Is it possible to get genital warts from any thing but sex,
Not really.
is it possible that I have had HPV for years and got a wart at this late date?
Yes. Experts agree that the emergence of genital warts is not a sign of infidelity, and for this reason it is almost impossible to trace an infection to a specific partner. For some people, the virus will lay dormant for months or even years and become active later, often when your immune system becomes a little run down due to stress.
Fortunately, once your immune system repsonds to the virus, it will likely clear it from your system.
thank you - I just wasn't sure how to react to this. When you say it could take months or years, is 8 years common? Are there any statistics to look at?
I don`t know of any statistics, but if you look at the american social health association HPV page you can get some more information.
There doesn`t seem to be a time limit for symptoms to appear.