Genital warts back from years ago - now in a relationship

LegacyUser

So the thread title basically describes it. A few years ago, I got genital warts (nice, I know!). I had them treated with liquid nitrogen and they went away. Now, they've come back which I understand can happen. But unfortunately I'm in a relationship now (over 2 years) and I'm not sure how to deal with it. My girlfriend travels for work a lot so I'd have plenty of opportunity to cheat, but that's not where these came from.

I'm concerned that if I tell her she'll put 2 and 2 together and get 5. Any ideas? There's also the possibility that I could have passed them onto her already before I noticed I had them. They're highly contagious unfortunately.

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Ursus Horribilis

+1 to the advice to simply tell the truth. If you try to get creative with the truth, you're going to make it look like you're trying to hide something. And if you've passed them on to her, withholding that information from her is endangering her sexual health.

wally1990

Tell the truth whilst it may lead to a difficult conversation or her possibly not believing you,

Lying and hiding the issue will look a lot worse if caught

Tell the truth and be honest . These things Happen in life

Scraggs

Absolutely you need to tell your girlfriend ASAP especially as there can be major health implications including an increased risk of cancer in cervix and throat from certain HPV strains. Not going to give a lecture on this, you need to speak to a professional and get proper medical advice of available options. Not telling her and future partners would be irresponsible and immoral so deal with it now.

HumbleBumble

I would be very annoyed if a person I was sleeping with might have given me an STD and then didn't tell me. I would recommend being honest and doing it sooner rather than later. If she loves and trusts you then you'll get through this but it's not something you can hide for much longer.

Katgurl

Tell her straightaway. You've done nothing wrong (except hesitating about telling her) These things happen. My brother gave gw to his now wife. They got treated and moved on. Gather some medical information to reassure her they can reappear from the past.

LegacyUser

As with a lot of situations - anything you say beforehand is an explanation, whereas anything you say afterwards is an excuse.
You need to get in there first before your gf finds out, or worse still, gets symptoms& signs.
You could always ask your GP for your medical records from when you were last treated - these would be dated, so at least your gf would have concrete proof you haven't cheated.
Honesty is 100% the best policy here.

Labcoats and Running Shoes

Scraggs wrote: »

Absolutely you need to tell your girlfriend ASAP especially as there can be major health implications including an increased risk of cancer in cervix and throat from certain HPV strains.

I agree that OP needs to be honest with his girlfriend, a simple "Hi Mary, this is really hard for me to say, but I got genital warts X number of years ago. I had them treated with liquid nitrogen and haven't had an outbreak since. Unfortunately, I noticed they've come back so I've booked an appointment for X date with my GP".

That said, HPV doesn't cause genital warts. HPV stands for Human Papilloma Virsu. HSV2 or Herpes Simplex Virus 2 causes genital warts. It never truly goes away so even having the warts burned off won't cure the virus as it lives dormant in a bundle of nerves at the base of your spine. My sister has HSV2 and it's managed (MANAGED, not cured) through antivirals which reduce the severity and frequency of outbreaks.

LegacyUser

Labcoats and Running Shoes wrote: »

I agree that OP needs to be honest with his girlfriend, a simple "Hi Mary, this is really hard for me to say, but I got genital warts X number of years ago. I had them treated with liquid nitrogen and haven't had an outbreak since. Unfortunately, I noticed they've come back so I've booked an appointment for X date with my GP".

That said, HPV doesn't cause genital warts. HPV stands for Human Papilloma Virsu. HSV2 or Herpes Simplex Virus 2 causes genital warts. It never truly goes away so even having the warts burned off won't cure the virus as it lives dormant in a bundle of nerves at the base of your spine. My sister has HSV2 and it's managed (MANAGED, not cured) through antivirals which reduce the severity and frequency of outbreaks.

HPV does cause warts, HSV2 causes genital blisters/herpes they’re different things.

Airyfairy12

You should have told her when you found it, I personally find it immoral and incredibly self serving that you didnt give her that information sooner. Genital warts are incurable, the lesions clear up and reappear but you always carry the virus. HPV is extremely dangerous to women as it can cause cervical cancer. I'd be shocked if your doctor didnt explain this to you when you got checked and received your results. - A quick google search would have provided you with this basic information. I dont believe for a second that you didnt understand the seriousness of informing your partner about your STI. Youre putting her health on the line.

LegacyUser

HPV causes warts and can be transient clearing in a year or two in folk with a healthy immune system. Warts are treatable and may never return, your body can rid itself of HPV. Up to 80% of sexually active adults are infected with a HPV virus of which there are over a hundred variants. HSV2 is a herpes virus for which there is no cure, it does not cause warts it causes lesions and blisters.

