I was diagnosed with HPV from an abnormal pap smear 3 years ago. I had a colposcopy(sp?) and the resutls came back negative. My doctor assured me that even if it developed into cancer, it would take years, and that I was completely normal. He never mentioned anything about the possibility of genital warts, and I never had them. . . .until now. . . I think.

Two weeks ago I had a "bump" I thought was simply an ingrown hair, and it went away after almost a week. Two days ago, I developed two more "bumps" and am really worried now! I've read alot of posts about genital warts, but not too much detail about them; are they painful? Do they spread like a rash or just develop independently? If I went more than 3 years without warts (i've been in a monogamous relationship for over 9 years) is it common to develop them later? How frequently or infrequently do they occur? Any help is greatly appreciated!

Hey Shellye,

Warts can go away on their own, stay the same size or grow larger. That's just the nature of them. Sometimes they can hurt and cause dicomfort and sometimes they can't. Warts are usually flesh colored growths. They can come one at a time , groups, different locations. Warts are skin to skin so once the skin is infected they are there.

Also warts can develop in weeks, months and in some cases years so it is possible for them to show up later.

Usually the body can take care of the warts but doctor's aren't sure if the body can eradicate them or just reduce viral load. So it's just depends.

Some people have warts frequently and others don't. The best thing to do is check with your doctor as well as make sure you don't have any fluid filled blistering. If so that could be another infection .

If there are any other questions, just ask away

Take care