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Question:
I have been going out for a girl for some time and have begun to have intercourse without protection. I'm worried now that i my have caught an STD, she is my first sexual partner and i am beginning to find small groups of small lumps around the foreskin on the head of my penis and on the inside of my mouth. I fear they my be genital warts, however there is no pain or itching can u tell me 1) how to correctly identify them 2) how to treat them 3) how to tell my girlfreind Please help Thanks
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Answer:
by Yvonne Fulbright: (05/21/2004)
Based on what you have described, there is a chance that you may have genital warts - flesh-colored and painless warts or bumps on the penis, scrotum, groin, thighs, anus and/or mouth. They may be flat or raised, single, or multiple, small or large, and some cluster together forming a cauliflower-like shape.
Because genital warts is a viral infection, one can never be completely cured. One can be treated however, via:
- cyrotherapy - freezing the wart off with liquid nitrogen
- anti-wart compounds
- trichloracetic acid
- electrocautery - electrosurgery
- laser therapy
- excisional biopsy
- an antiviral drug interferon (very expensive and with unpleasant side effects)
If you are infected with genital warts, it is a good idea to use a condom during sexual activity. While a condom cannot completely protect a partner from transmission, it does lower the risk.
As far as telling your girlfriend, keep in mind that you may not have necessarily gotten genital warts from this relationship. While the warts generally appear 2-3 months after a sexual encounter, since the warts are due to a virus, you could have been a carrier from a previous relationship and only recently have the warts manifested themselves.
Before approaching your girlfriend, visit a physician to be examined and tested. If you do have genital warts, simply tell your girlfriend that you have been diagnosed. Do not put any blame on her, especially if you want to stay in this relationship, rather express your concern for her sexual health as well. Encourage her to get tested, especially since, if she has genital warts as well, she is then at a higher risk of developing cervical cancer.
Whether or not you want to figure out how genital warts entered the relationship is up to you. The findings could be explosive for the relationship, i.e. relations outside of your relationship. Keep in mind that, when faced with a disease, partners are often hasty in pointing the finger on who is to blame. If the two of you care about each other, you will be willing to work through this and deal with it so that the infection does not become a problem in your relationship.
Thank you for visiting the Sexual Health Network.Reviewed by Sexual Health Editorial Team
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