Well I was just diagnosed with HPV yesterday, and needless to say I feel terrible. I had a few small warts at the base of my penis. What sucks is that I have always had safe sex! I noticed the small bumps in December and had them looked at and was told they were clogged pores. My doctor put vinegar on them and said they were not warts and not to worry, use astringent he said! When they didnt go away i had a second opinion and yesterday found out it is HPV. What sucks is that I have had a new partner since then, a person I really like and care about! She has no idea.

A few questions please...
Since warts are low risk hpv can i transmit high risk leading to cervical cancer?
How long does HPV stay in your system? I have had these warts for 2 months now.
If they do come back do they generally come back in the same place?
How long should I refrain from sex?
Can men get a dna test to see if it is still present in my system?

thanks

Hi and welcome to our message boards; we're glad to have you here.

Warts are indeed related to "low risk" HPV types, and having them doesn't give you much insight into whether you or your partner could also have "high risk" HPV - if either/both of you do you'll likely never know it, and the important thing is for her to have regular Pap tests.Have her speak with her health care provider about this, to see sorts of testing they recommend for her. HPV DNA testing is approved for use with men or as a general means of checking infection status. This test is licensed for women as follow up to an unclear Pap test result and for primary cervical cancer screening for women over age 30.

Condoms can reduce the risk of acquiring HPV, but they don't offer 100% protection because they only cover so much skin. Still, using them consistently and correctly is an excellent way to reduce STI transmission.

Partners are often assumed likely to share HPV, but it's often hard to prove and you may never know for certain. Some couples choose to refrain from sexual contact while warts are present, while others use condoms. A great deal remains unknown about transmission patterns among couples and the guidance (including ours) is often inconsistent and confusing, to say the least. There are experts who don't think it is likely couples sharing the same HPV type(s) will "ping-pong" the virus back and forth to reinfect each, and we're not aware of any data that indicate this is likely to be an issue. Some studies suggest that using condoms might help both the virus and associated skin lesions clear a bit more quickly, so this is an option to consider. We urge you to discuss this with your health care provider if you have questions, to see what they recommend for you.

Warts do recur in some cases, but by no means all. When they do recur, they show varying degrees of persistence. Some people may experience only one episode, while others may experience several. However, most people's immune systems, with time, seem to gain control over HPV, making recurrences less frequent and usually eliminating them eventually.

Some experts believe that removing genital warts may lower the risk of transmission since it reduces the areas of tissue that contain most of the virus. Removing warts cannot guarantee that the risk of transmission is removed. However, if no symptoms recur in the subsequent months following treatment, the chance of transmission dramatically decreases, and some researchers consider the possibility of being contagious during this time would be minimal to remote.

Hope this helps. Post again if you have new questions.

Best,
Fredo

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