Hi, I just had oral sex with a guy who I think may have had genital warts...

[xturner]

I saw a couple of raised bumps on his scrotum and I didn't think anything of it at the time but I've just looked at some picture online and they look suspiciously similar.

I want to know if (assuming it is genital warts) if there is anything I can do to prevent myself getting infected and how likely an infection is given that it was oral sex and I didn't come into contact with the lumps?

I also want to know what to do to avoid passing it on if I have been infected, for example would sharing glasses etc be a bad idea?

[Hidden]

Dear xturner,

Firstly the bumps may have been nothing. It's quite common to get lumps called sebaceous cysts on the scrotum.

Secondly it's extremely unlikely to catch warts around your mouth. Especially if you didn't come into contact with them.

I really wouldn't worry about it. If you do notice anything develop then pop along to your local GUM / Sexual health clinic (bashh.org/clinics) to get it checked. There is certainly no need to do anything special like not sharing glasses etc.

Kind regards.

[xturner in reply to Hidden]

Ok, thank you for putting my mind at rest!

[xturner]

Just to clarify, would there be any way to tell the difference between the two just from looking?

[Hidden]

You can if you know what you're looking at. Warts tend to be skin coloured that grow on the skin and usually have a rough 'cauliflowery' appearance. Sebaceous cysts are under the skin and so push it up in a smoother, more rounded way and often look a little yellow.

See cysts:

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...

and warts:

dermnetnz.org/doctors/viral...