A
female
age
36-40,
anonymous
writes:So I got a Pap smear recently and my doctor told me I had abnormal results and needed a colposcopy. The results from that showed that I'm HPV + ! However I have only been with 1 person sexually my whole life, my current boyfriend. He on the other hand has had several sexual partners before me, we are currently in a monogamous relationship. Prior to us first having sex he said he had no dieseases. We have been together for 2 years now, my year 1 of the relationship Pap smear was routine no abnormal results everything ok. Now year 2 of the relationship the Pap smear came back negatively! What could have caused this? I know I have been faithful, and I'm 99% sure he's been faithful too... Did he cheat on me and gave me this? Or what?! Who can explain this? Any insight is greatly appreciated! Reply to this Question
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Fancy yourself as an agony aunt? Add your answer to this question! A
female
reader, So_Very_Confused +, writes (27 November 2012):
 I am 52 and I have had cells consistent with HPV for years. I've had two colposcopies and two LEEP procedures over the years.
the last two PAP smears were NORMAL... when I asked the doctor about it he said that sometimes the body clears HPV by itself and that I probably had HPV and do not now.
HPV is in at least 80% of women in my age range... it can be around for years and years and it doesn't really cause problems for most.
I was told years ago by a different doctor that sometimes the act of intercourse (and the penis constantly hitting the cervix can cause cells to have HPV tendencies... it's still one of those things they aren't totally sure about.
A
female
reader, Honeypie +, writes (27 November 2012):
 There currently isn't a test that can reveal if a guy has HVP (unless he gets an outbreak with genital warts). So he might not have been aware that he had been "infected".
IT IS NOT the number of partners YOU have had, but as nasty as it sounds - when you sleep with someone you "sleep" with everyone they have had sex with too in a STD/viral sense.
I don't know how many years your BF have been sexually active, but the HVP virus can stay dormant for years even a decade before and outbreak. So get treated and if you are lucky it will go in-active. However, from now on you will always carry the HPV virus in you and that means ANYONE you have sex with have a potential to get this. So you need to be upfront about this.
Unfortunately, male anon got it wrong. HPV can spread EVEN with using a condom.
And it doesn't mean ANYONE cheated.
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A
female
reader, chigirl  +, writes (27 November 2012):
 HPV isn't tested for, and unless you have a strain of the virus that causes an abnormality, then it wont be detected. Everyone who ever had sex has HPV, as it spreads from just a mere touch. Don't even need to have sex, just touching is enough. As far as I know HPV is not considered a STD, except for the strains that cause genital warts (is the ones that can cause cancer finally listed as an STD now? It was such a recent discovery I am not sure). Your DOCTOR can explain you this, so ask them.
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A
female
reader, k_c100  +, writes (27 November 2012):
 Have a read of this - http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/conditions/hpv.shtml
This should also help:
HPV is passed on through genital contact, most often during vaginal and anal sex. HPV may also be passed on during oral sex and genital-to-genital contact. HPV can be passed on between straight and same-sex partners—even when the infected partner has no signs or symptoms.
A person can have HPV even if years have passed since he or she had sexual contact with an infected person. Most infected persons do not realize they are infected or that they are passing the virus on to a sex partner. It is also possible to get more than one type of HPV.
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HPV is incredibly common, and doesnt always show as genital warts. He can have been carrying HPV in one form that doesnt show on STI tests, and he can have been carrying this for years. Unfortunately it doesnt really have any impact on men, unless they catch the strain that causes genital warts. Whereas certain strains (what you have now been tested for) cause cervical cancer in women.
So you could have caught HPV from your previous partner and have carried it for years before it turned 'abnormal'. No STI test would have picked it up either. Equally your boyfriend could have been carrying HPV for years from one of his previous partners, and it has only just passed to you and turned 'abnormal'.
I very much doubt your boyfriend has cheated, and you havent cheated either - it is just the nature of HPV I'm afraid, it isnt that well understood in the medical world and they dont fully understand why it turns abnormal. There are so many strains of it and they all behave differently, it is just a difficult STI.
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A
male
reader, anonymous, writes (27 November 2012): "How did I get HPV if I have had only 1 sexual partner?"
Because you had unprotected sex with a partner who previously had unprotected sex with several partners. Given that scenarion, contracting a STD is like getting pregnant, once is all it takes.
"Prior to us first having sex he said he had no dieseases."
He may not necessarily have been telling the truth.
"Did he cheat on me and gave me this?"
He didn't necessarily cheat on you and he gave you this.
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A
female
reader, pinktopaz +, writes (27 November 2012):
You may have gotten HPV 2+ years ago but it didn't cause "abnormal" results until now. It doesn't mean he's been cheating on you--it can just take time for it to develop into abnormal cells.
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