Welcome to the forum. I note that in the past 3 weeks you have posted more than 60 times regarding HPV. Clearly this is worrying you a lot and probably far more than is appropriate given that nearly all adults will get HPV during their lives and the of those only a tiny fraction will suffer adverse physical consequences. I'll address your questions but going in will also tell you that the number of responses you will receive will be limited:
1. Oral HPV infections are a subject of ongoing research however it appears that infection is rare and that persistent infections are rarer still. It is possible that your GF may have been exposed but exposed is not infected. I would not worry about it. BTW, dentist now look for oral lesions far more than they did in the past so it is not something that would go un-noticed should it appear.
2. I agree with your doctor. Neither your hypertension nor your weight should have any impact on your immune system nor your ability to clear an HPV infection.
3. Treatment of visible warts is influenced by many things. The longer the wart has been present the more difficult they are to treat. If you noticed your wart in August and have pursed treatment this is in your favor. Most therapies including cryo, aldara and the newer green tea extracts are similarly active and have about a 20-25% chance of recurrence following successful therapy. The recurrence rate may be a little lower with Aldara treatment but the data are soft. Important considerations as well are how comfortable is the person doing the treatment with the treatment as well (i.e. if a person is using the cryo apparatus the first time they may not have as good a result as someone who has used if many times before.
4. She should get the vaccine sooner than later. There is no need to wait (nor any benefit).
5. it is clear that when persons get rid of the virus, whether through treatment or through their own immune systems, they are no longer infectious. The business about HPV infections being lifelong is incorrect. EWH
I would urge you to use this information to work to grapple with your heightened concerns about HPV, not as a reason to worry more or look further. As I said earlier, my sense is that yoiur concerns are far out of proportion to the potential problem represented by past or possible future HPV infections.
As I also said, my replies would be limited. We have reached a logical stopping point for this exchange so this will be my last reply. EWH
The biopsy came back as a skin tag not a wart. However im not sure if this means i did not have any warts to begin with or if this is just another part of my skin.
I can relate with the more vigilant approach to checking one's genitals after being diagnosed, it is such a huge impact on a persons life.
My dermatologist was the one who insisted on the biopsy after the cryotherapy. To make sure it was not a wart and just a skin tag.
I have not had a chance to speak to him about the matter. The head nurse was the one who told me over the phone. I do understand that warts tend to be localized at one spot so im not sure what the case with me is. I hope this means i do not have warts.
Follow-up is fine. I'll be interested to hear what your biopsy shows. When we become aware of having had a wart or other possible STD people tend to become quite vigilant and be on the lookout for recurrences and other STDs. The genital tract has lots of very normal bumps and irregularities which folks overlook until their focus shifts. This may be what is happening for you. Our teaching is that if a wart does not recur in about the same location as it was originally present, it probably will not.
There are a number of possible causes of redness and irritation which might be going on at your coronal sulcus and a drug rash is certainly one of them. It would be unusual for Aldara to cause a delayed reaction of the sort you describe. EWH
Dr. Hook,
Im sorry i do not know if i can reply with a follow-up question, it is relative to my current situation.
The thing that made me realize that something was going on down in my genitals was that i found white bumpy pimple looking things on the coronal region of my penis.
When i was supposedly diagnosed with warts it was Late August by a planned parenthood nurse. My possible exposure was late April. However i would like to mention that the encounter was protected intercourse and that i was wearing my jeans along with my boxers at the time. The only other time i had sex was with my girlfriend which was sometime mid to late july, she was a virgin and the encounter was protected as well.
The dermatologist said that the white spots on my corona were papules. Also, that he had suspected warts at a different part of my shaft which were close to the coronal region, so i had cryotherapy done. However, i went back to the dermatologist and we did a biopsy of what seemed to be a residual skin tag from the cryo session. I have not yet received my biopsy report yet, the dermatologist also said that it could have been skin tags from friction on my skin instead of warts.
I will follow-up with you if it is allowed with my biopsy. However my question is, is it possible that they are skin tags instead of warts? I had the cryo done in early september and till now there are no warts present says the dermatologist. So im assuming that if they were warts they would have shown up again by now since it has been almost 2 months.
One other question i had was that, i have been experiencing some irritation and redness on my coronal sulcus area, it pains a little and swells at parts. I was going to ask if this is due to the after effects of Aldara, i have not used Aldara in over 1.5 months. Or could it be due to a fixed drug eruption from a drug called bactrim? I was on it for 10 days taking 2 tablets daily one in the morning and one in the evening.
Thank you for your time and reply
Thank you for your prompt and concise reply doctor, It is just what i needed to hear. The only reason i have been posting a lot on this website is to help others in the same situation as myself. Figure it would do some good. Thank you once again.