I have a question about the seriousness of genital warts. My husband of 17 years has genital warts. He has 3-4 outbreaks since we have been together, first one about 3 years after we got married.

Before we got married, my husband told me that he did test for AIDS and it was negative, but never said anything about GW. About a month ago, he had another outbreak and he told me that he did have GW before we met!!! Obviously I was beyond myself with anger and asked him why he did hide it from me all these years.

His answer is that he had 1-2 outbreaks before we were together. His doctor had told him that this is not a big deal, it is as common as a cold, and lots of people have it. All he has to do is to have it removed when it shows up.

According to my husband, the doctor really downplayed the issue and did not even tell him that he should inform his sexual partners. And since this happened few years before we met, my husband forgot about it and that is why he didn't say anything when we were dating.

I have a hardtime believing my husband and don't know how to deal with this. Could this be true? Is GW really not an important issue and doesn't need to be shared with your sexual partner? Is there is any reason to worry or is it possible that my husband's doctor didn't give him the accurate information?

BTW - I don't have any symptoms and my pap has been always normal.

I have been searching on the internet and there are lots of mixed information. I would really appreciate some guidance.

Thanks.

Hi Extra,

Thanks for posting. It's common for healthcare providers to tell patients who have had warts removed not to worry too much about it. This is based on a number of things: HPV is so common that almost all sexually active people have it; it seldom causes visible symptoms or medical complications; and the immune system normally clears the virus over time.

What your husband is telling you isn't too far afield, then, of what usually transpires following an HPV diagnosis. Most often, as I mentioned earlier, HPV never leads to visible or diagnosed symptoms, and is usually harmless. There's no recommended testing or screening for partners in your situation; the next time you have a GYN visit you might mention your husband's diagnosis, just so they can keep it in mind.

I hope this helps. Post again if you have other questions.

Best,
Fredo

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ASHA Moderator

Hi Fredo,

I just wanted to give you an update:

After I received your advice, I was calm for few weeks, until I saw few spots in my genital area. I called my doctor right away and went for a checkup. I can't tell you how upset I was..and how guilty my husband was feeling. It looked just like my husband's warts and I was positive that I got the warts too.

Anyway, it turned out that the spots were just "in-grown" hair!!!! That was a relief for both myself and my husband.

Then few weeks later, at the follow up visit, my husband requested biopsy to find out exactly what he has. A very long week later, the doctor called us with result.

The doctor told us that the warts were benign and not contigious. He said my husband just has a skin condition and it is not HPV.

Talk about happy ending....

I just want to suggest anyone out there dealing with similar situation to ask for biopsy, if possible. My husband thought he had genital warts for over 20 years. We made our life difficult for few months and were lucky to find out it was just a false alarm.

Again, thanks for your help and I wish everyone a happy ending, just like us..

BTW - My husband is not yet off the hook for not telling me about his condition before wedding, but his sentence will be much lighter now..

Hi again,

What a great post! Thanks for following-up and letting us know how things are with you and your husband.



LOL! Good for you. I'm glad this all worked out. Take care and feel free to stop by again anytime.

Fredo

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ASHA Moderator