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Hpv (Page 1)

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My son is dating a girl that was diagnosed with hpv. I need to know what it is and how it will affect my son's life and sexually activity? Can someone answer these questions for me?
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First Helper brookersbaby
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replied February 7th, 2004
Experienced User
Hpv is a sexually transmitted disease. It is gential warts. This diease is treatable but not curable and if your son does have intercourse with this girl he could get it also if they doont use protection. ~ erica.
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replied February 7th, 2004
Advanced Support Team
This Might Help
See the "sexually transmitted diseases" forum, click on health forums, you'll see it there. You can also search for "genital warts" in the quick search bar on our site.

Best wishes,
advanced support team
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replied April 24th, 2004
Hpv
Hpv is not just sexually transmitted from what i've read. There are 100 different strains of the disease. Some cause genital and/skin warts. I believe 30 out of the 100 strains cause warts. The rest are the ones that show no signs or symptoms, and are at high risk for causing cervical cancer. This is the type i've just been diagnosed with. It is a disease and once you have it, it stays with you for ever! There is no cure, however the disease can lay dormant for long periods of time in your body. A person can have this for years and never know it, unless they develope warts somewhere and are treated for them, or a woman has a pap test that comes back showing the disease. It is very easy to spread and is said to be the most common "std" today. It's also been said that about 80% of the population has hpv. The best protection against spreading it of course is abstenence, however, this isn't what happens in the real world. Best prevention....Use a condom always!!! And don't have contact orally or anyother way with an area infected with warts. Luckily, i'm happily married to a wonderful man, and we've both been faithful...We realize that chances are that we are both infected but we don't have the wart related strains...I'm getting ready to have a hysterectomy, due to hpv causing dysplasia(pre cancerous cells) to reoccur on my cervix along with uterine problems....Other than that we have a happy healthy life together...If ya want to talk let me know! Hope I helped! :d
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replied April 24th, 2004
Hpv
Hpv is not just sexually transmitted from what i've read. There are 100 different strains of the disease. Some cause genital and/skin warts. I believe 30 out of the 100 strains cause warts. The rest are the ones that show no signs or symptoms, and are at high risk for causing cervical cancer. This is the type i've just been diagnosed with. It is a disease and once you have it, it stays with you for ever! There is no cure, however the disease can lay dormant for long periods of time in your body. A person can have this for years and never know it, unless they develope warts somewhere and are treated for them, or a woman has a pap test that comes back showing the disease. It is very easy to spread and is said to be the most common "std" today. It's also been said that about 80% of the population has hpv. The best protection against spreading it of course is abstenence, however, this isn't what happens in the real world. Best prevention....Use a condom always!!! And don't have contact orally or anyother way with an area infected with warts. Luckily, i'm happily married to a wonderful man, and we've both been faithful...We realize that chances are that we are both infected but we don't have the wart related strains...I'm getting ready to have a hysterectomy, due to hpv causing dysplasia(pre cancerous cells) to reoccur on my cervix along with uterine problems....Other than that we have a happy healthy life together...If ya want to talk let me know! Hope I helped! :d
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replied May 2nd, 2004
Experienced User
I have hpv as well, I didn't find out until a routine pap smear showed dysplasia(prre- cancerous cells) I have since had to have repeated biposies, so yes not all hpv is genital warts. But I want to add to the above post, that while condoms do protect most diseases, it actually does not prevent the spread of hpv.
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replied May 2nd, 2004
Extremely eHealthy
Hpv is a sexually transmitted disease. No, it does not always cause warts, but it is an std.
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replied May 2nd, 2004
The fact that using condoms won't prevent the spread of hpv is true in the fact that it depends on which strain the person has etc. The strains that cause warts are probably more difficult to prevent, due to the fact that the warts can be found anywhere on the body. Example.....Warts found on the hands can cause transmission, simply by shaking the infected persons hand. Which is one thing that really bothers me about the disease!! It irritates me that it's thought by many people as an std, when really it isn't hpv that is the std.....It depends on where on the body the cells are harboring and what strain of the disease a person has...There's a lot of literature out there that causes this misconception, and I find that very disturbing, because it causes much confusion for many people...To put it more simply....Chlamydia for example, is a std! It is transmitted through vaginal, anal or oral sex only....It can't be spread by shaking the hand of an infected person!

