Bumps down below

[Rosie86rb]

Hi there,

I have bumps down below and am unsure what they are. I have included below the description of them.(It would be handy if I could upload photos but I don't think this is possible is it?

There are two skin coloured bumps on the bottom part labia majora. These are painless and really small. From pictures it looks like there may be round centres on them with something sticking out of the middle but it is very hard to get pictures that close up. Also directly across on the other side is one of the same but on the opposite labia.

In the area between the vagina and anus there is also several bumps close together going down that area in a line and almost look like they are on top of each other but the difference can be seen in some photos.. Some resemble kind of the shape of a snail shell ie perfectly round and dome-ish looking and some have a bit of a V shape at the end that is pointing towards the ground. Again none of these are sore or red or anything. The end or point of the V on a couple of the bumps looks like they are whiter than the usual skin colour.

I got screened since my last boyfriend and have no STD's I also have only had 4 partners in the 10 years since ive been active. I do and have for some years now suffered from recurring yeast infections. My last two boyfriends in the last 5 years had no bumps as far as I was aware.  I also have started getting laser hair removal down there so could this be something?

Possible scenarios as far as I can tell

Can you please help give me an idea of what this sounds like and If I can show you pictures I will.

They aren't in hairy areas so I doubt its hair follicle stuff

Thanks

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

It isn't just warts that go away.  The HPV infection itself does so as well, typically after a few months.  Biologically, HPV DNA may persist in tissues for life, but it usually does not reactivate and is not transmitted to future partners, so for practical purposes most HPV infections are cured by the immune system.  There are exceptions, but they are just that -- exceptions to the rule.

You don't necessarily need to say anything to future partners.  Once your warts clear up and have not recurred for several months, you need say nothing to future partners.  If and when you have a relationship that has promise for the long term, you might want to mutually discuss past partnerships, STDs, etc -- but that's a relationship issue, not one of disease prevention.

Trust me, I understand the stress caused by warts -- I recognize both their medically trivial nature combined and their psychological importance to affected individuals and couples.  But understanding the medical and scientific aspects is still the starting point to limiting the stress parts.

[RoRo86]

Yes I had one session of cryo. She said it should take 3 sessions probably. I know I will get rid of the actual physical warts i.e. they wont be lifelong but there is so much conflicting evidence about whether the virus stays in your body or not. It is so confusing and who knows what to believe. All I know is its not something you can keep secret from a partner. I and I would say most other people like me wish there was concrete evidence about clearance and a cure. I know the medical community don't view warts as a big problem as they aren't dangerous but they are mentally dangerous.

Thanks for all your help.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Well, don't despair.  Of course warts are not lifelong either.  Presumably treatment has been started, right?

For additional information about genital warts and HPV in general, I recommend the information provided by the American Sexual Health Association (www.ashastd.org) and by CDC (www.cdc.gov/std).

Best wishes.

[Rosie86rb]

Hi Dr Hunter,

Went to the docs and she confirmed it is most likely they are warts she offered to do a biopsy but said it was prob unnecessary as they only really resemble warts. I was hoping for molluscum contagiosum as its not life long and once it was gone there is no need for disclosure etc. whilst I know warts are not dangerous or anything it still is hard emotionally.

Ah well, ill have to get used to it.

Thanks for all your help.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

If you are confident that some or most lesions are new since June, and with additional ones continuing to appear since then, warts probably are the best bet.  But don't overreact.  Nobody wants genital warts, but they're really a pretty trivial problem -- an inconvenience, not a serious health risk, and easily treated.  And if you have warts, you're not exactly alone; up to 25% of all people develop genital warts at one time or another.

I'll be intested to hear the outcome after you've been examined.

[Rosie86rb]

Thanks Doctor,

Ive booked an appointment with my GP tomorrow. They showed up around the start of June and some are more recent. Ill let you know how I get on with the GP afterwards. I am really hoping its not warts.

Thanks for your help.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for your question.

Unfortunately, I can't help in exactly the way you were hoping.  We don't examine pictures on this forum.  MedHelp's purpose is not to substitute for direct medical care, but to give more general guidance.  Anyway, regardless of what the lesions might look like in photos, our advice would be the same:  see a doctor or clinic professional evaluation in person.

The only STD that conceivably could cause the sorts of genital area bumps you describe is genital warts.  Parts of your description make warts seem possible, especially the irregularity of some lesions ("something sticking out of the middle") but other aspects are not typical for warts.  My guess is that these will turn out to be minor anatomic variants, i.e. nothing abnormal -- or perhaps something trivial like skin tags or small sebaceous cysts.  You don't say whether you believe that some or all the bumps have appeared recently, or may have been there all along.  The latter of course suggests that they aren't abnomral.

But all this is little guesswork.  Your sexual history doesn't help one way or the other.  Warts and the other possibilities are neither more nor less frequent in people with the number of partners you have had, compared with other women.

I'll be happy to comment further if you'd like to let me know the outcome after you have been professionally evaluated.

Best wishes--  HHH, MD