An HPV question for Grace

[jeffhaley]

Hi Grace. I posted this question over the weekend but no one answered it. Just wanted to get your take on it:

I have been with my girlfriend for a year and a half, and about 5m onths ago I developed genital warts. I told her about them but we continued to have unprotected sex even with the warts there. Well, she just went to the clinic a couple weeks ago and had an abnormal pap smear, so I took her to have a colposcopy done. In the colposcopy, the doctor removed an abnormality she found and then said that she thinks everything is fine. So here's the question:

I haven't had my warts removed yet. Do I need to do so before her and I go back to having unprotected sex, or does it not matter at this point? Thanks for the info.

[jeffhaley]

Sounds like we're both in the same boat. Is your girlfriend ok?

[56merriman]

My girlfriend and I had had unprotected sex many, many times before noticing my genital warts. Realizing that we were both undoutedly already infected with the same strains of HPV, we realized that condom use at that point was essentially pointless. That has nothing to do with not caring, being rude, or any of the other ridiculous terms that you chose to use in your post. It's simply medical fact, which obviously escaped you long ago.

Also, abnormal cells of the cervix rarely ever become cancer. In the majority of cases they never go on to become any major health problem. But as long as a woman continues to have regular pap smears done, she will be essentially 100% protected from ever developing cervical cancer. Sorry to hear about your procedure and hopefully you don't have to have it done again, but your statement that HPV is a "cruel and unforgiving disease" is plain ignorant. If you're going to make a post, at least try and know what you're talking about first.

[jezzikanne]

You are extremely uncaring and rude to have unprotected sex with your girlfriend knowing that you have warts. Seems to me that you don't care about her sexual health, and she must really not care either. I have HPV that comes along with genital warts and cervical dysplasia. I had major laser surgery yesturday to correct the problem. They practically took a laser and burned all of my cervix and labia. And NO everything is not fine for your girlfriend, the warts can come back within 3 months even of treated. And if she does develop cervical dysplasia (Abnormal cells in the cervix) then that can lead to CERVICAL CANCER, if not treated. HPV is a cruel and unforgiving disease. Maybe you should have not been so selfish and used protection.

[gracefromHHP]

You might be but you might not be.  I'd just a fan of erring on the side of caution and taking precautions until you both get the all clear sign. I'm sure she doesn't want to deal with external warts right now even if they are just a cosmetic concern right?  Just the way I look at it - if I was dealing with a cervical hpv infection the last thing I'd want would be having to go back to more trips to the gyn to deal with wart removal. It's totally up to the two of you though.  

grace

[gracefromHHP]

Chances are good that you both have 2 different types of hpv infections going on.   She's already been exposed to whatever hpv you have so it's up to the two of you if you want to change anything or not. Why not go get your hpv dealt with too so that you two can hopefully get this pesky virus out of your life? At the very least - using a condom from the moment your clothes come off will help lower her risk.

grace

[jeffhaley]

Wait, I'm confused...

The way I understand it, since we've been having unprotected sex all this time, we can both be sure we're infected with the same strain(s) of HPV as the other. Also, as I understand it, I cannot re-infect her with the same type(s) of HPV we're already sharing, even after she is treated or her immune system clears the infection. So, wouldn't there be no point to wearing condoms? Thanks for the info.