(no subject)

[--dirtylaundry.livejournal.com]

For several years I have been convincing myself that I have genital warts... all of this started at about age 14. I could be considered somewhat of a hypochondriac, or not. I've spent hour upon hour scouring the internet for any information I could find about genital warts, and most of what I found makes it sound as though if you have ANY bumps in your vaginal area that you have genital warts. I'm trying to covince myself that this absolutely isn't true. Alright, so here's the deal...

I have tiny bumps on the inside of my labia, those closer to the labia itself are more brownish in colour (the same as my labia), and those more inside are pink toned, just like the colour of the flesh inside. Not all of the bumps are flat on the surface of the skin, and several look sort of like small skin tags. They have never changed in appearance (at least since I first discovered them two years ago), they are never any more irritated than the rest of my vagina has been (such as no crust which is sometimes described in conjunction with genital warts), and all in all, they seem sort of normal in appearance.

Here's the other part which proves I am causing myself even more unnecessary anxiety... I have only had sexual contact with two guys, both virgins, and I had the bumps before I ever even had contact with the first. I keep convincing myself that my mother gave me HPV while giving birth to me, although I have absolutely no knowledge of her having the disease herself.

The websites absolutely terrified me into thinking that I definitely have genital warts... but is the inside of the vagina supposed to be perfectly smooth? Please tell me I am not alone and that the inside of the vagina CAN have bumps without being infected with HPV. I honestly lose sleep over this issue, and since I have yet to have my first gynecological exam, I have no other source of information about variations in vaginas. I have scoured the internet for pictures of (non-porn) vaginas, have looked on sites such as bmezine.com, and in comparison to these photos my vagina looks normal. Still, I can't stop worrying! Please girls! Help me out!

Comments

[cute-kitty.livejournal.com]

If you're really worried, see a gyno or a regular doctor. If nothing's wrong, at least it will reassure you, and if something is wrong (highly unlikely) you'll be able to deal with the problem.
That being said, the likelihood of you having genital warts is slim to none. Vaginas come in different shapes and sizes, and maybe yours just has bumps naturally. But anyway, see a doc and give yourself some peace of mind!

[kraydon.livejournal.com]

I spent quite a bit of time worrying about that, too. Had some flesh colored bumps that were freaking me out.

After a frantic four hour drive from LA to SLO, I saw the doc who reassured me that they were just normal glands that I really didn't need to worry about.

Go see the doctor!!! They can be amazingly reassuring.

[kitty-stockings.livejournal.com]

i have the same natural bumps on the inside of my labia, too ^_^
Had them all my life, as far as I know: the skin texture itself is exactly the same to the touch all over my inner lips, it's just that there are visible and detectable small bumps, especially going towards the edge. In all of my 3 full gyno examinations ever, none of the doctors or nurses mentioned them as being diseased or even weird at all. My theory is that they are just glands or hair folicals, since i tend to have very fine, light coloured short hairs actually on the inside of my outer labia in some spots. Also, consulting lots of websites on various vulva-area piercings on NATURAL and REAL vulvas, i think it's safe to say that not all women are "perfectly smooth" on the inside. Some have the bumps, some don't. Hurrah! ^_^

[--dirtylaundry.livejournal.com]

: ) Thanks for the reassurance... your description sounds a lot like what I have. Still though, I'm going to see the gyno in about 2 weeks to reassure myself of everything!

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I have bumps, and not only have HPV-less cervical pap smears, but I have had a pap scraping of my vulva, and neither have HPV.

And even if you did, probably about half of all women do -- it's not *that* huge a deal. Ask your doctor.

[allforher.livejournal.com]

I don't mean to offend you, but it bothers me that this has been causing you concern for "several years", and you haven't seen a doctor about it.

As someone else said recently - if you think "maybe I should see a doctor about this", then you definitely should.

I could scare the pants off you at the moment and tell you that it could well be *something* and if it had been caught in time, you would be okay, but it's had "several years" incubation time... (that said, I agree with the other posters here and say that it's very probably absolutely nothing.)

[--dirtylaundry.livejournal.com]

I don't mean to offend you, but it bothers me that this has been causing you concern for "several years", and you haven't seen a doctor about it.

Absolutely no offense taken, because you're right. I've had my vagina examined by my pediatrician (last time was a year ago, and another time when I was 14) and she mentioned nothing. But definitely yes, I need to start visiting the gynecologist. Thanks for giving me a little push to make me go ahead with it.

: )