Genital Wart Recurrence

[Countingdown81]

I was diagnosed in July 2013 with 2 genital warts.  I had them both treated with cryotherapy.  One of them never came back, one supposedly did slightly and I had it retreated in September, I couldn't tell the difference between it and the fordyce spots that I have.  My question is a two part question.  As I near the 6 month time frame since my last treatment, actually 5 months to the day for the second wart and 8 months for the one that never recurred.  Should I consider myself cleared of the virus?  Also, I have driven myself crazy looking for new warts all over my penis and the dermatologist actually sprayed some fordyce spots mistakingly.  Should I just keep an eye on the original area or continue to survey the entire penis?  I have been married going on 5 years so I guess I had a late outbreak from initial contact with the virus.  My wife received the 3 gardasil treatments prior to us meeting.  It doesn't really matter who I got the infection from, just that I'm trying to prevent my wife from having to deal with the nuisance of these warts.  It gets depressing at times, but it is what it is.  My new dermatologist told me that they would seem to come back forever.  For my sanity I'm holding out hope for the 6 months wart free = clearance outlook.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Welcome to the forum.  Thanks for your question.

My first advice is that you stop examining yourself.  You're not going to diagnose recurrent warts any sooner by repeatedly looking for tiny, hard to see bumps.  And most of the bumps you see will be normal skin structures, whether Fordyne spots or something else.  You shouldn't bother to "keep your eye" on either the original area of warts or other parts of your penis.  If a wart should redevelop, you'll notice it just from the level of attention that comes when you urinate, shower, etc.  What good would it do to see a wart 1-2 weeks earlier than otherwise?

To your main question:  The longer you go without reappearance of warts, the more likely they're gone for good, and the more likely the underlying HPV infection is gone as well.  But there's nothing magic about 6 months.  By that time, you're probably over it, but that's all that can be said.

Anyway, your wife is immune from the Gardasil immunization.  She's never going to catch your warts.  So what does it matter if they recur, or if the HPV infection might be persistent?  Genital warts are an unpleasant inconvenience, but nothing more than that.

So my overriding advice is to mellow out about all this.  It really shouldn't be such a big deal for you.  Eventually your warts will stop recurring (and probably have already done so) and the HPV infection will be gone.  No important harm will have come.

I hope this helps put things in perspective.  Best wishes--  HHH, MD

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

"Any thoughts on all this?"

Yes.  That you are abnormally and irrationally obsessed with an infection that causes no harm and probably is gone.  You should consider professional counseling -- your thoughts and fears truly are not normal.  I suggest it out of compassion, not criticism; please consider it seriously.  But this forum isn't a substitute for that, so I won't have any further advice.  This thread is closed to further comments.

[Countingdown81]

I appreciate your answer and you taking the time to help me.  I have tried to cease in my surveying of the area.  It is just hard for me to accept and wrap my head around this with the lack of concise information out there.  I have read on these boards a few times that after 6 months with no recurrence and certainly 8-10 you can all but consider yourself clear of the virus.  I have been holding out hope that that would be the case, but also in the back of my mind I know that there is no definite answer.  I had limited sexual partners and used a condom every time I ever had sex except for 2 individual experiences before my wife, so it came as quite a surprise when the two original bumps came up.  Unlucky things happen however.  I went to my primary care physician and he said they weren't warts, then to a dermatological physician's assistant who said they were and had them treated.  After his self admitted misdiagnosis of some different spots, I went to another dermatological physician's assistant and he was the one who told me I would have the warts recurring every few weeks to every couple of years for the rest of my life.  So confusion is an understatement at this point in my life.  Then I look at my 2 1/2 year old daughter and it breaks my heart that her father is dealing with this and as stupid as it may sound, I am terrified that she will come in contact with a towel or undergarment that I had worn and she will get them on her.  I just have a lot of confusion surrounding the long term outlook along with a small bit of fear of when I become an elderly gentleman will this explode into a huge problem.  I have resorted to drinking green tea, taking a whole food multivitamin along with an AHCC supplement with the hopes of the purported success stories working for me too.  Needless to say, I'm aware I need to chill out and be positive.  Your replies on this site have really helped me to this point, maybe one day the broad spectrum antiviral drug the guy from MIT is working on will pass FDA testing and be able to combat this. Any thoughts on that?