Very confused by doctors response.

[Justsomedudewith?]

Recently I noticed three small brown bumps in the suprapubic region after shaving. I naturally freaked out and started Googling every STD known to man and had pretty much already diagnosed myself with HPV and warts. Which by the way is a real bad thing to do since most of these websites are worst case scenario stuff. Well, I went to a military doctor to get em removed and at least get the professional opinion. My doctor takes one look at them and says, that's NOT HPV. He said that because they are not on the penis it is not HPV. He then proceeded to freeze them and told me not to worry about it, it's nothing and it will not affect my sexual partners. I have to go back in one week for a follow up and am REALLY cofused by all of this. Also, I had not had sex with a new partner in 2 years but am fairly confident I know of a previous partner that had HPV and warts.
1. What should I do, and where do I go from here. Also, how does this affect my current relationship?
2. Are there now stipulations to the sex wecan have? i.e. Oral, Anal, Vaginal
3. Did my doctor just blow me off?
4. My wife is freaking out and I have a real concern this will kill our sex life, does she have valid points? She is going to the OBGYN real soon.


Thanks for your response and concern.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

If they are warts, in that part of the body, they are probably due to a sexually transmitted HPV type.  But it sounds like you had a doc who doesn't know very much about this area of medicine, and I'm still betting on misdiagnosis of folliculitis or molluscum contagiosum.

But if indeed you have genital warts, then you can bet your wife is infected. She may or may not have (or develop) visible warts herself.  If she does, she should be treated.  If she notices nothing wrong, there is no need to worry and no need for her to be examined.  There is also no need to alter your sexual practices; she is already exposed/infected and at this point it will make no difference.

If your lesions are persisting (even though treated) or if on close inspection you see other bumps, or if others appear in the next few weeks, see another provider for a second opinion.  At this point, I would not assume the diagnosis of warts is correct.

[Justsomedudewith?]

I was told, "Oh those are just warts, don't worry about it." He froze them, told me not to worry about this problem, don't worry about infecting my partner, and sent me on my way. He wrote, venereal warts under diagnosis. This is real confusing. If we operate under the assumption it IS venereal warts, how will this impact my sex life with my wife? This doesn't appear to be a large breakout, just a few isolated "warts." Thanks again. Hope that makes it easier to answer my question this time.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

A provider's diagnosis based on direct exam is generally more accurate than anything a distant online expert can suggest.  It is true that genital warts are uncommon in the pubic area, so that suggest something else.  But the "diagnosis sheet" statement of genital (venereal) warts if obviously disagrees with that.  Aside from "not warts", what was the diagnosis you were told?  Red bumps in the pubic area, after shaving, suggests folliculitis, but that's not treated with freezing.  However, freezing suggests your doc thought it was molluscum contagiosum, although MC isn't triggered by shaving.  Many MC cases in the genital area are sexually transmitted but others are not.  If you are exposed to young children (e.g., your own?), that's an excellent potential source; MC is mostly a saliva-transmitted infection in toddlers.  Use the search link for more information about MC.

So there are mixed messages and I cannot resolve the discrepancies.  To your specific questions:

1) You need to either get more direct information from the doc who treated you or seek a second opinion.

2-4) I can't answer the other questions without knowing what the diagnosis is.  Sorry.  Same for the questions in your follow-up questions; without knowing more, I can only speculate.  The mystery will be easily solved, but not by online searching or questioning of me or anyone else.

On further reflection, I think you should directly ask your doc about molluscum contagiosum.  It could be that the diagnosis sheet reflects limited choices among a standard database used for diagnostic coding.  If there is no specific code for MC, "venereal warts" might be the closest category.  But this is only a guess.

Bottom line:  Talk to the doc.  This should be very quick and easy to clear up.

Best wishes--  HHH, MD

[Justsomedudewith?]

One last thing, my wife has never had an abnormal pap test, however, I didn't ever have these bumps until recently and I may have infected her. Is it possible for this to be dormant for many years and then appear? I am deployed in a high stress environment and think that coulda triggered it.

[Justsomedudewith?]

I should also add that the doctor did at least touch the warts and looked closely. He seemed very unconcerned. On my diagnosis sheet it says "Venereal Warts." Doc, I am real confused here.

Thanks again.

[Justsomedudewith?]

I wrote that it will not affect my sexual partners, this should say partner and not reflect that I am involved with more than my wife.