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HPV warts? Herpes? Or Folliculitis?

A week ago, I noticed three itchy skin lesions in my genital pubic area. One of them is at the base of my penis. The only symptom is that they're itchy. They're not painful. They look like fleshy warts but I'm not sure. They don't look like pimples or ingrown hair. I'll try to upload photos.

I went to an urgent care center, and the doctor took a quick look at it and said it's folliculitis. However, I feel like she didn't look at it closely.
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207091 tn?1337709493
COMMUNITY LEADER
It is impossible for us to tell you what they are, and bumps can be a lot of different things. If you don't think she looked at them closely enough, either go back or go get a second opinion. Have you googled images of warts, folliculitis and herpes to see if they resemble any of those?

Herpes and warts look nothing alike. It doesn't sound at all like herpes. It could be warts. Maybe skin tags, maybe molluscum, and of course, folliculitis is a possibility.

We're having issues with photos on the site, but you can post them to a hosting site like imgur or something, and post the link. We still wouldn't be able to diagnose you, though.
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I was told not to upload graphic photos on this site.

I posted the photos on another health website:

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/itchy-skin-lesions-are-these-hpv-warts-genital-warts-herpes-or-is-it-folliculitis--774288

I made an appointment with a dermatologist next week for a second opinion.
Let me know if you can't see the photos there. What do you think they could be?

*I know this is not a diagnosis, I just want to get an idea what they could be. Thank you.
The derm is a great idea.

The first pic looks more like eczema or something, but the 2nd and 3rd pics look more like warts. I am not a doctor, though, and can not diagnose at all, much less from a pic.

The second opinion is a really good idea, because it doesn't look like folliculitis at all. You've probably had that before - razor bumps, shaving rash - that's along the lines of folliculitis. They are red, tender bumps.
Thank you auntiejessi. The first picture is the same three wart-like lesions, but I stretched my skin out. I took these photos after my shower, 1.5 weeks after I noticed them. After 3 days of using steroidal antibiotic ointments, the lesions became darker and less itchy. When I shower, they appear white (probably because of the skin).

Do these "warts" look like HPV to you? The PA-C at the urgent care said it wasn't, and she was confident with her diagnosis; however I felt she didn't care and wanted me out (it was busy that day).

All warts are HPV.

However, if they are changing with steroidal antibiotic ointment, then I don't know. That could be folliculitis healing. Stop using anything before you see the derm so he/she can see it how it is naturally.
I looked up pictures of "flat warts" and they look similar to those. This is quite depressing, because I haven't engaged in sexual activity for over a year. Are HPV warts dangerous? Do they cause any health problems later on?
Try not to get ahead of yourself here. You don't know for sure that's what they are.

If they are, they are not dangerous. There are over 100 strains of HPV that affect the genital area, and the strains that produce actual warts are considered the low risk kind, as in they aren't associated with an increased cancer risk.

HPV can have a long incubation period. It isn't unusual for it to show up this long after sexual activity. The good news is that it usually clears within 2 years, so you're more than halfway there, if that's what it is. Once it goes away, you are no longer infectious.

It's estimated that around 90% of us will get HPV at least once in our lifetimes - it is very contagious and very, very common. The person you got it from  - if this is what it is - probably didn't even know they had it. Try not to get too depressed about it - many doctors consider it an inevitability of sexual activity.

When you see the derm next week, ask about the HPV vaccine. It protects against the 9 most common strains - some low and some high risk. You can get it even if you currently have HPV.
Just got back from the dermatologist, and the doc confirmed that they are flat warts. The good news is that they're healing and no longer itchy, but the skin is still very dark. I was prescribed an antiviral ointment to use. The dermatologist said the cancerous warts usually never heal this quickly, are hard to the touch, and bleed.

I looked up what virus causes flat warts, and this came up: HPV types 3, 10, 28, and 49. Can these HPV types transmit sexually?
If they are on your genitals, they can be transmitted sexually. The warts on your genitals are caused by strains that ONLY affect the genitals. Many genital warts appear as flat warts.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hpv-infection/symptoms-causes/syc-20351596

Even if they weren't an STD, warts are contagious. Don't get too into your head about it being an STD - as I said before, 90% of sexually active people will get this at least once in their lifetime.

Many doctors consider it an inevitability of sex these days.
Avatar universal
Folliculitis : u will see there is inflammation in hair in lesion.
Herpes : watery fluid inside with smooth surface mainly upper skin layer not deep tissue involved
Wart : cauliflower shaped fleshy colour with rough surface
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Does folliculitis always have pus, and look red? My lesions look darker than my skin, fleshy looking, not uniform shape, and slightly raised.
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