HERPES

I had Sex Too Soon after HPV was Burned Off

Dear Dr. Tom:

Hello, I was diagnosed with HPV, my doctor had burned them off and told me not to have sex for 1 month well i did after 2 weeks, I thought I was healed. After 2 days of having intercourse with someone I don’t really know I have a blister near the entrance of my vagina and it’s red and swollen and when I urinate I’m in absolute pain, I freaked out and thought it was herpes. I went to my Gyn, he told me it looks like I irritated the tissue of my vagina where he burnt the warts off, he said it does resemble herpes lesions but he said he strongly doesn’t think it is, I’m not sure if he’s right; could you give me some advice on this?

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Dr. Tom’s Response:

Dear Diagnosed with HPV:

HPV, human papilloma virus, causes lesions within the genitalia which are uncomfortable and sometimes embarrassing. Most HPV infection types are uncomfortable nuisances, but a limited number of the types can lead to cervical cancer, so knowledge of their presence is quite important to one’s well-being. You have taken the appropriate action by continuing to consult with your gynecologist. He is highly likely to be correct in his evaluation of your case and was assuredly correct in his advice to abstain from vaginal intercourse until the excised sites healed. Urine contact with an open, irritated, soft tissue lesion, will burn like fury, and the secondary infection of the unhealed tissues is a possibility. You are wise to pursue the issue to a clear understanding, because HPV is implicated in cervical carcinoma. An independent second viewpoint from a physician experienced in dealing with CIN, cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (a term meaning new growths in the cervical outer tissues), might help to reassure you. Such a person may be found through either your local county medical society or the state medical society. These organizations usually will not recommend a particular physician but will give names of their society members who have such training, experience, hence expertise. In most localities such data is computer available. Do not fear offending your present gynecologist.

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