HPVs — What Are They?

The term HPVs is the acronym for human papillomaviruses, of which there is in excess of one hundred types that affect humans. Most people understand the HPV virus to cause genital warts and it follows that there is more than forty types of the HPV virus that cause genital warts. Although forms of HPV treatment exist, there is no definitive cure for the HPV virus.
Click Here To Read More

HPV Infection — More Common Than You Realise

HPV is the acronym used for the Human papillomaviruses, of which there are more than one hundred types that affect humans. Many of us have heard of HPV (most readily thinking of it as genital warts) and are similarly familiar with the term HPV virus. Unfortunately, in relation to HPV, this is about where the knowledge of many ends.
Click Here To Read More

The Most Common Types of Warts and How to Get Rid of Them

There are well over a hundred types of HPV (human papilloma viruses) which cause warts – a viral skin disease that can, in some cases, be a sexually transmitted infection. Types 6 and 11 cause gential warts, while 1 and 3 cause the common wart. While HPV treatment is available and tends to be effective in wart removal, there’s no cure for HPV and your immune system will tend to clear it away by itself. Here’s a quick look at the six most common types of warts.
Click Here To Read More

What Is the Difference Between Genital Warts and Herpes?

These two conditions are very often confused with each other, but genital warts – which are caused by the HPV virus – are actually very different to genital herpes. Here we look at the major differences, including symptoms, effects on human health and how each are treated.
Click Here To Read More

What is The Link Between Cervical Cancer and HPV?

There is often confusion about the link between HPV and Cervical cancer. While the HPV Virus can be harmless in many instances, there are other types of HPV which can potentially cause cervical cancer. Here, we’ve explained exactly how the HPV Virus is linked to Cervical cancer. An important topic, all women should know about.

HPV is one of the most common types of diseases and is highly contagious. It is estimated that 70% of people are infected with the HPV virus. Because it can be contracted by skin to skin contact, it is transferred easily.

Click Here To Read More

Important Facts to Know About HPV

There are many different types of the HPV Virus , some that don’t have symptoms at all. Here, we’ve listed some of the most important facts to know about HPV, including symptoms, the different types, how it can be treated and how to give yourself the best chances of not contracting HPV or at least ensuring early detection.

• What is HPV?- HPV stands for Human Papillomavirus and is most commonly known for causing warts. There is almost 200 known types of HPV and most of these cause no symptoms which is why some women don’t always know they have the type of HPV that can lead to cervical cancer. Hence the importance of having regular doctors check ups and pap smears at regular intervals.

Click Here To Read More

5 Ways HPV Can Affect your Life

Whether you are young or old, male or female, the HPV virus can affect your life in many ways. Having a handle on the basic facts will help you stay healthy and protect yourself. HPV has many strains, each behaving differently, some more serious than others to your health.

1. Most commonly, HPV – the human papillomavirus – causes common warts. Many people, at some time in their lifetime, will suffer from this usually harmless, but sometimes embarrassing skin condition. These warts appear on the hands and feet, generally. The strain of HPV that causes common warts can be spread fairly easily, from shared surfaces in public showers and restrooms. It is wise to take precautions such as wearing sandals in a public shower to avoid contact with the shared floor surfaces. Should you contract a case of common warts, however, your doctor can help you get rid of the infection.
   Click Here To Read More

HPV Men – The Proof You Need Protection

Genital human papilloma virus (or HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection. Statistics indicate that up to 90% of males and females come into contact with HPV at some point in their life if they have been sexually active. And in many of these cases, they unwittingly pass it on to their partner.

But the good news is that the vast majority of the 250 recognised strains of HPV cause no symptoms, signs or illness and our immune system works to destroy the infection with no side effects. However, medical researchers have isolated 15 strains of the virus that can lead to serious health risks.

When it comes to the consequences of HPV, men are relatively fortunate because the most serious strains of HPV can lead to cervical cancer and death in women. Every year around 3000 to 4000 women die from cervical cancer, and in 70% of these cases, the cancer is directly related to HPV.

What are the Dangers of HPV?

In the vast majority of cases, men can become infected with HPV and show no signs or symptoms. However, simply showing no symptoms of infection doesn’t mean that you aren’t carrying one of the strains of HPV that can lead to cervical cancer in a woman. You just don’t know it.

So it pays to have regular check-ups with your medical practitioner every time you begin a new relationship. This may sound over-the-top and unnecessary, but how would you feel if you learned that you inadvertently passed on one of the deadly strains of HPV to your partner that resulted in cervical cancer?

Fortunately, genital HPV won’t kill you if you are male, but it can be very embarrassing, painful and unsightly if you contract one of the strains of HPV that results in genital warts.

Remember, every time you have sex with a new partner, you are having sex with every partner she has ever had and every partner they have ever had… scary, huh?

What are the Symptoms of HPV?

If you have detected any abnormalities including scaly or itchy patches or growths in your genital area, you need to get checked out immediately. HPV testing for men is a relatively simple procedure.

Genital warts tend to appear in clusters, like miniature cauliflowers. They can be quite small in size or spread across a wide area from your genitals through to your anus. The area surrounding the warts is often painful and the warts are often itchy.

If you are diagnosed with genital warts, your physician can recommend topical HPV treatments that relieve the symptoms until the infection has passed.

How to Prevent HPV Infections

You may have the genital warts virus and simply not know it. Even if you’ve never had an outbreak of genital warts, but particularly if you have, the strain of HPV that results in genital warts or a number of other serious conditions, including cancer, may be dormant in your system.

