Aa
Did I Infect My Boyfriend
Hey, I've been freaking out about this. At the end of March I went to the clinic to get an abnormal skin growth looked at. It was very small and located a little bit to the right and above my clitoral hood; I think the area is called mons pubis or just above the fleshy part of my right lip (where hair grows). The doctor there examined it with a microscope because it was very small and said it looked like a little wart. No further tests were done and the skin growth/wart was frozen off. A month later I went to my family doctor to get an STI screening done. While at my doctors office I mentioned to my family doctor about the small wart and where it was located and asked for information about HPV. My doctor replied to me that it was probably caused by another virus and so I was led to believe that I did not have HPV. My STI screening came back clean and I had assumed that I was being screened for everything (I recently found out I was wrong about that and that I was only screened for chlamydia and gonorrhea). Less than a month ago I engaged in condom protected sex with a new partner. We had condom protected sex 3 times. I was wondering what the likelihood that I passed on genital warts to him would be. I tested the area where the wart had appeared the first time with 5% acetic acid (pure white vinegar) to see if the area would turn white (I read that sometimes shows warts that are not visible) and there was no change. I'm going to talk to the doctor at the clinic where I had the skin growth frozen off to confirm my HPV status and then going to talk to my boyfriend. I'm concerned of his reaction because he is very safe in making sure he does not contract an STI and will take legal action if I gave him something. Some further information (I don't know if this is relevant): I was diagnosed with Lichen Sclerosus two weeks ago. Not sure if my skin condition will increase transfer. I also had an abnormal pap a year ago but a normal pap in 6 months ago.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
This information doesn't change my opinion or advice. That one person had a rare occurrence (only a single wart) doesn't make it more likely for. If you read in the newspaper about someone struck by lightning, would you think you are at more risk of a lightning strike? Rare things happen.
It typically takes 3-12 months for warts to show up. So if your bump was a wart, you had the HPV infection causing it for at least that long. And with an abnormal pap smear 6 months ago, you had HPV at that time. So depending on when your sexual relationship started, you may have exposed your boyfriend many times to one or more HPV infections. Or maybe you caught HPV form him.
I've tried to give you some information so that you will not be "beside myself with worry" about it. Keep reading to educate yourself -- you could start with information available from the American Sexual Health Association (www.ashastd.org). In the meantime, get this straight: getting HPV is normal. At any one time, about 30-40% of all people age 20-30 have genital HPV, and 90% will be infected at one time or another. It just isn't worth the worry you are having.
That will end this thread. Good luck with all this. Do your best to mellow out. (And get your boyfriend to do the same.)
It typically takes 3-12 months for warts to show up. So if your bump was a wart, you had the HPV infection causing it for at least that long. And with an abnormal pap smear 6 months ago, you had HPV at that time. So depending on when your sexual relationship started, you may have exposed your boyfriend many times to one or more HPV infections. Or maybe you caught HPV form him.
I've tried to give you some information so that you will not be "beside myself with worry" about it. Keep reading to educate yourself -- you could start with information available from the American Sexual Health Association (www.ashastd.org). In the meantime, get this straight: getting HPV is normal. At any one time, about 30-40% of all people age 20-30 have genital HPV, and 90% will be infected at one time or another. It just isn't worth the worry you are having.
That will end this thread. Good luck with all this. Do your best to mellow out. (And get your boyfriend to do the same.)
With respect to the link you provided, that lady's boyfriend only presented with a small single wart. If it was actually a wart. My skin lesion was small, raised, symmetrical, kind of like the size of a mole but skin colored. I hadn't noticed it for a little while when it first appeared. Sorry for another response. I've just been beside myself with worry about this.
Thank you for your response. I have been so distraught about this issue for the past few weeks. I just have one further question: in the case that it was a small wart, what are the chances of passing on genital warts when there is no presence of lesions? I've read the chances are approximately 30%. I also wish I could give a better description on how big/small the skin abnormality was. Thank you again for your response.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum. Thanks for your question.
I can reassure you from two perspectives. First and most important, I doubt the single skin lesion you had was a wart. Second, you really shouldn't be worried even if it was. Genital HPV, with or without warts, should be viewed as a slighly unpleasant inconvenience, rarely an important health threat.
Genital warts usually are multiple; in my nearly 4 decades in the STD business, I have rarely if ever seen someone with an initial outbreak of genital warts that presented with a single small lesion like yours. More likely it was a skin tag or other minor anomaly of the skin.
You also should understand that getting genital HPV is unavoidable; it happens to almost everyone. You clearly have already had at least one HPV infection, regardless of the cause of the skin bump: HPV is virtually the only cause of abnormal pap smears. I'm glad to hear yours cleared up -- that's what usually happens. Most infections never cause symptoms and clear up on their own. The most important step in preventing the rare potentially serious outcomes (cervical and other genital or anal cancers) and inconvenient ones (warts) is to be vaccinated with Gardasil, the vaccine that prevents infection with 4 of the most troublesome types of HPV. Assuming you have not already been vaccinated, I encourage you to do it now. Below is a thread that discusses some aspects of genital HPV and warts in more detail; you can find many others by using this forum's search window or just scanning a bunch of threads.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/STDs/low-risk-HPV/show/1498003
As for a partner who would take legal action in event of an STD -- well, that's highly inappropriate and unrealistic. He will never successfully avoid HPV, any more than you or any other sexually active person will -- and the odds are he has also already had one or more HPV infections, perhaps including the one that caused your abnomal pap smear. Not to mention the possibility of other asymptomatic STDs in partners who by all appearances are at little or no risk. For those reasons, he would be unlikely to ever be succesful in such legal action. (This forum doesn't give non-STD advice, but a person who would threaten legal action for catching an STD makes me nervous about the health of your relationship.)
I hope this information has been helpful. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
I can reassure you from two perspectives. First and most important, I doubt the single skin lesion you had was a wart. Second, you really shouldn't be worried even if it was. Genital HPV, with or without warts, should be viewed as a slighly unpleasant inconvenience, rarely an important health threat.
Genital warts usually are multiple; in my nearly 4 decades in the STD business, I have rarely if ever seen someone with an initial outbreak of genital warts that presented with a single small lesion like yours. More likely it was a skin tag or other minor anomaly of the skin.
You also should understand that getting genital HPV is unavoidable; it happens to almost everyone. You clearly have already had at least one HPV infection, regardless of the cause of the skin bump: HPV is virtually the only cause of abnormal pap smears. I'm glad to hear yours cleared up -- that's what usually happens. Most infections never cause symptoms and clear up on their own. The most important step in preventing the rare potentially serious outcomes (cervical and other genital or anal cancers) and inconvenient ones (warts) is to be vaccinated with Gardasil, the vaccine that prevents infection with 4 of the most troublesome types of HPV. Assuming you have not already been vaccinated, I encourage you to do it now. Below is a thread that discusses some aspects of genital HPV and warts in more detail; you can find many others by using this forum's search window or just scanning a bunch of threads.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/STDs/low-risk-HPV/show/1498003
As for a partner who would take legal action in event of an STD -- well, that's highly inappropriate and unrealistic. He will never successfully avoid HPV, any more than you or any other sexually active person will -- and the odds are he has also already had one or more HPV infections, perhaps including the one that caused your abnomal pap smear. Not to mention the possibility of other asymptomatic STDs in partners who by all appearances are at little or no risk. For those reasons, he would be unlikely to ever be succesful in such legal action. (This forum doesn't give non-STD advice, but a person who would threaten legal action for catching an STD makes me nervous about the health of your relationship.)
I hope this information has been helpful. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
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