Last Updated on July 29, 2021 by Debra Rose Wilson, PhD, MSN, RN, IBCLC, AHN-BC, CHT
How do you get HPV/How can you get it? HPV Causes:
There are more than 70 types of HPV (human papillomavirus) and about 30 of them can be transmitted through sexual contact.
Most people who have human papillomavirus do not develop symptoms or health problems from it. Some types of human papillomavirus cause warts to appear on or around the genitals and anal area. These genital warts are most commonly associated with two types of human papillomavirus, HPV-6 and HPV-11. Other HPV types can cause cancer of the cervix, and, less frequently, vaginal, vulvar, anal and throat cancer, as well as penile cancers.
The human papillomavirus types associated with warts, however, are not generally associated with cancer.
Human Papillomavirus is spread by skin-to-skin contact (most often genital-to-genital), not through an exchange of body fluids. In the case of HPV warts, even after the warts have been removed, it is possible for the virus to be shed from the area originally infected and without either partner being aware of transmission.
Human Papillomavirus can be contracted from one partner, remain dormant, and then later be unknowingly transmitted to another sexual partner.
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How to tell if you have HPV? HPV Symptoms:
Warts may appear within several weeks after sexual contact with a person who has the human papillomavirus, or they may take months or years to appear, or they may never appear. Genital warts can cause itching, irritation, and bleeding. Around the anus, where they are more likely to be discovered by touch rather than sight, warts can be mistaken for hemorrhoids.
Some human papillomavirus infections cause flat, abnormal growths in the genital area and on the cervix; however, human papillomavirus infections of the cervix usually do not cause any symptoms at all.
How to know if you have HPV? HPV Tests:
Genital warts can be diagnosed by visual inspection, and infrequently, a clinician may need to biopsy the area to determine if there is a wart present.
The most common way to find out if you have one of the cancer-associated types of human papillomavirus is through a pap test. For people with vulvas/vaginas who are age thirty and older, a pap test may be done in combination with a DNA test.
Relief spells (Rolaids?!) HPV Treatment:
The virus itself is not presently treatable or curable.
Genital warts may be removed by a healthcare provider. Healthcare providers use mild acids, freezing, burning with an electrical current, or lasers. There are prescription genital warts treatments that can be used at home and those treatments usually require repeated application from a few weeks to a few months.
In some cases, warts return, so one may need repeated treatment.
Most human papillomavirus infections are temporary and are, in time, cleared by the body’s immune system (although reactivation or reinfection would still be possible).
Since there isn’t yet a test or guaranteed way to know if a person has been able to shed the virus, it’s safest to assume that someone who has had HPV can transmit the virus to others again.
What’s going to happen to me?!!?! HPV Expectations:
Many sexually active people contract HPV. Most cases of human papillomavirus go away on their own.
Most people with penises who become infected with human papillomavirus never develop any symptoms or problems from the infection. However, they can pass it on to current and sometimes future sexual partners.
Even after you have been treated for genital warts, you may still infect others.
Things to be aware of… HPV Complications:
Some types of HPV have been found to cause cancer of the cervix and vulva. They are the main cause of cervical cancer.
The types of human papillomavirus that can cause genital warts are not the same as the types that can cause penile or anal cancer.
Genital warts may become numerous and quite large, requiring more extensive treatment and follow-up procedures.
- Detailed HPV Symptoms
- Human Papillomavirus – Resources, Info, and Personal Experiences
- How to Not Give an Eff about Having an STI
- Pictures of Genital Warts
- Genital Warts Brief
- Genital Warts In-Depth
- STI Interviews
- STD Hotlines
- Human Papillomavirus Vaccines
References
- Symptoms
- Carpén, Timo, et al. “Presenting symptoms and clinical findings in HPV-positive and HPV-negative oropharyngeal cancer patients.” Acta oto-laryngologica 138.5 (2018): 513-518.
- Suzuki, Sadao, and Akihiro Hosono. “No association between HPV vaccine and reported post-vaccination symptoms in Japanese young women: results of the Nagoya study.” Papillomavirus Research 5 (2018): 96-103.
- Nadarzynski, Tom, et al. “Perceptions of HPV and attitudes towards HPV vaccination amongst men who have sex with men: A qualitative analysis.” British journal of health psychology 22.2 (2017): 345-361.
