Is this HPV?

I have some bumps on the outer lips of my vagina and am not sure what they could be.  One I have noticed has been there for a few months and seems to be growing, although some days it seems to swell more than others.  They sometimes itch and sometimes burn.  They are flesh colored.  There are two larger ones, maybe a litte under a centimeter each and look almost like the regular skin but inflamed.  When I stretch out the skin surrounding them they stretch with the skin and flatten almost completely. I put vinegar on them and they did turn white.  Could these be warts? IF not, what could they be?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

It sounds very much like warts, although the flattening is a little atypical.  See your health care provider; if you don't have a regular one, go to your local health departmentt's STD or family planning clinic, or to a Planned Parenthood clinic.

HHH, MD

[plshelp]

I had never had sex before my current boyfriend, but he has no visible symptoms.  Could I still have gotten genital warts from him?

[plshelp]

I saw my doctor today...she did not perform a vinegar test because she said the bumps did not look like warts and because the skin seems a little cracked.  She gave me a herpes swab test.  One of these bumps has been growing for about three months now...is this possible of herpes?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

It still doesn't sound like herpes, but I would generally trust the opinion of a doctor who has examined a patient than that of someone, like me, who hasn't.

I'm glad your doctor didn't do a "vinegar test"; it suggests she knows her business.  The test has one purpose, and only one:  acetic acid is often painted on the cervix of women with abnormal pap smears, at the time of colposcopy and biopsy; in competent hands, it can help guide where to biopsy and treat.  But it should never be used to diagnose warts.

Follow up with your doctor.  Oh, and if not yet done, make sure you have blood test for syphilis, which can cause wart-like lesions called condyomata lata.

HHH, MD

[jmd432]

HHH, MD-can you please answer a question about HPV for me? I had sex with a girl that told me that she has form of HPV that causes precancerous cells (not warts) that were detected in her cervex and just had them removed through surgery. I used a condom with her when we had sex (twice).
The doctor said that she had to wait a month to have sex again. If I have sex with her with a condom, will I be at risk of speading precancerous cells to future partners?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

The "high risk" types of HPV, those associated with cervical cancer and pre-cancerous cells, are actually more common than the wart-causing types.  Most people have been exposed, and you probably have too, even before this particular partner.  There is no need for condoms, and I disagree with her doctor's advice about waiting a month to have sex.

I can't say it frequently enough (see several other messages in the forum):  Gettign HPV, including the cancer-causing types, is normal; it happens to most of us.  It cannot be prevented, at least not with measures that are practical and acceptable to most sexually active persons.  A vaccine is in the works and probably will be effective; in the future it probably will be possible to prevent many such infections.  But not now.  

This is a complex and often confusing issue.  For more detail, see responses to several other questions about HPV on this forum, and also go to the HPV/warts article found in the link to "STD Facts and Articles" at the top of the forum page.

HHH, MD