Got HPV - now other tests

[muddyminute]

Dear dr Handsfield
I'm a guy and  regularly engage in mutual masturbation (sometimes also frottage) with other men.  Thought it was basically completely safe, then got HPV wart & went into bit of a state.  Had wart removed & was tested for syphillis; clahmydia & HSV 1 & 2.  ALl negative, but test done only 3 days after last mutual masturbation episode.  How realistic were my chances of aquiring syphilis or herpes , what are the window periods for the tests and how long should I wait before tested again?
As far as I can tell, apart from ther HPV (which i have already, now), all I'm realistically at risk of getting is syphilis/herpes but can't say that i've ever noticed a sore on my penis/surrounds that would qualify.  Is it possible for sores to appear on hands/feet/elsewhere?
Also, could herpes manifest as dry-looking flaky skin on the testicles? (NOt even sure I have that but in my paranoia it looks like I might)
I'm on the verge of telling my regular partner of the HPV & want to know how far my confession should extend.
Thanks & sorry for so many questions but I'm really in quite a state.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Look for sores or symptoms only in the areas where there was direct contact with the other person.

[muddyminute]

THank you doctor this is most reassuring - my feeling is that I'll look out for HSV/Syphilis symptoms  and if none appear in the following 2 months or so consider myself home free (apart from the HPV). BUt can I ask again whether I should only look for sores etc close to the genitrals or is it possible, givem my type of exposure, for syphilis sores to appear elsewhere (where i might not notice/have noticed).
thanks again

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

HPV is generally more common than all other STDs, and easier to transmit than all others.  As a result, a general principle of STD risk is that everyone who has had, say, gonorrhea or chlamydia, can assume with almost 100% certainty that s/he has also had HPV.  But the reverse is not true:  people who have had HPV often have had no other STD.  While there is some small possibility of HPV transmission through non-penetrating sex (and also an even smaller risk for HSV and syphilis transmission), for practical purposes there is no risk for chlamydia, gonorrhea, or HIV.

So the odds are you do not have (and if you continue your current sexual practices, will never get) HIV, herpes, syphilis, chlamydia, or gonorrhea.  I don't even recommend testing for them, except to the extent it will relieve your anxieties by having negative test results.  But if you want to do it, HSV testing needs to be done 3-4 months after the last possible exposure; it's 6-8 weeks for syphilis and HIV.

Herpes does not cause dry/flaky rash on the scrotum or anywhere else.

I don't understand what there is to "confess" to your regular partner.  Just tell him you had a genital wart.  What's the big deal?  Since your partner also is a guy who has sex with men, he should expect that he has (or has had) HPV.  Nobody should ever care when that happens, since it happens to everybody and rarely causes any serious health problem.

Good luck--  HHH, MD