Hope this helps! I've been doing much research since my diagnoses, due to my own cofusion and it's really helped! :d
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replied May 3rd, 2004
Extremely eHealthy
Since you seem to be "confused" here is some information I found.
There are types of hpv that are not transmitted sexually, but they are different strands of hpv.
Hpv is an std, but there is a type of hpv that is not an std, but it is not the same. Below is your information.

Getting and transmitting hpv
can I get hpv from having warts on other parts of my body (hands, feet)?
No, you can't! The types of hpv that cause plantar's warts, warts on the hands, and warts on any other part of the body are not the same as the kinds that cause genital warts. Therefore, they are also not transmittable to the genitals. If you have genital warts, do not blame it on the fact that you had warts on other parts of your body in the past. This is a new kind of wart, and you got it sexually.

Can I get genital warts if someone who has a wart on their hand touches my genitals?
Because warts on the hands and feet are caused by different types of hpv than genital warts, this is highly improbable at best.



However: I recently read an article (“hpv transmission—still feeling the way.”) that says it’s possible for mothers who have warts on their hands to transmit these non-sexual warts to their baby’s genitals if they are changing their diapers and in doing so are touching that area of the baby. This isn’t common, but it can be a reason that children end up with warts on their genitals. Also, if an adult has hpv on their genitals, sometimes the virus can get on their hands (from touching that area and then not washing their hands, or whatever), and then by changing a baby’s diaper they could transmit it that way, actually causing the baby to get genital hpv. The fact that a child has hpv does not necessarily mean that the child has been abused. (however, abuse does cause it in a lot of situations, so that cannot be ruled out.)

can I get hpv from toilet seats, bath towels, swimming pools, hot tubs, etc.?
Straight from an email I got from asha:



“the issue of nonsexual means of hpv transmission has sparked a good deal of debate. There are experts who think this is possible, but it remains unclear exactly how this might occur. Such nonsexual transmission is largely referred to as theoretical and would be rare, at best. Still, one cannot discount the possibility. In the end, science simply doesn't have the tools to pin down explanations for these rare instances of alleged nonsexual transmission. We regret that we're unable to be more specific than that, but this remains an area of controversy.”



in my opinion: if you could get it from toilet seats, we would all have it.


How about from kissing?
Very rare. To actually get it this way,

1. The person you were kissing would have to have hpv in their mouth (not common).

2. The hpv would have to get past the protective barrier of saliva in your mouth to infect the skin.

3. Your skin would have to have some type of tear or cut for the hpv to infect (since the virus particles work by infecting the basal cells of the skin, that is, the cells down in the bottom layer of the skin).

4. So stop worrying. J



touching someone down there who's infected?

Yes, this is possible, if you touched that person's genitals and then your own. The virus will get on your hands temporarily and then you can transmit it to yourself. (just like with the mother who was changing the baby’s diaper that I wrote about in the question “can I get hpv from warts on my hands?”.) this is why I would always suggest washing your hands thoroughly and preventing any kind of "smearing" of fluids. If you are messing around but not having sex, and one of you is not infected, doing this carefully and making sure you don't do the touch-swipe thing will prevent him/her from getting hpv, but it is still a risk (though a smaller one).

