A
male
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:Hi everyone, I have a few questions regarding HPV...Obviously any sort of virus is a cause for concern, but it seems recently HPV has been talked about heavily, especially for and by women. I recently saw an ad on the TV for some drug for women and it said something like 4 out of 5 women have/will get HPV. I understand there are over 100 strains of HPV, and some cause genital warts, cancer and some never really leave the body, but this all seems new to me - and the focus is generally toward women, not much is said about men.So a few questions...How is that so many people will be infected by/have HPV? How do people get infected in the first place? More over, how do people not know they're infected? Since the focus seems to be on women, should men be concerned about it? And lastly, how can you effectively avoid it? I recently started dating a girl and we're progressing further and further in our relationship, it's just I've never had any sexual contact before and I'm concerned about people who have HPV, but don't know...I don't want to come off as a douche and say "Hey ____, before we 'get busy', do you have HPV? Can I get you tested even though you say you think you don't have it?"Thanks!
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reader, anonymous, writes (29 March 2011): Please talk to a doctor about this, not the internet.
HPV is a virus that you CAN carry even with no symptoms. HPV doesn't "go away", it goes dormant.
For example:
My father had had warts in his 20s he never told my mother about...he thought they were "just" warts. They were removed by a doctor and he assumed it was no big deal. My mother married him as a virgin.
He never had another outbreak, but she managed to get warts 30 years later when she was sick after one of her pregnancies...This was not spontaneous, this was HPV she caught in a "dormant" phase from my father and tests verified that.
You can debate how serious warts are or aren't but you should make a decision about if you want to risk getthing them or not.
I happen to agree with Chigirl, warts aren't a big deal. I wouldn't turn down a sexual partner soley because of HPV. However, I also know not everyone thinks this way. My mother for instance, was incredibly upset about it. It's nothing she left my father over, but she was pissed for a long while. If you decide you don't want warts and you don't want to pass on HPV to future mates, get the vaccine.
Talk to a doctor.
A
female
reader, chigirl  +, writes (29 March 2011):
 I had warts, and I have been to a doctor, and I have gotten correct information about warts. They don't do no harm, they are just warts. They don't cause infertility, moreover they are easily treated and once treated they go away for good.
Other than not looking pretty, like no warts do, it isn't harmful in any way! You don't carry it for life, you don't get sterile from it either.
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A
female
reader, person12345  +, writes (29 March 2011):
 How is that so many people will be infected by/have HPV?
4 out of 5? It's closer to 50% but the majority of those don't know they have it until either a doctor tests them, they develop cervical cancer, or find out they are infertile from it.
How do people get infected in the first place? More over, how do people not know they're infected?
It's not that different strains cause different symptoms so much as everyone responds differently. Most people do not develop warts. As well, a woman can't know if the man she is with is a carrier since men very rarely show symptoms or are affected.
Since the focus seems to be on women, should men be concerned about it?
Really only in the sense that they can pass it to women. The main concerns with HPV are fertility and cervical cancer.
And lastly, how can you effectively avoid it?
Condoms can help, however they aren't as effective as with other STDs since they are spread through skin on skin contact, like herpes. Condoms will reduce the risk though, so use condoms!
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (29 March 2011): To give wrong medical information too this is totally unacceptable, misleading, and can lead to scary results.Warts are fedinitely something one should work to avoid, and are not 'harmless' as she said!
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reader, anonymous, writes (29 March 2011): Some people wouldn't consider genital warts "harmless"...I'm not trying to undercut you Chigirl, but I think there is some misinformation in your post. I think this is why getting medical information from amateur advice columnists isn't such a great idea. If it really bothers you this much, consider getting the vaccine, Gardasil. The vaccine prevents against the 4 most prevalant strains of HPV.Even among doctors, the seriousness of HPV isn't agreed upon...Some people think it's now an in-vogue virus and they amplify the dangerousness of it to sell vaccines...this is that attitude I've gotten from older doctors. But to be fair, some goverments are using the vaccine in a widespread way to eradicate it. Britain vaccinates both male and female children when they are teenagers. I've had female gynocologists tell me that it's an STD that I need to take very seriously. When I do and I ask the next gynocologist the next year about it, they sometimes roll their eyes at me when I ask them if I should be concerned. HPV tends to go dormant for long periods of time, literally years. For instance, I was positive for it 2 years ago after the doctor spotted an abnormal lesion on my cervix(even though the pap smear was normal). During my last check up, I was negative for HPV. What does that mean? It means I carry the virus in a dormant form. Much the same way someone carries chicken pox virus at the age of 35. Dormant HPV can come back or flare up in the form of a lesion or a wart if a person is stressed or their immune system is compromised. Similarly, a person who has had chicken pox, can get shingles if they are immune compromised.As far as women knowing they have it or not...many who have it don't know about it. Typically a woman finds out she has it when she:1) Gets a wart and a doctor runs a test2) Gets an abnormal pap smear (indicating a cervical lesion) and the doctor runs the test.At least in the US, doctor tend l not run a test for HPV unless you have a visible symptom or you decide to pay extra for it. And this makes a lot of sense considering people can be intermittently positive or negative. The truth is a lot of people have it and don't get either a cervical lesion or warts and so they don't know if they've had it. And you're right, most people carry a virus at some point in their life. That means an awful lot of people carry it and don't know. Why should you be worried? Technically, you can pass it on even in a dormant phase, even if no warts or cervical lesions are present. It's less likely this way, but the virus can shed from the body through the skin. That means it can be transmitted through dry sex or even protected sex. So be careful. Talk to a doctor rather than advice aunts about something like this. Consider getting the vaccine if it worries you this much. It's 3 doses given over the course of about 8 months. And like I said, it only protects against the 4 most common strains...that's what I learned anyway after going to the trouble to get the vaccine.
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A
female
reader, chigirl +, writes (29 March 2011):
HPV is potentially dangerous to women, as it can give us cancer. It is harmless for men.HPV can cause warts that are easily treaded, and once treated they go away and are not left in the body.So many get HPV because it spreads like fire in dry grass, but it is spread only through sex, genitalia to genitalia. You avoid it by staying a virgin. Basically. It is very common, and harmless, except in the few cases of cancer in women. Genital warts are terribly common, and nothing to be scared of. People don't know they have it, or spread it, because there are no symptoms, and it's not even possible to test for. Basically though, if the girl doesn't have warts then there's not really a chance you will get the warts either. You wont get cancer. Although you might help spread the HPV later in life, unless you don't have sex with anyone ever again. Read up on genital warts, as you will see it can take up to a year from point of infection to the actual warts show. Which is another reason you really can not tell who infected whom or when. Wearing condoms help. Other than the warts though, that are easily treatable and harmless, there's nothing to fear for you. But, her getting tested for the things you CAN get tested for (commonly chlamydia) would be a nice gesture on her behalf. It's common courtesy to get tested before starting a new sexual relationship.
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A
male
reader, C. Grant +, writes (29 March 2011):
 You may find this link useful:http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/stdfact-hpv-and-men.htm
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