Possible misdiagnosis?

[single20m]

I have a question regarding the possible misdiagnosis. I am not trying to be in denial but I am curious as to whether there is a possibility I could have been misdiagnosed (better to be sure about this type of thing).

I was examined at a walk in clinic and told that I had warts in my genital area. I am 99% sure that he was most likely right but am not 100%. Years ago I had warts on the palms of my hands, I also had a wart on my elbow rist and knee. I had them treated and have not had them for several years. When I was still a virgin I always had small bumps on my shaft but thought that it must just be the way I was because there was no way that I would have come into contact with it. Now I wonder if there is a chance that during masturbation or urinating I could have spreaded warts from my palms to the shaft of my penis.

When I became concerned that I could have some type of STD the main reason was because the few bumps on my shaft seemed a little larger then I remember but through sexual intercourse is there not a chance that they could have been aggrivated and thus increased or spread in size and number? The warts that the doctor said were warts appear very much like the smaller bumps I had as a virgin, visually however they were just a little larger. I know that even common warts are spread through skin to skin contact so would it not stand to reason that if I had them on my hand they could have spread to my genital area?

I have read that often times genital warts are misdiagnosed so considering the gravity of the situation I want to ensure that I have it right as it would effect the rest of my life. What would be the correct steps to take as far as this is concerned? should I see a dermotologist? and is the theory i put forth medically possible?

I did not speak to the doctor about this because I was embarassed to be in the position of asking to be checked and just wanted to get out of there as soon as he said I had warts.

Your help would be very much appreciated.

[bewilderwhelmed]

Warts in general are highly transmissible, so I think it's certainly very likely that they could have transferred from your hand to your genitalia.

Thing is, the only actual difference between genital warts and regular warts is that genital warts only occur on the genitalia, so you should still probably seek treatment and inform your partners.

Good luck!

[Amanda0922]

I believe the bumps you are referring to are Fordyce spots. A dermatologist should be able to tell the difference between the two right away. I really doubt you could have transferred the warts on your hands to your genital area. Certain strains of hpv are responsible for warts in certain places. The strains responsible for warts on hands are programmed to cause warts on hands and the same is true for strains causing genital warts. Here are a couple links regarding Fordyce spots:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordyce%27s_spot

http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/fordyceSpots.htm