Oral sex?
You can, although it's not nearly as common as genital hpv. There are websites out there for oral hpv and recurring respiratory papilloma (hpv in the throat), and they say that there are two strains of hpv that can cause oral warts: strains 6 and 11. These warts most commonly come about because a mother gave it to a baby at birth, but even then, it is only 1 out of every 400 babies (pretty low risk). If a person contracts warts in their mouth later on in life, the website I was reading said that the cause is "unknown," meaning they don't have enough evidence to say for sure that it was transmitted sexually, but it could be and i'm sure that in some cases it is. There is also the fact that 25% of oral cancers contain hpv type 16 (don't remember where I read this), and so it appears that the dysplasia-causing types of hpv can be transmitted through oral sex. (i also came across a study on a scientific search engine that said, and I quote, “results strongly suggest that hpv-16 may be involved in the early stages of the development of some oral carcinomas.”) but then again, you must remember that the amount of the population which has oral cancer is pretty small, comparatively, and then take 25% of that small amount - so it's not nearly big enough of an epidemic for us to say that it's definitely transmissible orally all the time.



Most recently, I read a study about mother-infant hpv transmission that also took samples from the mothers’ and fathers’ mouths to check for hpv. In this study, some people did have hpv in their mouths. But they concluded that “the difference between oral and genital infection rates suggest that there could be a high rate of transient virus that clears in a short timespan, explaining the different hpv types found in partners or in individual mucosal sites. Possible explanations for the low oral infection rate include the barrier effect of the heavily keratinized oral tissue, which makes it less permissive than the cervix to microbial infections that routinely exist in the oral cavity without producing disease or which prevents infection from invading the mucosa through microinvasive tears. Saliva has also been shown to protect against infections through a number of antimicrobial agents” (“human papillomavirus and types in newborns and parents” 7).



And now for that in plain english: basically, this is saying: “yeah, we did find it, in the adults and the children, but we didn’t find it nearly as much as we found genital hpv. This makes us think that the mouth acts differently than the genitals when it comes into contact with hpv, for instance, saliva is protective against hpv. So we think that maybe the mouth does get contaminated, but the infection doesn’t stay like it does with genital hpv. Also, maybe the mouth gets infected but just doesn’t show symptoms nearly as much.”

even though it's uncommon, I wouldn't recommend oral sex when you have an outbreak. Yuck! Oh, and there are things you can do to protect your mouth, like using plastic wrap for oral sex (health department keeps telling us that all the time). Use your own judgment.



Sex with a condom?
Yes, you can, and you will. Do not think of condoms as a way to protect against hpv, and do not have sex with someone who has it unless you are fully prepared to infect yourself. Read my page on condoms for more info.

How about having sex with someone who has hpv, but has not had symptoms in a long time?
The longer it's been, the better your chances of staying uninfected. It all depends on how long this "a while" is and on that particular person's immune system. Hpv is a temporary problem in that although researchers aren't sure whether the body ever completely eradicates the virus itself, they do agree that eventually, a person who has had it in the past will no longer be contagious. So depending on how healthy your partner is and how long ago they have had an outbreak (months versus years versus decades, for example) you may or may not become infected. You need to logically assess your risk by considering that person's pattern of symptoms in the past and also their general state of health, and if you do have sex, be willing to take the chance of infection.

If I have hpv, is it possible that my sex partner doesn't have it? Should I worry about infecting him/her if we have already been having sex?
If you have already been having sex with someone and were just diagnosed with hpv, then your sex partner has it too, even if they are not showing symptoms now and never do. Keep in mind that most people who have hpv become carriers of the virus rather than showing symptoms. If 80% of sexually active people have this virus, then why aren't we seeing more people who know they have it? Because most people are carriers! So assume that your sex partner is already infected, and do not worry about infecting him/her. Also, just because you are the one with the symptoms does not mean that you gave your partner the virus. They could have given it to you just as easily, even though they show no signs of it.

