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Chance of Passing on Genital Warts after only a few months of being clear
Hi Doctor,
I recently had intercourse twice with a girl (with a condom BOTH times) and I am concerned that I could have passed on my gential warts to her. (This is the same girl I referenced some time ago in my first question I posted to you "Chance of Passing on Genital Warts or Molluscum from Single Encounter" and unfortunately I did find 1 more genital wart since I posted that question - details are described below).
The last time I had a wart frozen off (1 very small wart) was on September 17th, 2010. Unfortunately I had sex on December 10th, 2010 and December 28th, 2010. So that means I was free of warts for about 2 months, 3 weeks AND 3 months, 1 week respectively since the last time I had a wart.
My initial diagnosis for having Genital Warts was in December 2009. I was also diagnosed with Molluscum but I have not had any signs of molluscum since August 9th, 2010 (so I have been clear for about 4 months).
What are the chances I passed on GW to her and should I tell her?
I DO NOT plan on having any more sexual encounters for at least a year of not having any warts. This was the plan before these encounters as well but I really messed up. It will not happen again.
I am very concerned that she could get it and she is a good person, I feel very bad.
My last dermatology visit was on December 9th, 2010 and my doctor said there were no signs of Molluscum or Genital Warts.
Thank you for your help.
I recently had intercourse twice with a girl (with a condom BOTH times) and I am concerned that I could have passed on my gential warts to her. (This is the same girl I referenced some time ago in my first question I posted to you "Chance of Passing on Genital Warts or Molluscum from Single Encounter" and unfortunately I did find 1 more genital wart since I posted that question - details are described below).
The last time I had a wart frozen off (1 very small wart) was on September 17th, 2010. Unfortunately I had sex on December 10th, 2010 and December 28th, 2010. So that means I was free of warts for about 2 months, 3 weeks AND 3 months, 1 week respectively since the last time I had a wart.
My initial diagnosis for having Genital Warts was in December 2009. I was also diagnosed with Molluscum but I have not had any signs of molluscum since August 9th, 2010 (so I have been clear for about 4 months).
What are the chances I passed on GW to her and should I tell her?
I DO NOT plan on having any more sexual encounters for at least a year of not having any warts. This was the plan before these encounters as well but I really messed up. It will not happen again.
I am very concerned that she could get it and she is a good person, I feel very bad.
My last dermatology visit was on December 9th, 2010 and my doctor said there were no signs of Molluscum or Genital Warts.
Thank you for your help.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
The additional information (and your concerns about transmission) do not change my judgment: it is very unlikely you infected your partner. If she shows up with warts or other HPV someday, it probably won't be from you. It's almost never possible to trace an HPV infection to a specific partner.
Where did you hear the 1% figure? I have no idea how many Americans have GW at any point in time, but I suppose 1% coule be about right. Probably 10-25% get GW at one time or another (based on data in Scandinavian countries, where there is better surveillance). Most people (60-70%) who catch the wart-causing HPV types, mostly HPV-6 and 11, develop visible warts.
I suspect you no longer are infected with the MC virus and doubt you are infective for your sex partners.
There are no data on attitude, depression, or other aspects of emotional health on the immune response to HPV or warts, or on how quickly warts resolve or recur. My guess is that it makes no difference. There are good data to show that these issues do not affect the frequency or severity of genital herpes outbreaks.
That will end this thread. Take care. And try to gain a more balanced perspective on HPV in general and GW in particular. It's really not that big a deal.
Where did you hear the 1% figure? I have no idea how many Americans have GW at any point in time, but I suppose 1% coule be about right. Probably 10-25% get GW at one time or another (based on data in Scandinavian countries, where there is better surveillance). Most people (60-70%) who catch the wart-causing HPV types, mostly HPV-6 and 11, develop visible warts.
I suspect you no longer are infected with the MC virus and doubt you are infective for your sex partners.
There are no data on attitude, depression, or other aspects of emotional health on the immune response to HPV or warts, or on how quickly warts resolve or recur. My guess is that it makes no difference. There are good data to show that these issues do not affect the frequency or severity of genital herpes outbreaks.
