will HPV cause sterility

[Matt1964]

Hey Doc, I am writing wondering if hpv could cause sterility in men, I am a man, worried about hpv, and wondering if warts could grow in the urethra?, cause prostititus?, could warts get in the vas deferens and cause blockage from the testicle? And could multiple courses of antibiotics make me sterile? Thanks for you time



Matt1964

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

HPV doesn't cause infertility or prostatis, as far as is known.  Intraurethral warts can occur, on rare occasions sufficient to block urine flow, predisposing to bacterial infection or, in theory, kidney failure.



Antibiotics don't make people sterile.  (This issue is irrelevant to HPV; antibiotics aren't useed to treat HPV or warts.)



HHH, MD

[boog1229]

This my first time posting here and wanted to let you know just reading the threads you have calmed me considerably. I appreciate this and I am sure everyone else does also.



I have a question??



I am a 24 male and every since I can remember I have very small flesh or offwhite colored bumps on the very bottom of the shaft on my penis. I thought nothing of them. May of 2004 I noticed 1 or 2 slightly raised bumps on upper half of my penis. No pain or discomfort. I went to the doctor, he looked very quickly and said yes to HPV. I used condylox and Aldara. The bumps scabbed up and went away. I have had one partner since October 2003. She went in for a pap smear Early 2004 and nothing came back abnormal. Now I still have the same very small bumps I have always had. They are very hard to see or feel. Are warts attracted to damper areas? I dress to the left and there are more of the very tiny bumps on the left side of my penis. Again, they are not painful. What is your take on this.



Thanks again.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Three main possibilities come to mind:  1) You still have warts, which re-grew after treatment.  2) You never had warts, but some anatomic variant (fibroma, skin tag, etc).  2) A somewhat less likely possibility is scar tissue, partly the result of therapy.  Location on the penis probably isn't related to chafing from clothing, moisture, etc.  A pap smear is not primarily a test for HPV, and even when HPV testing is done, it does not detect the HPV types that cause warts.



I suggest you have a health care provider examine the bumps; a dermatologist might be the best bet.  In the meantime, you and your partner should not hestitate to continue to have sex, as presumably you have been doing all along.



HHH, MD