HPV type 6

[madashell76]

I am a 32-year-old woman who had a brief relationship with a man back in December. We had sex twice, and used a condom both times (which was apparently useless). I later found out he had genital warts (they weren't very obvious, and neither of us had noticed them before). Since then, I have been going to the a nurse practitioner who specializes in gynecology and she has never seen any visible warts, but I finally consented to the HPV test and found out I have HPV type 6. She said that this just means that the virus is present on the skin at this time. She scheduled me to have a trichloracetic acid treatment done which, she hopes, will eradicate the virus from the skin. However, she told me that the virus stays in your system forever. I'm devastated, and mad as hell. I want to kill my ex for this. It's virtually destroyed my life and my faith in God (as I've prayed for months to be okay). I've stopped dating or even wearing makeup, and I feel like a leper without a colony. Now I find out that although the virus is very common, the wart-causing strains 6 and 11 are not so common, so I also feel like the unluckiest person in the world. I'd rather it had been a cancer-causing strain that doesn't cause warts. I'd literally rather be dead. I wanted to have a family, but I can't imagine ever dating anyone because I can't imagine ever bringing this up with someone. What do I say, "I have this virus that causes gential warts, and whether you wear a condom or not you're going to get it if you sleep with me." Any man would run screaming in the other direction. And my gyno hasn't really given me any positive information. She says she believes that I should tell any sexual partner I have for the rest of my life about it. I just want to crawl into a hole where I can't infect anyone and I don't have to worry about a guy asking me out. Please help!! My questions are:
1. When you say that most people clear the virus without ever showing symptoms, does that include HPV type 6, or is it likely that I will get visible warts?
2. Does the immune system truly clear it within 2 years typically, so I could maybe begin to have a social life again, or will I spend the rest of my life having to worry about infecting someone, like my gyno says?
3. Will there ever be a time that it is not contagious?

[madashell76]

Thank you very much for your response. It really helps to talk to people about this and get honest answers.

[alexdelong]

First, it is probably more common than you think. I have read that about 10% of the population willl have visable warts sometime in their life. It isn't everybody, but it isn't all that rare either.

1. When you say that most people clear the virus without ever showing symptoms, does that include HPV type 6, or is it likely that I will get visible warts?
I don't know what percentage of people who contract the virus don not get visable symptoms, but it happens.

2. Does the immune system truly clear it within 2 years typically, so I could maybe begin to have a social life again, or will I spend the rest of my life having to worry about infecting someone, like my gyno says?
Yes, research shows that immune systems either clears or supresses the virus to levels that cannot be detected by the test. 50% within 8 months, 70% withing a year, 90% within 2 years. It seems like some people will have recurrant episodes, but most will become wart free. The doctors here have suggested that if you go 6 months without symptoms, you will be unlikely to infect future partners, and disclosure may not be necessary. It is a personal choice though, and you might feel more comfortable always disclosing.

I have disclosed my infection to one person I was dating. It went over all right. I think most people appriciate honesty, and realize that genital warts are nothing more than a harmless inconvenience

3. Will there ever be a time that it is not contagious?
Probably.