HPV

What is human papillomavirus infection?

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a viral infection that’s passed between people through skin-to-skin contact. There are over 100 varieties of HPV, more than 40 of which are passed through sexual contact and can affect your genitals, mouth, or throat. Some cases of genital HPV infection may not cause any health problems. However, some types of HPV can lead to the development of genital warts and even cancers of the cervix, anus, and throat.

What can HPV do?

The virus that causes HPV infection is transmitted through skin-to-skin contact. Most people get a genital HPV infection through direct sexual contact, including vaginal, anal, and oral sex. Because HPV is a skin-to-skin infection, intercourse isn’t required for transmission to occur. Many people have HPV and don’t even know it, which means you can still contract it even if your partner doesn’t have any symptoms.

It’s also possible to have multiple types of HPV. In rare cases, a mother who has HPV can transmit the virus to her baby during delivery. When this happens, the child may develop a condition called recurrent respiratory papillomatosis where they develop HPV-related warts inside their throat or airways.

What are some misconceptions of HPV infection?

Contracting HPV doesn’t decrease your chances of becoming pregnant. If you’re pregnant and have HPV, you may wish to delay treatment until after delivery. However, in some cases, HPV infection can cause complications. Hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy may cause genital warts to grow and in some cases, these warts may bleed. If genital warts are widespread, they may make a vaginal delivery difficult. When genital warts block the birth canal, a C-section may be required.

How do I know I have HPV?

Often, HPV infection doesn’t cause any noticeable symptoms or health problems. In fact, 90 percent of HPV infections (9 out of 10) go away on their own within two years, according to the CDC. However, because the virus is still in a person’s body during this time, that person may unknowingly transmit HPV. When the virus doesn’t go away on its own, it can cause serious health problems. These include genital warts and warts in the throat (known as recurrent respiratory papillomatosis). HPV can also cause cervical cancer and other cancers of the genitals, head, neck, and throat.

The types of HPV that cause warts are different from the types that cause cancer. So, having genital warts caused by HPV doesn’t mean that you’ll develop cancer. Cancers caused by HPV often don’t show symptoms until the cancer is in later stages of growth. Regular screenings can help diagnose HPV-related health problems earlier. This can improve outlook and increase chances of survival. Many men who contract an HPV infection have no symptoms, although some may develop genital warts. Some strains of HPV can cause penile, anal, and throat cancer in men.

Some men may be more at risk for developing HPV-related cancers, including men who receive anal sex and men with a weakened immune system. Some women may notice that they have genital warts, which can appear inside the vagina, in or around the anus, and on the cervix or vulva. Some strains of HPV can cause cervical cancer or cancers of the vagina, anus, or throat. Regular screening can help detect the changes

How can you get HPV?

Anyone who’s had sexual skin-to-skin contact is at risk for HPV infection. Other factors that may put someone at an increased risk for HPV infection include: increased number of sexual partners; unprotected vaginal, oral, or anal sex; a weakened immune system or having a sexual partner that has HPV. If you contract a high-risk type of HPV, some factors can make it more likely that the infection will continue and may develop into cancer: a weakened immune system; having other STIs, such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, and herpes simplex; chronic inflammation; having many children (cervical cancer); using oral contraceptives over a long period of time (cervical cancer); using tobacco products (mouth or throat cancer); receiving anal sex (anal cancer)

HPV prevention

The easiest ways to prevent HPV are to use condoms and to practice safe sex.

Is there treatment for HPV?

Most cases of HPV go away on their own, so there’s no treatment for the infection itself. In addition, the Gardasil 9 vaccine is available for the prevention of genital warts and cancers caused by HPV. The vaccine can protect against nine types of HPV known to be associated with either cancer or genital warts.

Cervical cancer screening

It is recommended for women above 30 years to do a PAP smear every 3 years to detect early changes of cervical cancer. There currently aren’t any medically supported natural treatments available for HPV infection. Routine screening for HPV and cervical cancer is important for identifying, monitoring, and treating health problems that may result from HPV infection.