i was beginning to wonder what the point was to be part of a forum. now i know it is a great asset to value highly, as we can all benefit from each others experiences.

i am not real clear on the part of how we can transmit this to others (other than the obvious way of relations). i read that towels, wash cloths, and personal clothing items can put others at risk of catching warts. is this true?
in fact, a nurse even told me that its beneficial to iron my cotton underpants, in order to kill the spores. does me being contagious mean that i have to sterilize everything after myself (bathtub) etc?? i really need some clarification on just how unclean i am and what risks i am exposing loved ones to, so i can take preventative measures.

another thing is: i asked my dr if genital herpes and warts are the same thing and she said no. (mind you she sure sounded like she was doing a lot of double talk). she drew a picture of how some people are clinical cases, and the other 75% were walking around with dormant cases, and probably didnt even know they had the problem.

i am unclear as to whether since i have warts, if that means that i also have genital herpes. if i cant find a dr who is willing to prescribe daily preventative medications, does anyone have any other suggestions i could seek?

this dr and i have started out on the wrong foot. she was vague with her instructions, and then when i ran out of my 6 "single sachets of Aldara", she said i had used too much of it, and should have used it more sparingly. fair enough, but when you are approaching the unknown, and are frightened, your esp skills are not finely tuned. anyway, as if it wasn't bad enough, i then in addition to sores, got blisterlike things, that got a white cover over the top, and once the white top faded, these literally looked like craters in my vaginal lips? has anyone ever heard of this before? is this normal? rosie, i hope you are able to answer this post, and i sincerely thank you for your earlier reply! if you have lived with this for 6 yrs now, and are still so upbeat, you are doing a fantastic job, and are an inspiration to others.