Warts or Skin Tags?--Wrong Diagnosis or Denial?

[WorriedButSkeptical]

A few weeks ago while shaving/trimming the pubic hair on and above my penis I noticed some bumps. One was larger than the rest--probably the 1/2 or 2/3rds the size smaller than a popcorn kernal.  It was located right in the crease where the base of my penis connected to my abdomen. It was raised & sort of pinkish/brownish & depending on whether I had applied lotion it was soft or sort of hard. It also appeared to have a hair growing up through it. Also had a smaller one about a 1/2" above it & a couple more in the same area.  & finally one even smaller one on the base of my penis barely above the aforementioned crease. I sort of "twiddled" between my fingers & pulled/stretched the one that was above the largest bump & it bled a little bit like I'd had other skin tags do but it didn't come loose.  All the bumps resembled moles or skin tags I've had elsewhere on my body except for some of the skin tags/moles I have on my neck are a dark brown instead of more flesh colored. At any rate I wasn't really concerned because I just figured they were moles or skin tags or razor bumps.  As a precaution I read internet articles (including this forum) & felt relieved as I was sure I had skin tags only.  I decided as an additional precaution to show them to my urologist.  My calm went to horror after a cursory look he quickly told me they were HPV.  He said he could freeze or burn them off right then & so he did.  Now in retrospect I find myself wondering if in fact they really were HPV.  I realize that this is a fairly traumatic thing & I could very well just be in denial. But I forgot to try to pour acetic acid on them to see if they'd turn white so of course I'm looking for any potential for a mistaken diagnosis. Until now I think I've maybe had at the very most two warts (elsewhere on my body) in my lifetime.  Normally I'm one to be a little paranoid about potentially having STD (I have a irritable prostate which seems to have more to do with heredity than anything else) but for some reason (like I said--could be denial) I just really skeptical about the HPV diagnosis. I've always used condoms during sex & while I realize that won't prevent HPV where it doesn't cover, I just didn't find much information at all about them occuring anywhere but on the actual penis shaft/head/scrotum/actual genitalia rather than above in the pubic area.  I play ice hockey & I perspire excessively and so I figured with all the heat & moisture, & the fact that the bumps were in a groin crease (& above) that surely they were skin tags.  I'm not so concerned for their physical effect on my body (if in fact they really were warts) but I'm already agonizing about telling any female that I get involved with in the future.  Part of what I read almost made it sound like it was pretty much inevitable for women to acquire it in their lifetime.  CDC report I read stated that 80% of women will acquire HPV by the age of 50. At any rate, does it sound like HPV to you?  Thanks for your help.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Yes, it does.  Skin tags generally don't affect the suprapubic area, whereas warts often do.  So I think the urologist was right.  Once the warts disappear, I think you should feel confident that you'd be unlikely to spread them, though the risk may not be zero.  If everyone who ever once had genital warts refrained from sex, then, among other things, the human species would die out.

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff

[sueann1234]

A related discussion, I dont know what to do was started.