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Vulvar HPV
I just had a biopsy done on some small vulvar bumps that I have had for some time. I had a biopsy done on other bumps next to the area in the last year and all was well. Just some dermatitis otherwise nothing troubling. This recent biopsy came back with a diagnosis of HPV. The doctor said that it was warts. I have had these lesions for a long time with no changes and no issues. I only had them removed as an additional procedure while I was under sedation. Is it possible that I have a recent high risk hpv infection that affected formerly normal anatomy. My partner and I have been together for 1 year and he has no symptoms whatsoever. Can biopsy tell the difference between high and low risk hpv?
you can have a hpv dna test done on the area if you want the peace of mind but it's almost always low risk hpv that causes obvious warts. Like I said, ask them to have both samples compared just to make sure there wasn't an error in one of them. you can't tell hpv type on a biopsy.
Thank you Grace for your swift response. I think that my major confusion comes from the fact that I had bumps in the area biopsied recently and was told that they were just part of my anatomy and now, they are hpv riddled. As I said I'm in a relatively new relationship and was wondering if I might be fighting off a new hpv infection from this new guy and the bumps really were just part of me all along. I'm not looking to blame him, He's a great guy and I know most of us get hpv of some sort during our lives. I just was trying to understand why the previous biopsy wouldn't have found hpv and if high risk hpv can live in vulvar tissue. Is looking at the tissue under a microscope sufficient to tell the difference between high and low risk hpv or does a specific hpv test need to be done?
you can ask your provider to have the pathologist compare previous biopsy results with these to get a 2nd opinion. sometimes it's well worth it.
yes, testing can tell if this is low risk or high risk hpv. obvious warts are almost always low risk hpv and are a cosmetic concern, not a health risk.
can you have irritation/dermatitis and also have hpv? indeed you can.
most people with hpv don't have obvious symptoms. we don't really have any commercially available hpv tests for males at this point.
grace
yes, testing can tell if this is low risk or high risk hpv. obvious warts are almost always low risk hpv and are a cosmetic concern, not a health risk.
can you have irritation/dermatitis and also have hpv? indeed you can.
most people with hpv don't have obvious symptoms. we don't really have any commercially available hpv tests for males at this point.
grace
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