Rashes and HPV

[Novi09]

A few questions.  Firstly, in January I had sex with a girl -- a one night stand. We used protection (and several kinds of lubrication beforehand as well) but the condom broke and I didn't realize right away. Immediately after having sex with her, I noticed several areas of red on my penis.  A flat red area on the head, one more like it on the upper shaft on the side, and a raised, puffy area on the top of the upper shaft.  It all went a way after a few days.  But for the next few months, those specific areas were more sensitive to becoming irritated.  A few months later I started dating this girl and we were having sex and at times I'd also masturbate.  At one point, my penis started becoming very irratated again, mainly in those same spots.  But I didn't treat it and it just got extremely bad. There was bad cracking and bleeding.  At that point I tried moisturizers and even neosporin (which dried it out more I think, and I think I now have an allergy to it in that area).  It all lasted about two months!  I finally used vitamin A&D lotion and it started getting better (Hydrocotizone 1% did nothing).  But now  blood vessels in the skin are more noticeable.  And the skin is still irritable and there are a few areas that even looked scarred. I had never had irritation like this and now I'm always wary of it.  So:

1. Did I permanently damage the skin??
2. Is this irritability a permanent condition?
3. Was the vitamin A&D a right move and what else can I do to help alleviate the situation?
4. What about that girl could've made me become irratated in that manner so quickly? Could it have been the lubrication/condom combination?

Second thing.  Apparently that first girl was the bringer of hell, because I also discovered a wart when I was dating my girlfriend...At least that's what the doctors said (a dermatologist at a health clinic). It was one small slightly-raised area about the size of two grains of sand. And apparently two more about half the size, all of which had a brown tinge to them.  They were burned off at the center. Now I find bumps and am paranoid that it's more warts.  But they could easily be something else, as they don't look the same as the intial ones (i.e. more shiny on top and more pink...possibly cysts or hair follicles).  So:

1. Could the Doc have been wrong?  Do those sound like warts?
2. If you do the vinegar test, and nothing turns white, does that necessarily mean there are no warts on that area?
3. Literature says HPV is higly contagious but you say we'd have warts everywhere if it were...Can I spread the virus without having a wart and how easily?
4. Do you think those other bumps could be more HPV?
5. And finally! How come when they burned those initial areas off, the virus wasn't gone?  Is it in the bloodstream and if not -- and if it's not highly contagious -- how can it spread to other parts of the penis?

Thanks for reading this long post.  I appreciate the forum and what you guys are doing.  
N19

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

1. Nope.
2. Doesn't indicate anything--just an anatomical variant.

Dr. R

[Novi09]

Final follow up questions when you get a chance.  

*Is there a definitive way to test for HPV without a wart?  Biospy?  Some other way?

*The broken blood vessels on the skin of the upper shaft of the penis...what does that indicate and how serious is that?

Thank you for any help when you have the time.  I know there are new posts everyday, so if you get a chance, it would be greatly appreciated.
N19

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

As to your first question, I can only guess.

The STD doctor may be right, but he's only guessing, at least in the sense that one can't know who's shedding and who isn't.

I repeat my advice about another consultation--then forget about it.

Dr. Rockoff

[Novi09]

Thanks for the information and quick reply.
Just a follow up:

What about that girl could've made me become irratated in that manner instantly like that? Could it have been the lubrication/condom combination?

And, does the virus spread easily without an actual wart present?  The dermatologist at the STD clinic said there are "shedders", people who shed the virus off to others...make sense to you doc?

Thanks again.
N19

[Novi09]

Thanks for the information and quick reply.
Just a follow up:

What about that girl could've made me become irratated in that manner instantly like that? Could it have been the lubrication/condom combination?

And, does the virus spread easily without an actual wart present?  The dermatologist at the STD clinic said there are "shedders", people who shed the virus off to others...make sense to you doc?

Thanks again.
N19

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

You didn't permanently damage the skin.  Your symptoms sound like those of irritation (most likely from friction from sex), which can be lengthy but is never permanent.  Neosporin is beside the point--I'd stick with regualr use of 1% hydrocortiosne and veseline 2-3 times a day.  If that doesn't help after a couple of weeks, I'd see a dermatologist about something prescription-strength.

I'm a little skeptical of the diagnosis of warts.  It's even less likely that the other bumps you see are warts.  Even if warts are contagious, they don't pop up a few weeks after exposure.  (You could have been exposed from a previous partner months or years before, or they could be nonsexual warts, or they could be not warts at all.)  Negative vinegar tests are strong indications that whatever is there isn't a wart, but I'd stay away from self-testing, which is unreliable and likely to increase your paranoia.  

Warts are in the epidermis, not the bloodsteam.  I advise you to get another consultation with the dermatologist, get clarity about these bumps (by inspection or, if needed, biopsy) so you can ignore them, and get better treatment for the irritation/sensitivity.  I doubt that you picked up anything bad or long-lasting from the one-night stand.  

Best.

Dr. Rockoff