Question about HPV/concerns

[justafewquestions]

I am a 23 year old straight male with no prior STD history. About 2 months ago I was with a girl for the first time and she said that she had genital warts 3 years ago but she had them taken care of and they hadn't come back since. ALso she said that her 2 serious boyfriends she had since then never showed any signs of HPV. Still, I did not have any intercourse with her, no any direct genital-to-genital skin contact. I did however, finger her and she gave me oral sex. I did not touch myself immediately after, and I remember washing my hands just in case (we were both a lil drunk). She touched me also with her hands after she may or may not have touched herself.

1) If fingered her, did not wash my hands, and touched my self a little after, how at risk am I?

2) If she hasn't had warts like she says, is her HPV in remission and how contagious is it when it is in this state?

3) Am I "exposed" to hpv and do I have to tell future girls that I probably have HPV, or am I just paranoid...

4) If i got the virus on my hand, can it live in my hand so any girl I finger in the future can catch the virus?

Thanks for your time

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Almost certainly her wart virus (HPV type 6 or 11) is long gone.  Once visible evidence of warts are gone and a few months have gone by, the virus is no longer transmissible.  That's also supported by the lack of warts in her next 2 sex partners.  You could not have acquired HPV 6/11 from her, even with unprotected vaginal sex.

1,4) No risk from fingering and no risk of auto-inoculation to your own genitals.   You only get warts by having vaginal sex (or sometimes genital apposition, without penetration), never by the indirect exposures you are afraid of.

2) See above.

3) No.  There is no need to inform anybody of exposure without known infection.  Even with known infection, there is no obligation to tell partners after the infection has cleared up.  (Your partner shouldn't have told you about her past infection!  See what stress it caused to no good purpose?)
gast infection.  And HPV isn't such a big deal anyway.  You're going to get genital HPV someday; if you have had at least 3 vaginal sex partners in your life, the odds are you already have been infected.  Getting genital HPV is normal and for practical purposes unavoidable.

Regards--  HHH, MD

[justafewquestions]

Thanks a bunch! Also i'd like to say that I've read a few of your other posts, recommending those 3 reliable websites, and they are really helpful. It is pretty scary reading some of these other ridiculous sites online that just simply aren't true. I was reading one of them the other day and it said that you can transfer HPV with a used towel!

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Sorry, an editing glitch.  Disregard "gast infection".