LegacyUser

Airyfairy12 wrote: »

You should have told her when you found it, I personally find it immoral and incredibly self serving that you didnt give her that information sooner. Genital warts are incurable, the lesions clear up and reappear but you always carry the virus. HPV is extremely dangerous to women as it can cause cervical cancer. I'd be shocked if your doctor didnt explain this to you when you got checked and received your results. - A quick google search would have provided you with this basic information. I dont believe for a second that you didnt understand the seriousness of informing your partner about your STI. Youre putting her health on the line.

There are over 100 types of HPV, types 6 and 11 cause warts but they don’t cause cancer. Other varieties types 16 and 18 can cause cancer of the cervix and the oesophagus, these do not cause warts and would be symptomless. Also a condom doesn’t protect against transmission. This would be why a doctor didn’t explain it to the OP because it would be misinformation! Warts do not always reoccur and while there isn’t something you can take to cure HPV that does not mean it is lifelong, the body can clear itself of the virus. Perhaps the OP though this was the case!

Conor Bourke

Labcoats and Running Shoes wrote: »

I agree that OP needs to be honest with his girlfriend, a simple "Hi Mary, this is really hard for me to say, but I got genital warts X number of years ago. I had them treated with liquid nitrogen and haven't had an outbreak since. Unfortunately, I noticed they've come back so I've booked an appointment for X date with my GP".

That said, HPV doesn't cause genital warts. HPV stands for Human Papilloma Virsu. HSV2 or Herpes Simplex Virus 2 causes genital warts. It never truly goes away so even having the warts burned off won't cure the virus as it lives dormant in a bundle of nerves at the base of your spine. My sister has HSV2 and it's managed (MANAGED, not cured) through antivirals which reduce the severity and frequency of outbreaks.

You’re completely and entirely wrong. HPV causes genital warts.

Labcoats and Running Shoes

Cornelius Crow wrote: »

You’re completely and entirely wrong. HPV causes genital warts.

I'm not wrong. In my experience, most people who refer to genital warts are actually referring to herpes not to HPV (which I will agree does cause warts as well). I recognise that may not be the case here.

Either way, there's no cure for either virus and OP should have had the "I have a life-long STI" chat much earlier with his partner as she's been at risk since they started to become intimate.

https://www.healthline.com/health/hpv-and-herpes#Symptoms2

Scraggs

Labcoats and Running shoes I agree with the first part of your advice. Herpes is however a very different disease in both appearance and treatment and is not usually confused with genital warts as your post suggests.

Tigger99

There's a lot of misinformation in this thread. The type of hpv strain that causes warts doesn't cause cancer. The type of hpv that causes warts will have been had by most of us unbeknownst to us). Only in rare cases does it cause warts. Usually the body gets rid of that particular strain itself itself though treatment is usually required to get rid of the warts. It certainly isn't a life long sti.

It's actually quite rare for them to come back but it does happen.

This UK cancer research website explains it perfectly http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/infections-hpv-and-cancer/hpv-and-cancer

OP just tell her what you've told us.

LegacyUser

Labcoats and Running Shoes wrote: »

I'm not wrong. In my experience, most people who refer to genital warts are actually referring to herpes not to HPV (which I will agree does cause warts as well). I recognise that may not be the case here.

Either way, there's no cure for either virus and OP should have had the "I have a life-long STI" chat much earlier with his partner as she's been at risk since they started to become intimate.

https://www.healthline.com/health/hpv-and-herpes#Symptoms2

You may need to go back to the lab! Warts and blisters are not the same thing in either how they present or how they appear. Herpes is lifelong, HPV isn’t, herpes causes blisters and lesions, HPV can cause warts but doesn’t always. Just because you cannot take something or medicate for HPV doesn’t make it lifelong. A healthy body ride itself of the virus in a year to two years. Most people that have most strains of HPV are unaware they have it and are without symptoms. The majority of sexually active adults have one strain at have had at least one strain. Herpes is very different. If you are diagnosed with herpes you know you have it for life, with either warts or HPV you don’t.

wiggle16

I really don't think it matters whether it's one of the dozens of types of HPV or another. The OP knows which one he has, and is going back to his GP, who knows too. People are trying to retroactively diagnose the OP on virtually no information - the GP has already done that. The important thing is he tells his partner, so she's aware of it and can get tested if she wishes

Toastytoes

If he still has the virus active in his system (which he appears to given they’ve come back) then she already has it. She’ll have already picked it up from him given they’ve been together for 2 years. Most likely she just isn’t symptomatic. Like the vast majority of people who have the virus, they never develop the warts as their immune system is able to keep them suppressed and eventually clear the virus. It’s not the same strain that causes cancer, the scaremongering.