Are these warts or something else?

[Blimpson]

Shaved a few weeks ago and later noticed these spots. Concerned that they could be warts, as I figured ingrowns, pimples or folliculitis would be gone by now. I haven’t had sex since Dec 2019, but read that warts could appear up to a year later.

I had a couple on the base of my penis, and as high as my belt line. There were about 10 or so spread out between those areas.

I do have flat warts on my wrist, and have had plantar warts before. I tried to scratch the new bumps on my groin and they turned red. I ended up trying a pimple popper and they came off and there was a bit of blood. The piece that came off was tiny and white. I did try the pimple popper on my other warts and literally nothing happened, no discoloration or removal. I just don’t know about genital warts and thought maybe they would come off easier?

Any thoughts would be great.

[auntiejessi]

Please, don't ever use a pimple popper on your genitals. It's not meant for the area, and if you have some kind of bacteria or virus, breaking open the spots can make it spread, and it makes it harder for the doctors to identify what they are.

Plus, I imagine it hurts.

It could be warts. HPV, human papillomavirus, is the virus that causes warts any where on your body. There are over 100 strains of it, but the kind that give you genital warts only affect the genitals. The strains that affect your feet - Plantar warts - only affect your feet, etc.

Since you have so many, it could be warts. It could also be molluscum contagiosum. That wouldn't be from your activity in 2019, but you can get that from a gym, if you've been in one in the last several months.

You need to get a doctor to see this. There are always several possibilities when it's bumps, and no one can diagnose them online. Let us know what happens.

[Blimpson]

Thanks for your answer, here are some pictures to give you a visual. I did trim some hairs around the bump to give a better visual.

https://www.medhelp.org/user_photos/show/766857
https://www.medhelp.org/user_photos/show/766856
https://www.medhelp.org/user_photos/show/766855

I have been in the gym, I also swim 4 days a week and with covid we aren't allowed to shower. I just realized i may go a couple of days without showering after swimming in the pool at the local gym.

Thank you so much for your reply! I really appreciate it.

[auntiejessi]

That doesn't look like warts, but are they spots you've attempted to pop? They look flat, and genital warts are typically raised.

That could really be so many things, from folliculitis, eczema, an allergic reaction to something, maybe warts - I don't know. You need to let a doctor examine you. They can see things more clearly than anyone can in a pic.

Let us know what happens. :)

[Blimpson]

Thanks again for the reply. Yes I’ve attempted to pop them with the popper and they come right off and have a hard seed type thing inside. Popping doesn’t seem to have spread anything in the last two weeks, maybes it’s folliculitis? I’ll get checked out

[auntiejessi]

It could be, or acne. It's not warts if there's a seed in it. Let me know what the doctor says. I'm really curious about this now. :)

[Blimpson]

Just left the dermatologist office. They said it is folliculitis. I asked about molluscum and he said 100% folliculitis. I fee like the news is too good to be true, I’ve been stressing about it. Should I get a second opinion or just take a breather?

[auntiejessi]

Oh take a breather, for sure. Folliculitis doesn't look anything like molluscum, and warts don't have a seed. You haven't had sex in over a year, so why is this news too good to be true? It's a perfectly reasonable answer to me.

You can really relax now. :)