Q: I am a 30 years old male. I have viral warts on my penile skin for the last five years. I got these warts on having intercourse. My HIV test result is negative. What is the best treatment for viral warts?

A:It is not necessary that white bubbles in your penile skin are warts caused by HPV (human papillomavirus). Although your sex partner may have already been exposed to the wart virus, exposure does not necessarily mean current infection, or capability of transmitting it to others. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of good ways to determine if a penile bump is truly a wart, unless the observer has a lot of experience in making such assessments. The bumps you may notice on the head of your penis may be normal pearly penile papules, a normal variant not associated with infection. Even taking a piece of the skin and submitting it for biopsy (microscopic evaluation), may not give you the evidence you need. PCR testing looks for evidence of HPV DNA, and this too, will not tell you if you currently have warts, as this virus is thought to be that common in the population, that most people would have such evidence. Penile warts are treated with local creams or local laser or electrical treatment depending upon the warts size and location. Although these treatments can get rid of the warts, none get rid of the virus. Because the virus is still present in your body, warts often come back after treatment.