Female Body Concerns / Question
Published: April 30, 2002
Dear TeenHealthFX,
Please help me I'm a 16 year old girl, I am not a virgin but I never had sexual contact with anyone else who wasn't a virgin. However, for a year I've had lots of small bumps around my vagina and anus, they do not look like the pictures of genital warts I have seen on the internet, but I don't know what else they could be. Some seem to be filled with a white fluid. I am too embarrassed to go to a doctor or tell my mom, but I am scared that they could grow and become more noticeable. My boyfriend doesn't know either and I am worried I might pass them on to him. Could they be anything else and could they get worse? They have spread but not for a while and they don't seem to be getting much bigger. Thank you for your help.
Signed: Small Bumps Around Anus & Vagina
Dear Small Bumps Around Anus & Vagina,
You need to seen by a doctor as soon as possible and have these bumps diagnosed. You can be seen without your parents knowing and for a reasonable cost at a local teen center or Planned Parenthood. Even though it may be embarrassing for you, it is important that you follow through with an appointment, especially since another person is involved. Your doctor will see this as a medical issue that needs to be treated and will treat you with respect and compassion. The one thing you cannot do is ignore it.
Very important note here...
It is important that you do not have sex (even protected sex) until you see a doctor. Although condoms are the best method of practicing safer sex, they are not 100% effective against some STDs like genital warts.
You cannot rely on the belief that anyone you had sexual contact was a virgin and therefore free of any sexually transmitted disease (STD). If you had unprotected sex then you have exposed yourself to the risk of getting an STD (like Herpes and Genital Warts). It is always important that you protect yourself against STD's and pregnancy, and don't assume that everything will be okay.
If you would like to meet with a doctor from the Adolescent/Young Adult Center For Health in Morristown New Jersey, you can call 973.971.6475 for an appointment.
Signed: TeenHealthFX
One out of every six American women have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. A total of 17.7 million women have been victims of these crimes. 