If my partner and I both have hpv, can we pass it back and forth by having sex? Will we re-infect each other all over again?
No, because you weren't cured in the first place. Once you have a strain of hpv, you have it, and that's it. Since both of you now have the same kind(s), then you need not worry about re-infecting each other. It's kind of like the chicken pox, you get it and that's it. However, keep in mind 2 things: 1. That it is possible to infect areas of your genitals which were not infected before, so having sex with an infected partner could spread the virus (worry about this mainly if you have active symptoms), and 2: that there are some 23 plus strains. If you were to break up with your partner and find a new partner, and that new partner also had hpv, there's a very good chance that he/she will not have the same kind as you, and you could therefore get another kind, on top of what you already have. (like they say on the back of cereal boxes: “collect all 23!!!”)

will using tampons spread the virus?
No, you can use tampons and do everything else as you normally would.
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replied May 4th, 2004
Hpv
Who seems to be "confused"??? I wasn't sure if you were referring to me, but i'm not confused about the situation, although, I was when I first started researching the disease......As is anyone who reads the conflicting reports on the subject. That's what is so frustrating about the whole thing....It's not as black and white as many other diseases. There seems to be a very broad spectrum of opinion within the medical community. However, everyone does seem to agree on one area.....There are many different strains of the disease. Some cause warts, and others don't....And those that don't are the "high risk group", which are at high risk of causing cervical cancer if left undected. :d
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replied May 6th, 2004
Experienced User
I didnt really read all of the longer post, so I don't know if it mentioned this- hpv is pretty much considered an std, because you can get all of them through sex, thats how I got mine- but its only the one that could cause cervical cancer...Yaaay Mad anyways back to my point- true the herpes part of it can be spread by other ways that are not sexual, but it can also be spread by sex, which is why they have to include it as an std.
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replied May 6th, 2004
Hpv
Hey there!
Yeah, I just hate all the stigma and misconception that it creates when alot of what we read only refers to it as an std. And the fact that there are so many conflicting reports about this disease, can cause a person to be grossly misinformed if they don't do constant and further research....Well this just makes me crazy! Laughing from some other information I read yesterday, only certain strains....A great many of them can be transmitted sexually, but who really knows.....I read 4 different reports, and they all stated that the number of strains there are ranged anywhere from 70 to 300....Probably has alot to do with how old the dates were etc... Rolling Eyes maybe someday they'll have some straight truths for us, but until then the debate lives on Laughing

have a great guys!!
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replied May 6th, 2004
Experienced User
Not to make this the never ending topic- but I did finally read the longer post, and it has alot of good info thanks frick Laughing anways , yes i've had this since I was 18- maybe longer for all I know, becasue I never even had symptoms- and I am still finding out info. My Dr. A while back told me its harder for men to get the virus- the strand I have, but I have no idea if this is true and condome not preventing the spread doesnt help much in terms of a sex life. My struggle was do I tell this person I have this? When its kind of 50/50 that he may get it or not, or he probably does have a strain aready- 80% of people do have it and don't know it- like mentioned above. So I personally haven't been having much romping, becasue I dont want to risk it- giving it- even though I was told basically it was ok, I likely wouldn't- but I dont want to get anything else, cause this sucks bad enough already. I did continue to have doon doon dooooooon sex with the bf that may or may not have given it to me- becasue also mentioned above- we both probably had it. But you should awlays try and be honest with someone about it- it sucks yes, but you would want someone to do that for you.
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replied May 6th, 2004
Hpv
Zill,
yeah it is a tough delimma Confused I'm married and faced the same thing....I mean, because of all the stigma, with the fact that I have the std type, I felt very humiliated...Then angry....Then...Well you know the emotional rollercoaster one goes through. Did I give it to him? Did he give it to me? Etc....Then I went through a period of feeling "dirty". Know what I mean? I lost my sex drive, because I felt like a !**@!....For lack of a better term! Lol....But my hubbie is my best friend, and has been so great! He's more concerned about my well being, because he knows that i've had acute dysplasia in the past, and knows that we have the strain of hpv which is high risk for cancer....
The way I see it, you are right that honesty with your partner is the best policy, and if he's not understanding and mature enough to deal with it....Then he's not good enough for you!! :d
it's nice to talk to someone who understands!!
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replied May 8th, 2004
Extremely eHealthy
I don't know if I posted this part or not, but here goes anyway.
I read that doctors/scientists do think that certain strains of hpv can be spread non-sexually but they have no idea how/why. They cannot prove it either way. So who knows.
Sorry for you two. Don't feel dirty. It is not your fault!
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replied May 8th, 2004
Hpv
I saw everyone talking about hpv (human papilloma virus), so I did some research myself and I just thought I would copy and paste some information!

