Aa
Confused and Concerned
A few days ago I had two genital warts frozen at the dermatologists and was also given Condylox to continue to treat the frozen warts as well as any other smaller warts that the doctor may have missed. I know that in previous posts you have stated that one should avoid sexual contact until the warts are clear and that it is usually safe to assume that if no more warts have appeared between 3-6 months the virus has probably passed. With this information in mind my questions are as follows:
1. After the warts have been frozen are they still considered contagious even if they havent fallen off?
2. After the warts have completely fallen off but before the 3-6 month time frame, can I transmit the virus if a woman touches my genitals then touches her genitals and/or performs unprotected oral sex on me? Also is it safe to have intercourse before 3 months if I use a condom that covers the area where the warts were?
3. My dermatologist told me that the HPV that causes genital warts causes cancer in women, but I have read that kinds that cause genital warts very rarely causes cancer and is usually not associated with it?
4. I am 26, would you recommend getting the HPV vaccine?
Thank you very much for your time and expertise.
1. After the warts have been frozen are they still considered contagious even if they havent fallen off?
2. After the warts have completely fallen off but before the 3-6 month time frame, can I transmit the virus if a woman touches my genitals then touches her genitals and/or performs unprotected oral sex on me? Also is it safe to have intercourse before 3 months if I use a condom that covers the area where the warts were?
3. My dermatologist told me that the HPV that causes genital warts causes cancer in women, but I have read that kinds that cause genital warts very rarely causes cancer and is usually not associated with it?
4. I am 26, would you recommend getting the HPV vaccine?
Thank you very much for your time and expertise.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
if your only sexual contact with one another is mutual masturbation, you and your partner can assume the risk of transmission is very low. But I cannot guarantee there is zero risk. This advice goes for at least the next 6 months.
Just one more question:
So if I were to have sexual interaction with a girl after the warts are gone but before 3 months, and she was to touch my genitals should I tell her I have been recently treated for genital warts or is the indirect genital contact rare enough that I/she shouldn't worry?
So if I were to have sexual interaction with a girl after the warts are gone but before 3 months, and she was to touch my genitals should I tell her I have been recently treated for genital warts or is the indirect genital contact rare enough that I/she shouldn't worry?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Answer 4 is supposed to say it is UNlikely you have been infected with all the HPV types covered by the vaccines.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome back to the forum. I'll assume your dermatologist's diagnosis is correct. However, you don't provide the most important information about transmission risk to your partner(s). If you have a regular partner with whom you have been having sex all along, there is no need to chance your sexual practices. It takes several months for warts to appear, sometimes a year or more. So any regular partners have long since been exposed and infected. Changing your sexual practices with her/them at this point will make no difference in their risk of infection.
The rest of these comments assume you are concerned about infecting one or more new partners.
1) The duration of infectiousness after treatment is not well known. Removing warts presumably reduces infectivity, simply by reducing the amount of infected tissue. But transmission probably still can occur from surrounding skin that is outwardly normal but infected. The 3-6 month advice is only an estimate, based on natural resolution of wart infections over time. But it seems to work most of the time.
2) Indirect (i.e. hand-genital) contact may occur, but is rare -- far less likely than through intercourse. Condoms reduce the chance of HPV transmission, especialy if the warts themselves are covered. But some risk may persist, if the virus is present in normal appearing skin not covered by the condom.
3) Either your dermatologist is mistaken or there was a misunderstanding. The types of HPV that cause cancer rarely cause warts, and vice versa. The wart causing HPV strains can cause abnormal pap smears, but these abnormalities don't progress to cancer.
4) It is likely you have been infected with all the virus types covered by the HPV vaccines, so you probably would be protected against at least some strains. However, new HPV infections are quite uncommon after age 26, which is why the vaccine is not normally recommended for older persons. But there is no harm in it. But be aware that the vaccine has no effect on existing HPV infecitons, and would have no effect on your current infection.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
The rest of these comments assume you are concerned about infecting one or more new partners.
1) The duration of infectiousness after treatment is not well known. Removing warts presumably reduces infectivity, simply by reducing the amount of infected tissue. But transmission probably still can occur from surrounding skin that is outwardly normal but infected. The 3-6 month advice is only an estimate, based on natural resolution of wart infections over time. But it seems to work most of the time.
2) Indirect (i.e. hand-genital) contact may occur, but is rare -- far less likely than through intercourse. Condoms reduce the chance of HPV transmission, especialy if the warts themselves are covered. But some risk may persist, if the virus is present in normal appearing skin not covered by the condom.
3) Either your dermatologist is mistaken or there was a misunderstanding. The types of HPV that cause cancer rarely cause warts, and vice versa. The wart causing HPV strains can cause abnormal pap smears, but these abnormalities don't progress to cancer.
4) It is likely you have been infected with all the virus types covered by the HPV vaccines, so you probably would be protected against at least some strains. However, new HPV infections are quite uncommon after age 26, which is why the vaccine is not normally recommended for older persons. But there is no harm in it. But be aware that the vaccine has no effect on existing HPV infecitons, and would have no effect on your current infection.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
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.
