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Does Condom Offer Protection Against Warts And HPV?

Posted on Thu, 29 Jan 2015

Question: I read on line that condoms do not protect against hpv/warts. My questions are:

1) how effective are condoms in protecting against warts?
2) what is the chance of being infected with warts from 1 possible exposure wearing a condom?
3) would the warts appear on the part of the penis that was not covered by condom? Like the base of penis or scrotum? Or could the warts appear on the covered penis and head?
4) how soon do warts appear? I've read online that it can take up to 2 years?
5) if no warts have appeared in 23 weeks is it safe to assume I was not infected by warts?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Kakkar (35 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
A condom is not 100% protective against Hpv infection

Detailed Answer:
Hello. Thank you for writing to us at healthcaremagic

I have taken note of your concern and I will try to answer all of them in the best possible way

Condoms do not offer 100% protection against Hpv infection. Nevertheless a condom reduces the risk.

A condom covers only a portion of the shaft of penis and leaves a lot of skin exposed for skin to skin contact with infected skin surfaces e.g base of shaft and pubic region.
Therefore warts may appear on unprotected skin i.e the skin not protected with a condom.
Hpv is a local infection and therefore remain localized to the area where the infection is acquired.

Not everyone who has sex with an infected person with visible warts will acquire the infection but 2/3 rd will do. This is an estimate is for those who have visible warts; the risk is much less for those who do not have visible warts.

Hpv may remain clinically silent for weeks or months and therefore not all patients who are infected with Hpv may have visible warts. Some may develop early, some later and some never at all. It is difficult to tell the exact upper limit by when the warts should become clinically obvious but it is 2-3 months on an average. Range is from few days to 20 months (maximum).

23 weeks or approximately 6 months after sexual contact with an infected person is still not out of the safe limits.

There are no screening tests approved for detecting sub-clinical Hpv infection in males, unlike in females where a Pap smear can be helpful in detecting atypical cells and viral DNA.

Body's own immunity usually takes care of the infection and majority of the infected patients no longer have Hpv infection 1 year after the infection was first acquired.

Regards
Hope this helps!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Kakkar (7 minutes later)

Thanks for your response. Just so I understand, most people who are infected with warts have the warts appear in 2-3 months but there are cases where warts may not show up until 20 months? Wow I am goin to have 14 more moths of anxiety!! Also I i was infected with the warts, the warts would first appear where the condom did not protect the penis? In other words if I had a condom on the whole time warts would not appear on the head of the penis, correct?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Kakkar (5 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Hpv is a local infection and remains localized at place it was acquired

Detailed Answer:
Hi.

Average incubation is the period by which most of the individuals would develop visible warts. Therefore, you can assume yourself to be relatively safe at 23 weeks!

Hpv is a local infection and stays where it was first acquired. If the condom covered business end of your penis completely and throughout the sexual act, there is no way you would develop warts on head/glans.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Kakkar (6 minutes later)

Thanks. One last question. I also read as we get older the head of our penis can become less smooth. Can your penis rubbing against your clothes cause the tip of your penis to appear a littl rough or maybe have a tiny tiny bump. If I examine my penis very very closely there looks like there may be some very very small bumps. Almost like a goose bump. I think my anxiety about warts is causing me to over examine as my business end was covered the whole time

Answered by Dr. Dr. Kakkar (15 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Kindly upload an Image of the concern

Detailed Answer:
Hi.

Genital warts can be easily confused with pearly penile papules which commonly encircle the corona of glans and sometimes periurethral area.

Can you upload an Image of the lesions you are concerned about?

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Kakkar (1 hour later)

I emailed a photo. Thanks. I think I am over examining my penis out of fear. I imagine almost all skin has imperfections. I hope that is the case

My concern is the very small white spots to the top right(as your looking at the picture) of the penis whole. While taking these pictures I realized how very small these spots are and I have to examine my penis so carefully to find them. I would never notice them with out over examining myself. Thanks

Answered by Dr. Dr. Kakkar (6 hours later)

Brief Answer:
part of normal anatomy

Detailed Answer:
Hi.

I have reviewed the image.

These spots are part of the normal anatomy and are not warts.

Regards

Note: Consult a Sexual Diseases Specialist online for further follow up- Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar