Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Very confused about low risk hpv...

Okay, here goes...
I started noticing these very small, smooth, skincoloured, pearly bumps around my genital area( about 3 or 4 around the vaginal lips and near the opening of my vagina). So i started looking up some info about hpv and genital warts but i found that the pictures i saw looked nothing like what i had, mine were barely noticeble and i had no itching, also the 'lesions' hadn't really grown or shanged shape in over a year..
However cuz they also didn't seem to go away on their own i made an appointment with my regular gyno.
I explained the situation to him, he had a look and immediately comforted me by saying that those bumps were clearly not warts because they were too small and smooth but a natural anatomical thing and nothing to worry about. He also did a pap smear for other std's wich came back totally normal. So i was relieved, for a while...
About 6 months later the situation was still the same, as i said, i had no real discomfort but i just wanted to know what it was as i was constantly checking myself down under to make sure more didn't appear and it were warts afterall...
My friend advised me to go see her gyno so i made another appointment. This time he had a quick look and diagnosed me with genital warts, he did say that in my situation it really wasnt that bad and i had different options to get rid of them. We finally decided to laser them out cuz i was very worried about the whole thing and wanted to get rid of it asap.. So got the laser therapie wich left me with pretty big(in comparison with the small bumps i had) burns, needless  to say it was a pretty painfull experience. The time after that he even said why did we decide to use the laser therapy on you again, your lesions werent really that bad? At the time he felt the laser was a good option for me 'pychologically', uuhm... Also there was 1 little bump left behind after lasering, i thought they forgot or something..
In the meanwhile my longterm boyfriend of 8 years (i'm 27 and i only had 1 sex partner before that)went to see the urologist for a checkup and guess what: He doesn't have hpv according to his doctor, he once had a mini small bump that went away on its own, pearly penile papules the urologist said, but he did no specific hpv test cuz that doesnt exist apparently..
So i went back to my old gyno, to go over the test results from my last visit with him and he had another look down there to check out the one they didnt laser away and again said he was 100 percent sure that that wasnt a wart and that he seriousely doubted the fact that i ever had hpv in the first place :-0, however when i asked for further testing he said there no tests available to find out if you have low risk hpv?! I did get a chronic wound from the lasertherapy near the opening of my vagina that has been causing me pain during sex for months now, luckily he gave me something for it and it should heal in 3 weeks.. When i asked the other gyno about this he said there was nothing i could do about that except keep trying to have sex 'even if it felt painfull' :-/, he also said i should really stop freaking out about the whole hpv story but thats easier said than done..
So now what? I'll never know for sure?? Please help me as this has been causing me stress for months now, i was pretty depressed when they said i had hpv, especially since i've always been supercarefulL.. Should i get yet  another opinion?
6 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
I've recently been diagnosed with genital warts, and after speaking with doctors I discovered that there is a possibility that the virus may have been dormant for that length of time. I honestly suggest getting a second opinion, just for ease of mind :). In terms of tests for your boyfriend, they often cannot be tested without showing symptoms, there is a possibilty that if you do have genital warts (i sincerely hope that you dont!!) that he could be a carrier of the virus without showing any symptoms, and therefore wouldn't show warts or any worrying bumps - they can also be so small that the skin looks relatively normal to the naked eye.

I understand the stress that you are feeling (i was only diagnosed this week!!), however doctors won't be able to check if it is genital warts unless you are showing symptoms, my advice to you is this: stay healthy! Take vitamins, i recommend C and E, exercise, and drink loads of water, don't forget to eat fruit and veg!! Keeping your immune system up will help keep any virus dormant. And if you do have any bumps come up get them checked right away!

Judging from your story, the doctors you consulted don't sound too reliable at all! Especially the advice to keep having sex regardless of pain, i'm no doctor but that advice isn't something to follow, get a second opinion and please don't worry, I was also told that i didn't have a "bad" case of warts and I underwent cryotherapy (I had them frozen).

All in all, if you're worried you must get a second opinion, stress does no favours for your health!!

Stay safe :)
Helpful - 0
1415174 tn?1453243103
Hi and I'm very sorry about the boyfriend you lost.So sad. It isn't likely that you got it from him since it has been 10 years. or 11, which  available mostly in Europe. Firstly, low risk HPV isn't generally medically important because they consider it to be "cosmetic" and they often don't screen. But since you want to know what it is. There are several companies that do test for low risk types that cause genital warts. Now that you had laser, there is only one "lesion" left still? If you were tested only for high risk then you don't know for sure you had low risk. But, yes there are lots of types but generally 5 types account for the majority of most low risk type that cause genital warts.. Also, all tests have their false positives and negatives.The only other problem is if you have low risk HPV you may give it to your boyfriend, but since he is negative you both may want to get the vaccine if they will give it to you both. Because even if you did have the low risk it will protect you against most high risk and it will keep him from getting it too. If he was tested did he get the test for high and low risk? if so you can get tested there if they screen for low risk.. You may have to ask several laboratories or doctors to find out where to get the low risk testing. I know Hollland and Switzerland has these tests. Perhaps he had low risk before and cleared it. Btw, my husband also lost a girlfriend by a drunk driver (she was in her 20's). Very tramatic,.
take care,
mkh9
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
First of all thanks for your reply,
I was just 18 when i was with my first boyfriend, doctors say thats possible but it doesnt sound very likely to me, thats 10 years ago, they say it has to do with the immune system. Well my first bf passed away when i was 18, which caused me to lose over 8kg in a month, my immune system was at an all time low, shouldnt it have popped up back then if i got it from him?
And yes an additional hpv test was done with the 2nd gyno which came back negative, but that was for the high-risk. He also said there were so many different strains it was impossible to know which one u have..
I read something on the internet that kinda looks like what i had called vestibular pappilomatosis, benign very small lesions, but none of my gyno's ever spoke of that..
Btw i live in europe, maybe those tests arent available here?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Mcferrin where do you get your info? I heard they still havent found a cure for hpv up to this day.. Anyhow, this doesnt really help me right now, just wanna find out if i have it or not :-/..
Helpful - 0
1415174 tn?1453243103
There is a test for low risk HPV by PCR (DNA test) that can specify if you have low risk vs. high risk HPV and some actually type it. These are not FDA approved but reference labs use this test in the U.S. I(know because my husband created one of these kits and works for a biotech company that sells them) and the clinical labs have to verify that they work by comparing to other tests. You would have to ask your doctor to have your sample sent to one of the labs that performs these tests. But, generally low risk HPV clears on it its own anyway, although not always. If your sex parter/boyfriend never had low risk HPV then maybe they weren't genital warts as one of your doctors said. But perhaps you got the warts from the previous boyfreind or was that a long time ago? The other question is, did they use a test that checks for low and high risk HPV? In any case I am sorry you had all this done to you. I would just see if they clear up on their own.
mkh9
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
There's a cure for hpv..( the one to get rid of the virus out of your body cure) some team has it at penn state, the fda won't fund, they don't want us to be cured, they making so much money off the vaccine.
Helpful - 0

You are reading content posted in the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Community

Top STDs Answerers
3149845 tn?1506627771
fort lauderdale, FL
Learn About Top Answerers
Popular Resources
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.