I am a 29 year old female and I was recently diagnosed with low-risk HPV, the GW strain of the virus. I tested positive for the high-risk strain a few years ago but my last 4 paps have come back negative for the virus.

After getting over the initial shock of the new diagnosis, I have only had 4 sexual partners in my lifetime and have worn condoms and been in a commited relationship for 1 year, I have ALOT of questions.

I am in the process of having my first outbreak and I am extemely confused. I cry every night b/c the stigma attached to this virus makes it very difficult to confide in anyone except for my boyfriend.
I have one large cluster and quite a few very small white dot clusters. They are all somewhat internal on the inside edge of my vaginal area.

-what do you guys recommend as an affective treatment? My doctor is not overly helpful and somewhat brushes my virus as nothing but a nuisance. My doctor gave my 2 options: applying acid every week until the warts go away or cutting off the warts and using an electric current to seal the wound. Has anyone out there had a successful removal? Does freezing work? It seems less invasive.

-How common is GW in general? I don't know anyone who has ever had them and a lot of my friends have tested postive for high-risk HPV.

-How many warts usually appear at one time? I keep seeing new tiny ones and it is driving me crazy. I feel like my whole area is being taken over and invaded by this problem.

-Can I live a normal life dealing with this? I have been doing a lot of reading that you can normally clear the virus within 2 years. I am just so worried that I will not be able to be intimate with my boyfriend for a long time. The wart outbreak is all that I can think about all day long.

Thank you, it is really helpful just knowing this support group is out there and that I have people to talk to.

Hi there, thanks for posting.



Application of trichloracetic acid (TCA) is the most common method of removal. Options like electrocautery and scalpel removal are also common. No one approach is regarded as the best overall; most of them work and they have pro's and con's. Surgery is more involved but also tends to clear the warts much more quickly. Crytherapy, or freezing warts with liquid nitrogen, is effective in many cases, too. Review treatment options at http://www.ashastd.org/hpv/hpv_learn_warts.cfm#7.

Even though many, many people have HPV - including the low-risk types - very few are ever diagnosed. Part of the reason is that warts can be very small, hard to detect, and can actually clear away on their own! You're hardly a rare case, though. Virtually all sexually active people have one or more HPV infections over their lifetimes; the only difference between you and the rest of humanity is that you actually received a diagnosis.



It's not unusual for their to be several warts, or even clusters of them.



You absolutely can! Warts can recur, especially in the first three months or so, but will be unlikely to do so over and over for the long haul. Sometimes treatment can stimulate the immune response to help clear HPV. You and your partner are unlikely to reinfect one another or cause any problems by being together; some couples feel more comfortable not having sex while warts are present, though, and some use condoms if they have sex while warts are being treated. Ask your doctor what he or she recommends.

The stigma aspect is so freakin' unfair. Having HPV is part of the normal, human condition. We're approaching a point where if you have sex, you get HPV. It is normal, normal, normal...and it's time we started treating it that way!

Just keep that in mind, keep asking questions and getting information. Please feel free to come here and post anytime, even if you just want to vent! We're here for you, kiddo.

Best always,
Fredo

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