What Does it Look Like?
Most basically, the HPV virus is a wart-causing virus. If you have one of the common strains of HPV, you may notice warts on your hands, elbows, knees, or on the bottom of your feet. But there are over 250 strains of HPV, and some of the most serious of the strains show no visible signs or symptoms for years after the initial infection. This means that a person can be carrying the virus for years without ever knowing it.
During this time the virus can be slowly working on the body and leading to life-threatening situations, and it may be infecting any sexual partners. For example you might see evidence of genital warts; although there are treatments that can clear up the warts, treatments do not cure the HPV virus in your body. It was likely raging around for years before the first wart actually appeared.
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HPV Women – Why Protection Is Critical
When you have sex with a new partner, you’re having sex with every partner they ever had sex with, and every partner they had sex with, and on and on…
Researchers have uncovered over 35 different types of HPV that infect the genital tract, and of these, at least 15 are known to lead to cervical cancer. The most dangerous strains, #16, #18, #31 and #45 account for over 70% of all cervical cancers. HPV is also known to cause cancer in the vulva, vagina, anus, head and neck.
What Is HPV?
Genital HPV (human papilloma virus) is the most common sexually transmitted disease and it’s believed that up to 70% of women will have come into contact with HPV by the time they’re 60 years old.
HPV Vaccine – The Controversy Continues To Rage
Human papilloma virus (HPV) is directly responsible for up to 80% of cervical cancers detected in Australian women.
The vast majority of HPV strains go undetected and unnoticed and are quickly destroyed by our immune systems.
Although almost 250 strains of HPV have been detected, only 4 of them have been found to lead to cervical cancer. Of these, #16 and #18 are the most dangerous.
Cervical cancer is treatable in its early stages, but the problem is that it often goes undetected until the cancer is well advanced and inoperable. The HPV strains that cause cervical cancer can sit dormant for long periods of time while they slowly alter the structure of cervical cells.
Therefore, it is critical for all women between the ages of 18 and 60 who are sexually active to have regular Pap tests. A Pap smear can detect the presence of abnormal cells so that further investigations can be conducted.
What is the HPV Vaccine?
HPV Symptoms – Exploding The Myths
Perhaps the most important point to note about HPV symptoms is that in many cases there are none!
Both men and women can carry one of the strains of HPV that results in genital warts, or worse still, cervical cancer, yet show no signs or symptoms whatsoever. Yet they can be pursuing an active sex life and unwittingly passing on the virus to one sexual partner after another.
In fact, the most prevalent strains of HPV that have been linked to cervical cancer are the least likely to show any symptoms for many years. Between 3000 and 4000 women die every year from cervical cancer, which is often treatable if caught in its early stages. Medical researchers believe that this number is so high because most women have no idea they have cervical cancer until it’s too late.
Remember that every time you have sex with a new partner, you are having sex with all the partners they had before you and all the partners those partners had…ad infinitum.
So before you swear off sex for the rest of your life, let’s look at some of the misunderstandings and myths surrounding HPV.
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?
HPV testing for women
HPV testing for women
Many doctors will argue that testing for HPV is an art, not a science. This simply means that there is no precise, one hundred percent accurate way to test for HPV.
The most common symptoms of HPV, being warts, are generally easy to identify. Be they common or genital warts, they’re easily spotted by their conspicuous cauliflower like appearance.
Even so, if you suspect that you have contracted HPV, it is a good idea to have your doctor verify this. Oftentimes, what may be a simple blemish, a pimple, or something else entirely may be misidentified as a wart, and the wrong treatment may be applied, as such, it’s always wise to attain a professional’s opinion.
That said, warts are not the primary concern in HPV testing for women. The primary concern is the risk of HPV types 16 or 18 developing into cervical cancer.
A lot of attention is paid in the media to the problems of breast cancer, of HIV, and, more recently, of Swine Flu. It seems odd, then, that so little attention is paid to cervical cancer and HPV, as, every year, cervical cancer kills an estimated forty thousand women. The vast majority of these cases are linked to human papilloma virus.
Talking to your Sex Partner about HPV
Here is one of the simple truths of love and sex in the modern world: You need to be willing to have frank, open discussions with your partner about all matters relating to sex.
To put it bluntly, it’s not the 1950’s anymore, and it’s not a great idea to be shy or ashamed when it comes to talking to your partner about sex. If you’re a little bashful about it, remember, they talk about this stuff on daytime TV, so why be embarrassed over talking about it with the person you take to bed?
You should be willing to talk about every possible detail of your sex life with your partner, be willing to listen, and put no subject out of bounds. This is true when discussing more personal details of satisfaction, but especially true when it comes to issues of health.
If you have, or have had in the past, HPV, you need to tell any new sex partner before intercourse occurs. We know that all of this sort of clinical advice can be difficult to put to work in the real world. There’s no better way to spoil that “first time” mood than to say “Oh by the way, I have genital warts, but it’s all cleared up, now!”
HPV Testing for Women
Women, get a pap smear and an HPV test at your next opportunity. Do not put it off or deem it unnecessary.
Sorry if we seem a bit militant on this front. All men have to worry about when it comes to HPV is the problem of dealing with an ugly infection. In women, HPV can be fatal.
It is estimated that cervical cancer affects 473,000 women every year, killing 253,500 women. Most of these cases are directly linked with genital HPV.
To put that in perspective, breast cancer kills about 519,000 women a year. Breast cancer gets a lot of media attention because of its high casualty rate, but efforts against HPV and cervical cancer have not enjoyed the same amount of attention, and this has led many women to neglect regular testing.
The major problem here tends to be the misconception that HPV means genital warts. Several strains of HPV can lead to genital warts, but the types that can lead to cervical cancer do not show any visible symptoms whatsoever, and can only be effectively identified by a pap smear.
In that few men have ever died of HPV related conditions, men can more easily get away with saying “I trust my partner, I’m safe”, but this is not an option for women. Remember that when you have sex with a new partner, you are having sex with everyone they have ever had sex with. Your boyfriend or husband may have been tested negative for HPV, but, again, the types of HPV that can lead to cervical cancer show absolutely no visible signs, and would be nearly impossible to detect in men.
HPV Testing for Men
One of the first things you need to know about HPV testing for men… is that you need to be tested before you can be certain.
If you have any degree of sexual experience, getting tested is a good idea. You can’t just inspect yourself, trust that you don’t have anything, and forget about it. HPV can remain dormant for years, decades, even a lifetime without showing any symptoms, but can still be contagious. In women, it is the types of HPV that actually have no symptoms that can lead to cervical cancer.
Luckily, most genital HPV types are harmless. In fact, it’s estimated that anywhere from one third to one half of all sexually active adults have contracted a benign form of HPV at one point or other. However, this isn’t the case with all HPV types, so it’s important to get tested.
Should I get Tested?
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