A question from Sri Lanka, bumps on the face – what do they mean?

Hi Dr. Irwin, I'm a 28 year old male from Sri Lanka... I have a few small warts on my chin... and I never had wart problems until I was 27... at this age is it common to have face warts?? I feel perfectly healthy too... do face warts mean I have HIV or some other serious illness... I'm losing my sleep over it...

Thank you for writing! You bring up two good points: 1) What are these bumps? and 2) Do I need to worry about them? So for the first one, I’m wondering if you made the diagnosis of warts yourself or a doctor did because there are lots of things that can cause small bumps on the face. Without seeing them, it’s hard to know if they really are warts. Is there a clinic where you might get some help with making sure?

 

If they are warts, to reassure you, there are hundreds of different types of the HPV virus and having warts is so common that it is not likely that these are related to HIV UNLESS YOU HAVE OTHER RISK FACTORS like unprotected sex with males, unprotected sex with sex workers, use of shared needles, etc. (you can google this).

 

Many, many people have warts, the vast majority and don’t have a serious illness. If you are not sure you are healthy though, please go and be evaluated at the nearest clinic. For example, could you have gotten an intestinal parasite that’s affecting your immune system?

 

Good luck to you and we are all wishing you well,   Dr. B I

 

Read Dr. Irwin’s article on Moles, Lumps, and Bumps.

Dr. Brandith Irwin, MD

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