So always practicing safe sex is mandatory if you want to protect yourself from HPV and also so you can prevent spreading the infection to your partner. The risk that you could unwittingly pass the strains of HPV that lead to cervical cancer in women cannot be stressed enough.

To avoid coming into contact with HPV, men need to wear a latex condom when having sex. Not only does a condom help protect you from unwanted pregnancy, it also prevents you from catching HPV, as well as preventing you from passing it on. And HPV is only one of a number of sexually transmitted diseases that can infect you. None of them are pretty and all of them will have a dramatic impact on the state of your sexual health with all your future partners, for as long as you continue to be sexually active – and for most of us that means the rest of our lives.

HPV Prevalence by Country

You’ve probably contracted HPV at some point in your life. In fact, there’s a good chance you’ve contracted genital HPV, too.

Shocked? Don’t be. More than half of all adults have had “common warts” at one point or other, warts that affect the hands, feet, elbows or knees. That’s why they call them common warts. They’re uncomfortable, but they’re really no big deal.

As for genital HPV, believe it or not, there are actually several types of HPV that affect the genitals, but which do not lead to warts, do not lead to cervical cancer, and are basically harmless in every way, shape and form.

To list the HPV statistics in different parts of the world …

Australia

Around four percent of men and women in Australia have been diagnosed with genital warts. Common warts are pretty much just a common the world over, with more than half of adults having had hand warts or plantar warts at one time or another. This amounts to somewhere around seventy thousand cases.

New Zealand

New Zealand has an estimated 14,683 active HPV cases at present.

United States

In the US, genital HPV is actually quite common, with somewhere around 5.5 million new genital HPV infections occurring every year. Most of these are harmless, though genital warts account for about one third of all new STD infections each year, with around 20 million men and women supposed to have some form of genital HPV at any given time.

UK

In the UK, there are an estimated 221,583 active genital HPV cases at any given time.

China

China is, by population, the largest country in the world, and has nearly five million active HPV cases at a given time.

In Developing Countries

In developing, or third world countries, there have been major efforts to combat HPV related cervical cancer, but nonetheless, around a quarter million women die of the disease every year, with the majority of these deaths occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America.

It’s hard to ascertain much from these statistics except for the simple fact that HPV spreads everywhere. Whether you have a modernized hospital system or not, HPV will find a way in.

It is notable that developed countries tend to see fewer deaths as a result of HPV related cervical cancer than do developing countries. Efforts have been made to combat these trends and educate those in developing countries on safe sex practices and general health considerations, but it has been an uphill battle met with political and ideological obstacles.

If you’d like to help, there are a few things you can do. We can’t all join the Red Cross and move to Sierra Leone, but each and every one of us can write angry letters. Tell the Pope not to butt in when it comes to distributing condoms in Africa, tell your political that we need to put more effort towards fighting disease in third world countries.

And of course, you need to practice safe sex at home, as well.

Anogenital Warts

Anogenital warts are a commonly misunderstood disease. Caused by Human papilloma virus types 6, 11, 42, 43, 44 and 55, among others, anogenital warts, sometimes simply called genital warts, are a type of genital HPV, but are only one small subsection of genital HPV.

Other types of genital HPV may lead to genital cancers, such as cervical cancer, while others may lead to no symptoms whatsoever. Luckily, the types that lead to anogenital warts do not lead to cancer.

That said, the presence of anogenital warts should not be taken as a sign that you do not have an HPV type that can lead to cancer. Multiple HPV types can affect an individual at once, and it is entirely possible to have both anogenital warts and developing cervical cancer from two or more different strains of genital HPV.

Anogenital warts tend to spread only through direct sexual contact. It is possible for anogenital warts to spread to the mouth, though it is somewhat rare.

One common misconception is that HPV is only contagious when an infection is active. This isn’t the case. In fact, HPV can spread for even months after a wart infection clears up. For this reason, we strongly urge that you consult your physician before considering yourself ready to have sex again, and we insist that you use a latex condom during sex.

If you do contract genital warts, they can sometimes be easily identified from a “layman’s” perspective on sight, but other times may only become visible through some medical testing. If you do suspect that you have contracted anogenital warts, make sure to consult your doctor before taking action, lest you wind up treating a pimple or an ingrown hair with an over the counter genital wart remover.

Do not use home remedies on anogenital warts. There are a number of home remedies that work like a charm on common warts on the hands and feet, but your hands and feet are not as sensitive as your genitals. There are some over the counter and prescription treatments for anogenital warts that tend to be highly effective, so there’s no reason to try and treat anogenital warts with slices of garlic, dabs of vinegar, or something you found in a home pedicure kit.

Again, anogenital warts are uncomfortable, but do not lead to cancer. That said, women should make absolutely certain to have their regular pap smear conducted, as this is the only way to identify the types of HPV which show no visible symptoms, but which can lead to cervical cancer. And as always, safe sex should be practiced, in order to prevent contracting or spreading genital HPV.

Because anogenital HPV strains can lie dormant in one’s body for years without showing any visible symptoms, it is possible to see genital warts occur even a decade or longer after contracting the disease. It is also possible to contract anogenital wart causing HPV without ever seeing any visible symptoms. This is worth making a bit more public, as dormant HPV suddenly showing symptoms years after infection has led to a lot of distrust in marriages. Genital warts suddenly appearing are not always a sign of infidelity.

If you do have anogenital warts, just make sure to go through the proper steps. Talk to your doctor, and treat the warts medically.