding onto 2. I meant proper/reliable evidence rather than proper/reliable proof but I guess it's the same thing?
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
47 months ago
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1) This sounds like you're just examining yourself too closely, and I suspect the "bumps" are normal skin texture. But if you think there has been a change, you should see a doctor, preferably a dermatologist. And yes, warts can appear a year after exposure. But if you have warts, there is absolutely no basis to believe it's the oral sex event that was the source. It's almost never possible to know when and from whom any particular HPV infection was acquired.
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2) Hand-genital contact is not known to transmit HPV, and I have never had a patient with genital warts or other HPV infection who had not had vaginal or anal intercourse.
3) Giant warts (over half an inch in diameter) can crack, and the cracks can lead to infection. Otherwise, warts do not become infected or itch, and they are not accompanied by inflammation.
That completes the two follow-up exchanges included with each question, and so ends this thread. You're clearly beyond anxious, and actually obsessed with HPV and warts. If your worries about HPV and warts continue -- as I fear they will -- I suggest you seek professional counseling. It really isn't normal mental status to remain so concerned in the face of the reasoned, science based reassurance you have had. Obsessions never clear up simply with improved factual knowledge. It is for that reason that this forum does not permit repeated anxiety-driven questions on the same topic. In addition, such questions have limited educational value for other users, one of the forum's main purposes. So this being your second question on these topics, it will have to be your last. Excessive anxiety-driven questions may be deleted without reply, and without refund of the posting fee. Thank you for your understanding.
I do hope the two discussions have been helpful to you. Best wishes and good luck.
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