Please Help Me Doctor

[New Zeland]

I am 31.I have been married for 3 years.My wife was a virgin and I am the only man she has been with.I have never cheated these 3 years.In 1997 unprotected sex .I had a GF at the same time.Like 4-6 months after that encounter my GF to see some bumps on her vagina.I also had bumps.We both got treated.They were genital warts.I had mine treated with podofeline and she had hers frozen.We broke up 6 months later for other reasons.Around 1998 she calls me to tell me she had cervical cancer and was going to get operated she came out Ok.I stopped having sex for 3 years.My warts never came back and I found a new girlfriend in the year 2001.We dated and had unprotected sex for 3 years.I never had any warts at this time and she did no report anything wrong to me.In 2004 I met my wife as I told you before she was a virgin.Last year her gynecologists told us we had a bacteria that was very common and gave us both a Zpack antibiotics.Last week my wife started complaining about itching and burnig in her genitals.I saw her genitals some bumps in vagina.We went imediatly to the gyn,he told us it was fungi and gave us both oral medicine and some local ovules for her.We went back to see him a week later and I insisted that he check that there was nothing else,he told us she was fine.He used a magnifing devive like a camera with a monitor.I never told them of my GW PROB.I also visited a dermatologist and told me I had no warts.Also my wife has had 3 normal pap smears.Do I have HPV,Can I give it to my wife?

[New Zeland]

Only wanted to know if the little bumps inside her vagina that look kind of simetrical are GW?Is it common for warts to appear only on the inside?
I promise I will never bother you again.Sorry for wasting your time.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Thanks for the thanks.  However, you may not start a new thread on the same issue; I deleted it.  Personal counseling and reassurance, especially in zero risk situations, is neither the purpose of this forum nor a good use of my time.  Further, only a limited number of new threads can be taken each day, and duplicative ones block others from starting new questions.  If you cannot lay your fears to rest despite the information you have been given above, the only solution is to see a personal health care provider and follow that person's advice--likley including professional mental health evaluation to figure out why your unreasoned anxiety continues.

I won't have any further replies.

HHH, MD

[New Zeland]

Dear DR.HH

I just wanted to say thank you for your time in answering my questions.I hope this site continues its work for many years.I have found it to be the best source of info on the web.Thanks for giving your time to help others.

Best Regards

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

A gynecologist's or a dermatologist's diagnosis is highly reliable, with or without magnification.  I already told you there is almost no chance you still have HPV.  Your wife probably has not been infected.

I cannot stress too strongly:  IT DOESN'T MATTER!  FORGET HPV!

This is my last reply.  For more information, talk to your own provider (or a GUM clinic) and see my original reply for advice about websites with information about HPV.

[New Zeland]

Dr. god bless you for your help and for giving me your time.
Do you think a GYN could misdiagnose Genital Warts for something else?
Can a Dermatologists not see warts even if he uses a magnifing device?
Can I pass it without having genital warts myself?
What do you think is the probability that I am no lonegr HPV positive after all this time?
Having been together for 3 years, no warts and no abnormal PAP Smears is it reasuring that I am cured therefore not infecting my wife?

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR HELP
MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

I understood all that you say.  Your additional questions do not change my opinion or advice: there was no reason to stop having sex for 3 years. It is possible but extremely unlikely you are still carrying HPV (either the wart-causing type or the abnormal pap type) from 10 years ago and almost certainly you cannot transmit HPV to your wife.  But even if that happened, it would not be likely to harm your wife; she would probably never even know it.  Warts are not a common problem in pregnancy, and when they happen, they can be easily treated.

As I said before:  relax, mellow out, and forget HPV.  It is not an important issue in your health or your wife's.

[New Zeland]

The HPV situation was with my exgirlfriend not my wife.This was 10 years ago.My wife has never been diagnosed with warts or anything related for HPV.She has never been tested for it but her Paps(3 ONE EVERY YEAR) are normal.I stopped having sex when I was single because I was afriad of giving HPV or warts to someone else.I met my wife in 2004,7 years after the incident with my exgirlfriend the one who had warts and cervical cancer.Since 2004 I have only had sex with my wife.I neverr had warts come back.My question is do you think I can still spread HPV?Can I still pass it on to my wife or am I cured.I do not want to get her pregnant because I have read that warts appear often during pregnancy,I am so so afraid and sad,I have lost like 8 pounds in 2 weeks thinking I have given her my HPV.My wife was a virgin when we got married in 2004.Please I beg you for your opinion!!

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

There are several questions in there, and not all are related to HPV.

First, about HPV:  Clearly you have some serious misunderstandings about it, and I cannot provide all the information you need.  A few facts:  the types of HPV that cause warts are different than those that cause cervical cancer, so your wife (and perhaps you) were dealing with at least 2 different HPV infections.  There was no reason for you to stop having sex at all, let alone for 3 years.  You may or may not still be carrying HPV, but it doesn't matter if your are.  To start learning about HPV, read the thread posted by 'pokerhead' immediately before this one, as well as the other threads it mentions.  Also go to some websites to learn about HPV.  Some good starting places are www.metrokc.gov/health/apu/std, www.cdc.gov/std, and www.ashastd.org.  But the bottom line is that HPV probably is no longer an issue in your wife's health and never was an important issue in your health.

The 'bacteria' problem had nothing to do with HPV.  It sounds like your doctors diagnosed chlamydia, or at least suspected chlamydia; that is the main STD treated with azithromycin (Z-pack).  But you will need to speak with that doctor to learn exactly what the diagnosis was.  Your wife's burning sensation and infection with 'fungi' sounds like a garden-variety yeast infection, which is not sexually transmitted and happens to all women from time to time.

New Zealand has some excellent STD clinics (or as they call them, genitourinary medicine [GUM] clinics), especially in the major metropolitan areas.  If you're not getting clear information and understanding from your wife's ObG provider, consider visiting a GUM clinic if there is one near you.

Good luck--  HHH, MD