Dear Dog-ter —
A man that I fuck (and get fucked by) for hours at a time just told me that he has genital warts in his butt. I didn’t know you could get them there, and I’m not sure what the problem is if you do. What’s up with warts?
Marathon Man

Dear Man,
This is such an important issue. I’m glad you asked about it. Again I was forced to go to the experts to get the best information on what are sometimes called “the other speed bumps.”

Here are some of the main points:

You don’t have to have anal sex to get anal warts, also known as HPV (Human PapillomaVirus).

The warts can be on your dick, butt, balls, upper thighs or on your lips and mouth.

HIV+ people are more likely to get pre-cancerous or cancerous skin changes or growths on their anus.

Once you are infected with warts you will have the virus in your system for the rest of your life. The warts, however, can and should be removed as soon as you see them.

The signs you should look for if you are afraid you have warts are:

• Bleeding and itching from your anus.
• Anything that is on your genitals that is new, like bumps or skin that looks “funny.”
• As one local youth put it, “It’s like when you look down at your dick and it looks like you dropped some rice krispies on it and they got stuck.”
  

Unfortunately, many people have warts and don’t know it. Sometimes they are hard to see, especially if they are inside the body.

To best protect yourself from warts and the threat of cancer, the experts recommend:

• All men who have signs of anal or genital warts or have had unprotected anal sex should get what is called an anoscopy. An anoscopy is when you have a device put up your butt to look for anything that may be unhealthy. The device used is called an anoscope. The best way to look at Uranus is with a telescope, but the best way to look at your anus is with an anoscope.
• All HIV+ gay or bisexual men should get an anoscopy once a year or when they have symptoms.

REMEMBER: You won’t always have warts that you can see, but you still can be infected and infectious. Condoms will protect you on the parts of the body that they cover, but that does not include everything. Doctors won’t always volunteer to do the anoscope thing — some Doctors are buttphobic. You must be a good consumer and ask for an anoscopy. And as the old story goes, the Doctor may feel more appreciated while doing the anoscopy if you have a bouquet of flowers and a nice note waiting up there for her/him. The best place to get treated is the Denver Health STD Clinic.

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