What is genital hpv infection?

Genital hpv infection is a sexually transmitted disease (std) that is caused by human papillomavirus (hpv). Human papillomavirus is the name of a group of viruses that includes more than 100 different strains or types. More than 30 of these viruses are sexually transmitted, and they can infect the genital area of men and women including the skin of the penis, vulva (area outside the vagina), or anus, and the linings of the vagina, cervix, or rectum. Most people who become infected with hpv will not have any symptoms and will clear the infection on their own.

Some of these viruses are called “high-risk” types, and may cause abnormal pap tests. They may also lead to cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, anus, or penis. Others are called “low-risk” types, and they may cause mild pap test abnormalities or genital warts. Genital warts are single or multiple growths or bumps that appear in the genital area, and sometimes are cauliflower shaped.


What are the signs and symptoms of genital hpv infection?

Most people who have a genital hpv infection do not know they are infected. The virus lives in the skin or mucous membranes and usually causes no symptoms. Some people get visible genital warts, or have pre-cancerous changes in the cervix, vulva, anus, or penis. Very rarely, hpv infection results in anal or genital cancers.

Genital warts usually appear as soft, moist, pink, or flesh-colored swellings, usually in the genital area. They can be raised or flat, single or multiple, small or large, and sometimes cauliflower shaped. They can appear on the vulva, in or around the vagina or anus, on the cervix, and on the penis, scrotum, groin, or thigh. After sexual contact with an infected person, warts can appear within weeks or months, or they never appear.

Genital warts are diagnosed by visual inspection. Visible genital warts can be removed by medications the patient applies, or by treatments performed by a health care provider. Some individuals choose to forego treatment to see if the warts will disappear on their own. No treatment for visible genital warts is better than another, and no single treatment is ideal for all cases.


Is there a cure for hpv?

There is no “cure” for hpv infection, although in most women the infection goes away on its own. The treatments provided are directed to the changes in the skin or mucous membrane caused by hpv infection, such as warts and pre-cancerous changes in the cervix.

And if you would like to read more the website is www. Cdc. Gov (with no spaces of course) and type in hpv in the search space, and the article is called "std facts - human papillomavirus(hpv) and the date on the article is april 26th!
Cowgirl03
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replied April 26th, 2006
From a Single Male's Point of View
Oh, man. I have it. I had my warts electro-cauterized by my urologist. Im single, male and good looking and dates around. Now I dont know how to live with this thing.. The emotional rollercoaster that brookersbaby was talking about, well im on it now. How will I ever find a girl for me without me infecting her ? How do you do that ? Also, how do you guys have sex ? I mean, I heard condoms dont give 100% guarantee against hpv cause its skin to skin.. Please help .
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replied February 8th, 2007
Is Hpv = Gential Herpes?
I have just contracted herpes and i'm under going treatment, my emtional is also going through rollar coaster.

I'm looking for some support group online to talk about it. Should one be setup here? Or there's existing one already?
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replied December 18th, 2007
i am 18 and today i just found out that i have hpv.. but i have only had one sex partner and im going through the emotional rollercoaster stage.... any tips on what to do... being so young i dont know what to do any evice will help
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replied December 18th, 2007
i am 18 and today i just found out that i have hpv.. but i have only had one sex partner and im going through the emotional rollercoaster stage.... any tips on what to do... being so young i dont know what to do any evice will help
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