That will end this thread. Take care. And try to gain a more balanced perspective on HPV in general and GW in particular. It's really not that big a deal.
Thank you very much Doctor. Your insight is greatly appreciated. No more sex for me till I have a year of clearance FOR SURE, the guilt afterwards is terrible.
I am still extremely nervous that she may have received the GW virus from our total of 4 encounters but your response has made me feel much better. I hope you were able to review the details of my other post before this one (back2back encounters mentioned in the other post and two enconters mentioned in the post above)
It seems that since there were non-overt GW, some time of clearnace, and use of condoms... I probably did not pass it along I HOPE. Also, I recognize that having hope and a postivie attitude is important to keeping this virus in check but I really hope that this is your most accurate assessment while keeping my emtional concerns aside.
Also, do you think that about 1% of Americans have GW because only 1% are exposed to the virus or because only 1% of a larger percentage that are exposed to the GW virus acutally get it?
After being clear of Mollusucm for more than 4 months do you think there is little risk of her getting that virus as well?
Last, I think that my depression due to GW and Molluscum led to the persistence of the disease but I have recently felt better about the situation (mainly because I have not had to go to the doctor get a wart frozen for more than 3 months now and Molluscume for over 4 months). Do you think having a positive attitude helps your immune system better manage the disease?
Thanks again for all your help.
I am still extremely nervous that she may have received the GW virus from our total of 4 encounters but your response has made me feel much better. I hope you were able to review the details of my other post before this one (back2back encounters mentioned in the other post and two enconters mentioned in the post above)
It seems that since there were non-overt GW, some time of clearnace, and use of condoms... I probably did not pass it along I HOPE. Also, I recognize that having hope and a postivie attitude is important to keeping this virus in check but I really hope that this is your most accurate assessment while keeping my emtional concerns aside.
Also, do you think that about 1% of Americans have GW because only 1% are exposed to the virus or because only 1% of a larger percentage that are exposed to the GW virus acutally get it?
After being clear of Mollusucm for more than 4 months do you think there is little risk of her getting that virus as well?
Last, I think that my depression due to GW and Molluscum led to the persistence of the disease but I have recently felt better about the situation (mainly because I have not had to go to the doctor get a wart frozen for more than 3 months now and Molluscume for over 4 months). Do you think having a positive attitude helps your immune system better manage the disease?
Thanks again for all your help.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome back to the forum.
One of my statements during our discussion last August was "When warts respond to treatment and do not recur within the next 2-4 months, they usually are gone for good and not transmissible to partners." That's no guarantee, and given your unusually prolonged history of recurrent genital warts, perhaps there is more chance you are still infected and possibly still infectious at this point. However, condoms are quite effective against HPV transmission -- not perfect, but perhaps around 90-95% protective for any single exposure. Third, even when overt HPV is present and condoms aren't, the virus is not transmitted every time -- probably under half the time. Finally, as we also discussed last time, your partner isn't necessarily susceptbile to the wart-causing HPV types (if she was previously infected by them).
Considering all those factors, it is very unlikely you have infected her. I recommend you not say anything to her at this time. However, in the event you find yourself having difficulty with your pledge for another year, you should discuss your situation with your potential parnter(s) before having sex.
Regards-- HHH, MD
One of my statements during our discussion last August was "When warts respond to treatment and do not recur within the next 2-4 months, they usually are gone for good and not transmissible to partners." That's no guarantee, and given your unusually prolonged history of recurrent genital warts, perhaps there is more chance you are still infected and possibly still infectious at this point. However, condoms are quite effective against HPV transmission -- not perfect, but perhaps around 90-95% protective for any single exposure. Third, even when overt HPV is present and condoms aren't, the virus is not transmitted every time -- probably under half the time. Finally, as we also discussed last time, your partner isn't necessarily susceptbile to the wart-causing HPV types (if she was previously infected by them).
Considering all those factors, it is very unlikely you have infected her. I recommend you not say anything to her at this time. However, in the event you find yourself having difficulty with your pledge for another year, you should discuss your situation with your potential parnter(s) before having sex.
Regards-- HHH, MD
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