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Several questions about genital warts

26 year old male. Just today I had a sexual encounter with a new partner (graphic description ahead).



I gave her a little bit of oral (kind of) before I noticed a whitish bump on her labia. It wasn’t red or itchy or painful so I doubt it was herpes. To be honest, it looked a lot like bumps I get on my penis all the time that my doctor says are just ingrown hairs or cysts. But it also could have been a genital wart.

1. I didn’t touch it directly with my mouth, but I used my mouth on her through her underwear, and I briefly put my mouth on her bare vulva on the other side from where the bump was. I then put the inside of her underwear in my mouth. If it was indeed a wart, could I still have gotten an infection in my mouth?

2. I never touched her genitals with mine, but right after touching her I put my hand in this vaseline-like substance (might have been cocoa butter or coconut oil or something), and then about 30 minutes later she put her hand in the same substance and proceeded to touch my penis and testicles with it. Could the virus have survived for that long in some such moist substance?

3. Would getting an HPV vaccine do any good now that I’ve already been exposed (but the infection may not have taken hold yet)?

4. I’ve read that you can do things to fight off an HPV infection early on. What kinds of things should I be doing?

5. Can you spread genital warts during that early stage when you’ve been exposed but haven’t had your first outbreak yet?

6. What kind of test or examination for genital warts should I tell her to ask her doctor about, to make sure they catch it if it is indeed a wart?

Thank you for any answers you can give. As you can tell, I’m pretty worried.
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3149845 tn?1506627771
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Hi, first or all warts are not white and to contact it would take direct rubbing contact with a soft tissue area like genital. What your describing, you would not have contacted it anyway.
Getting an HPV vaccine is only when your young.
Also if you have ever had a finger wart, then you already have hpv.
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They are usually skin colored but every source I’ve read says they can also be white.

The strain of HPV that causes finger warts and the strain that causes genital warts are different. You can absolutely get both.
Yes, genital warts can be white - https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/stds-hiv-safer-sex/genital-warts/what-are-symptoms-genital-warts

And also correct is that the strains of HPV that cause genital warts and the warts on your fingers, feet, and other body parts are different.  https://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/hpv-genital-warts/hpv-virus-information-about-human-papillomavirus#1 Even if you have one strain, like the strain that causes plantar warts on your feet, you can still get the strains that cause genital warts. You can get more than one strain that affect the genitals, as well.

In any case, your questions:

1. I didn’t touch it directly with my mouth, but I used my mouth on her through her underwear, and I briefly put my mouth on her bare vulva on the other side from where the bump was. I then put the inside of her underwear in my mouth. If it was indeed a wart, could I still have gotten an infection in my mouth?

HPV wouldn't go through clothing, even damp or wet clothing. However, assuming this is a wart (and we don't know that it is), she would be infectious from her entire genital area, not just the spot where the wart is. Putting your mouth on the other side of her vulva could expose you if she has HPV.

2. I never touched her genitals with mine, but right after touching her I put my hand in this vaseline-like substance (might have been cocoa butter or coconut oil or something), and then about 30 minutes later she put her hand in the same substance and proceeded to touch my penis and testicles with it. Could the virus have survived for that long in some such moist substance?

No, moist or not, it needs a human host to survive and transmit. It wouldn't transmit this way.

3. Would getting an HPV vaccine do any good now that I’ve already been exposed (but the infection may not have taken hold yet)?

The vaccine might help. You are 26, the cutoff age according to the guidelines. HPV is super infectious, so you may have already had this strain before, and not known it, but getting the vaccine won't hurt.

4. I’ve read that you can do things to fight off an HPV infection early on. What kinds of things should I be doing?

There isn't anything really to do. Once you have it, you have it. I'm not sure what you've read, but it's probably not true.

5. Can you spread genital warts during that early stage when you’ve been exposed but haven’t had your first outbreak yet?

This is tricky because some people never get symptoms, so you could have it and not know it, and spread it.

6. What kind of test or examination for genital warts should I tell her to ask her doctor about, to make sure they catch it if it is indeed a wart?

If she has a visible bump, they may be able to visually diagnose it as HPV. If not, they can biopsy it. They may go ahead and do a pap smear with an HPV test if she hasn't had one recently to look for other strains on her cervix that could lead to cancer.

Please keep in mind that 1 bump can be many things - an oil gland, hair follicle, etc. I understand your concern, but there really isn't any reason to panic. Definitely let her know so she can see her doctor.

For you, this may be a waiting game, but definitely talk to your doctor about the vaccine.


Oh I also wanted to mention that the briefer the contact of your mouth with her vulva, obviously, the lower the chances of you getting HPV if she actually has it. If it was just a few seconds, then I'd be very surprised if you got HPV, if she had it.
>No, moist or not, it needs a human host to survive and transmit. It wouldn't transmit this way.

Does the same apply for the herpes virus? Because now I'm worried that perhaps it was a herpes sore, and she just didn't have itching for some reason.

Is it possible that someone could start feeling symptoms of herpes less than 24 hours after exposure? And would somebody who got infected in their mouth also feel itching in their genitals?

>The vaccine might help. You are 26, the cutoff age according to the guidelines. HPV is super infectious, so you may have already had this strain before, and not known it, but getting the vaccine won't hurt.

My main concern is preventing infection from this encounter, not so much preventing infections from future encounters. So you think I could actually prevent infection itself (not just showing symptoms) even after the event of exposure? If so, how quickly should I get the vaccine to best prevent it?
Yes, both herpes and HPV - which look absolutely nothing alike - need a human host and direct skin to skin contact to transmit. By skin to skin, we mean mouth to genitals, genital to genital or genital to anus.

No, it's not possible to feel symptoms of any STD within 24 hours. The very earliest you'd see symptoms is 2 days.

There has been some discussion about the vaccine preventing or treating new infections, but nothing has been shown to be conclusive, and I haven't been able to find anything on preventing an infection the same day of exposure. It's all theory, but if it were me, I'd get it today or tomorrow. Again, there is nothing that proves this - it's theory. It won't hurt though.

Please keep in mind that I'm not trying to minimize anything with this, but HPV is an inevitability of having sex. Some experts estimate that 90% will get it at least once in their lifetimes, others put it even higher.

If you've been sexually active with more than one person, and those partners had previous partners, chances are good that you've already been infected.

I don't know if you are panicking (or seemingly panicking) because of a fear of infections, germs, or because perhaps you have a partner and went outside that relationship. If it's guilt because of a partner, please remember that guilt does not equal risk.

How long was your mouth in contact with her vulva? What does "briefly" mean? A few seconds? 5 minutes? 10? Longer?





>How long was your mouth in contact with her vulva? What does "briefly" mean? A few seconds? 5 minutes? 10? Longer?

About a second, but now that I think about it, I came into contact with the general groin area with my mouth several times. Also for less than a second each time.
This is unlikely to transmit anything, though it's possible. Of course, I mean contact with her bare vulva/general groin - not clothed.
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