If you have recently been diagnosed as having HPV – or Human Papillomavirus – you were probably absolutely mortified. Well, you are not alone. In fact, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection. The lifetime likelihood of getting HPV is between 75-90%. That’s right. What that means is that more people have HPV than do not have it. Feel better? Not much? I understand.
The thing is, most people who have HPV never suffer any symptoms. No genital warts, no abnormal pap smears, or any other manifestations that they can identify. So you might be mortified at sharing this secret with your friends, but there is a pretty good chance that they share your problems. They just don’t know it.
HPV is generally transmitted through genital-to-genital sexual contact. Studies show that the risk of developing genital warts after having sex with someone who has genital warts is in the range of 65%. Condoms, while helpful (and always good idea) do not totally stop the transmission of HPV. If the person with HPV has the infection on the skin in the genital area, a condom will do no good in protecting the partner from transmission of the disease.
Usually, the time from exposure to HPV and the development of genital warts is from 4 weeks to 8 months. Sometimes, though, the HPV can remain latent for years – even decades – before developing warts or cervical disease. Therefore it is not a good idea to go pointing fingers at the current sexual partner. It could be him (or her), or it could be someone from years ago. And remember – there is a good chance that they don’t even know that they have HPV, so how could they warn you.
Oral sex can transmit HPV, but it is very rare. As for contracting HPV through contaminated toilet seats, doorknobs, etc., there is no evidence of this. But … there are unexplained cases of HPV lesions, so there is the slim possibility that it can be transferred through an event of a non-sexual nature.
The good news about HPV that produces genital warts is that that type of HPV is considered low risk. In other words – nasty warts, but no nasty cancer. High risk HPV can be a little scarier – it can produce cancer. The good news is that with regular pap smears, the odds are good that it if the HPV is cancer-bound, the doctor will catch it early. But – a pap smear can be normal even when there is high risk HPV involved. In other words – get regular pap smears. And if you are worried about HPV, be tested specifically for HPV. Studies have shown that if women with normal pap smears were tested for HPV, roughly 25% of them would return positive. So – again – you are not alone in this.
So if you are diagnosed with HPV, talk to your doctor. Make him (or her) speak English to you. And continue with those regular pap smears. They are essential.
