Annoyed

Good Afternoon,
My first experience with HPV was in 1999.  I am a male, I had the wart frozen off.  I thought I was all set, however they have been re-appearing probably 6 to 7 times over the course of the past 7 yrs?  I had them treated each time.  I was under the assupmtion that the immune system will at some point overtake the virus and re-occurences would stop.  I am begining to think this is a life-long condition?  I have been with multiple partners which could explain some of the re-occurences, however I doubt they have casused all of them.  I now need to get another frozen off in a week, I have not had sex since Jan, my last re-occurance was in October which I had 2 frozen off?  I was somewhat in the process of starting a new relationship (no sex yet) and now I can not do that until everything is resolved, I don't want to introduce this to her at this point.  Would you agree that I must inform all future partners based on my frequent re-occurences?  Am I the exception to the rule on this not being a life-long condition?  I am very healthy and don't understand what is going on.  Any advice?  Will they ever give up?  Can I begin any nre relationships?  I like to think I am fairly educated on this topic but it doesn't make sense.

Thank you

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

I'm not sure what you are asking me to do or advise.  Prolonged, even lifelong HIV infections occur from time to time, and some persons with genital warts continue to have recurrences for well beyond the average of several months, sometimes for many years.  I have said so many times, and when not explicitly stated, I generally use qualifiers like "usually" or "most persons".  So do all responsible sources of information about HPV and warts, such as CDC.  However, even among people with prolonged, repeated recurrences, most eventually stop having outbreaks.  I have no way of knowing whether you are at that point.

I'm not a relationship counselor.  But I think it would be prudent, and respectful to your partners, to tell them the situation.  If you use condoms, which of course is wise on general principles anyway, the risk of transmission will be markedly reduced.  And if you are embarking on a new relationship that you think might become a committed one, of course you will need to discuss it anyway.  Most people understand that genital warts are an inconvenience, not a serious health threat, and will not refuse to get involved in an otherwise promising relationship because of fear of warts.

Of course I understand this isn't always easy.  It is a fact of life that sex typically comes before intimacy and often well before it is easy to judge the permanence of the relationship.  I'll be other forum users will have some opinions for you.

Sorry I can't help further.    Good luck--  HHH, MD

[ChicShane]

Multiple partners would be not be reoccurance but re-infection with one of the 130 strains of HPV (I think 30 of them can cause warts).

[Englishman]

Somewhatrelieved, have your previous multiple partners developed warts or not.

It would be interesting to know if it was a recurrence of the same strain?

Doc, has this ever been studied because infection by a new strain might explain much more apparent recurrences than people beleive. Has this been studied? I can't see any difficulty in doing this (a simple biopsy when new warts appear). This would fit into my recurrence theory outlined in a previous post. Is this just not seen as important enough for scientists to investigate?

[somewhatrelieved]

One partner did develop warts out of 8 or 9. We played the blame game, she had symptoms first but it really didn't matter because we have no idea who gave it to who.

[Englishman]

Thanks for the info. There is just as much chance you got it from her. I wonder whether you have been reinfected or undergoing a recurrence. Suprised no-one has studied it this phenomenon. Thanks for the reply. Best of lcuk.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

There is little if any research on reinfection as an explanation of recurrent genital warts.  It probably occurs, but probably not frequently enough to be a likely explanation for repeated recurrences over several years.  My bet is that most of your outbreaks are relapses of earlier infections.  The only way to sort this out would be for someone like yourself to have type-specific HPV DNA tests for every outbreak.

HHH, MD

[jezzie]

I to am in the same situation.  I have had 3 occurances in several years.  When I asked my OB-GYN, she seems to think it is stressed related.  I don't think there is any research on this but she says that she has seen a lot of college students have outbreaks when they are studying for finals, etc.  She said most of the patients she treats never totally clear it, just treat until the next occurance.  I think the fact that you have practiced safe sex with 8 of the 9 partners is commendable.  You certainly have beat the odds.  When I had my first outbreak, my GP had no advice for me and basically treated me and did not tell me anything.  I didn't even know how it was transmitted.  I have had to do my own research.  How have you avoided transmission if I might ask?  Using condoms?  Dating is the worst part.

[somewhatrelieved]

I have been very safe with the 8 or 9 partners, however they were mostly casual, I believe it is impossible to knwo if they have been infected?  You say dating is the worst?  Do you mean the conversation part?  If what they say is true and everyone gets this at some pint, it shouldn't be that hard, however I completely understand what you are saying.

[Englishman]

Perhaps the reason that your OB-GYN sais she usually sees patients again is poor treatment in the first place? At my GUM clinic they said that perhaps one more treament was needed. I am a bloke - I guess men are easier to treat perhaps?

[jezzie]

That might be true. She also told me that getting people to come in for treatment is hard because they are embarrased.  This is rather unfortunate.

[Englishman]

Yep, some people find any body exam embarassing. Personally i'm quite happy for doctors to look at, fiddle with, or probe anything if it gives me a better understanding of my own body. I wish some people would realise that this is what a doctor is for and that doctors have seen it all before (I worked in a hospital for a couple of years).