- Martínez-Lavín, Manuel, Laura-Aline Martínez-Martínez, and Paola Reyes-Loyola. “HPV vaccination syndrome. A questionnaire-based study.” Clinical rheumatology 34.11 (2015): 1981-1983.
- León-Maldonado, Leith, et al. “Perceptions and experiences of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and testing among low-income Mexican women.” PloS one 11.5 (2016): e0153367.
- Testing
- Koliopoulos, George, et al. “Cytology versus HPV testing for cervical cancer screening in the general population.” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 8 (2017).
- Ogilvie, Gina Suzanne, et al. “Effect of screening with primary cervical HPV testing vs cytology testing on high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia at 48 months: the HPV FOCAL randomized clinical trial.” Jama 320.1 (2018): 43-52.
- Goodman, Annekathryn. “HPV testing as a screen for cervical cancer.” BMJ: British Medical Journal 350 (2015): h2372.
- Kuhn, Louise, and Lynette Denny. “The time is now to implement HPV testing for primary screening in low resource settings.” Preventive medicine 98 (2017): 42-44.
- Bishop, Justin A., et al. “HPV-related squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: an update on testing in routine pathology practice.” Seminars in diagnostic pathology. Vol. 32. No. 5. WB Saunders, 2015.
- Treatment
- Quake, Stephen R., and Jianbin Wang. “Compositions and methods for cell targeted hpv treatment.” U.S. Patent Application No. 15/166,936.
- Mirghani, H., et al. “Treatment de‐escalation in HPV‐positive oropharyngeal carcinoma: ongoing trials, critical issues and perspectives.” International journal of cancer 136.7 (2015): 1494-1503.
- Wang, Marilene B., et al. “HPV-positive oropharyngeal carcinoma: a systematic review of treatment and prognosis.” Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery 153.5 (2015): 758-769.
- Stich, Maximilian, et al. “5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (DAC) treatment downregulates the HPV E6 and E7 oncogene expression and blocks neoplastic growth of HPV-associated cancer cells.” Oncotarget 8.32 (2017): 52104.
- Hildesheim, Allan, et al. “Impact of human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 and 18 vaccination on prevalent infections and rates of cervical lesions after excisional treatment.” American journal of obstetrics and gynecology 215.2 (2016): 212-e1.
- Prevention
- Grandahl, Maria, et al. “School-based intervention for the prevention of HPV among adolescents: a cluster randomised controlled study.” BMJ open 6.1 (2016): e009875.
- Stanley, Margaret, and Mario Poljak. “Prospects for the new HPV Prevention and Control Board.” Papillomavirus Research 3 (2017): 97.
- Bosch, F. Xavier, et al. “HPV-FASTER: broadening the scope for prevention of HPV-related cancer.” Nature reviews Clinical oncology 13.2 (2016): 119.
- Dilley, Sarah E., et al. “Abstract C92: A diagnostic review of barriers to and opportunities for improving HPV vaccination in Alabama.” (2018): C92-C92.
- Gervais, Frédéric, et al. “Systematic review of cost-effectiveness analyses for combinations of prevention strategies against human papillomavirus (HPV) infection: a general trend.” BMC public health 17.1 (2017): 283.
- Transmission
- Kero, Katja, and Jaana Rautava. “HPV infections in heterosexual couples: mechanisms and covariates of virus transmission.” Acta cytologica 63.2 (2019): 143-147.
- Giuliano, Anna R., et al. “EUROGIN 2014 roadmap: Differences in HPV infection natural history, transmission, and HPV-related cancer incidence by gender and anatomic site of infection.” International journal of cancer. Journal international du cancer 136.12 (2015): 2752.
- Guenat, David, et al. “Exosomes and other extracellular vesicles in HPV transmission and carcinogenesis.” Viruses 9.8 (2017): 211.
- Zouridis, Andreas, et al. “Intrauterine HPV transmission: a systematic review of the literature.” Archives of gynecology and obstetrics 298.1 (2018): 35-44.
- Louvanto, Karolina, et al. “Breast milk is a potential vehicle for human papillomavirus transmission to oral mucosa of the spouse.” The Pediatric infectious disease journal 36.7 (2017): 627-630.
