Small bumps around the base of my penis

[Toot007]

About 1 year ago I noticed small bumps around the base of my penis, they started out as one or two and eventually got to about 6 to 8.I went to my physician (physicians asst not primary doc) and he glanced at them(not  examining me ) and said they are warts prescribed aldara and sent me on my way. Needless to say the aldara did not work so i went back saw my primary doc and he referred me to a urologist, once again not examining me.This frustrated me so i did my own research and actually froze them off myself which worked .They will be gone a couple of months and then come back and i would freeze them again, not always in the same place, they are small and red,and they come up randomly not always together,not like the original bumps which grew in size and were all together.Nor are they on my penis they are actually only in my pubic area(i have had foliculitus before dont think thats it. If they are warts would they not have spread to my penis?I was wondering if they could be molluscum, I saw pictures of genital warts on the internet and what i have looks nothing like those pics. 2 years ago i had a girlfriend who had cervical dysplasia, we had sex without condoms, could this be the cause of my dilema?Be it warts am i contag. at all times or only when they are present?I am very self conscous about this and worry about it often could worrying make them worse?I have made an appointment with my urologist and i am going to go this time and beat this. I

[ronmcK]

I think everyone should thank Dr. Hansfield. He really knows his stuff.
I think this website is great, especially for people who are having a hard time accepting that they came into contact with an std. This website and Dr. Hansfeild have helped me, especially cause I suffer from OCD. I discovered that I had OCD when a doctor at the local STD clinic told me I should go see a mental health care provider. He also told me that HPV was purely cosmetic and in time the virus will eventually go away.  I was still freaked out and was over washing my hands and making myself sick with negative thoughts. From the looks of it, most people on this forum are really worried too. If anyone can't seem to get over this I suggest you go see a mental health professional. I am getting better every day and it helps to looks at this site every now and then. I learned my lession and plan to be in a monagamous relationship. HPV isn't the end of the world people at least it goes away.

thanks again Doctor for spending the time to reply to all these people.
God Bless

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

I'm not sure what it means that a provider looked (or glanced) at the lesions but didn't examine you.  Looking at lesions is generally the only examination need to diagnose warts.  Since at least one health care provider, perhaps two including the urologist, thought the lesions were warts, that sounds like the best bet.  On the other hand, many providers aren't all that knowledgeable about warts and other lesions that con be confused with them.  And certainly you description of your current lesions don't sound much like warts, and warts are not common in the pubic hair area.  But all I can do is speculate.

So you need to stop trying to treat the bumps yourself and  follow through with your plan to see a (different?) health care provider.  A dermatologist would be your best bet.  Your urologist may be very good at this--but in general dermatologists are better at genital skin lesions than urologists are.

In any case, your gf's cervical dysplasia isn't pertinent.  That means she had HPV, but the types of HPV that cause dysplasia typically aren't the same types that cause warts.  In any case, I see no cause for embarrassment.  Most likely it isn't an STD at all; or if you have warts (or molluscum contagiosum), these are problems that come up in the general population all the time. They aren't a mark of sexual promiscuity, poor hygiene, or anything else that should be embarrasasing.

Good luck-- HHH, MD