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HPV & Women

May 02, 2007

HPV stands for human papilloma virus. HPV is a sexually transmitted virus. It can be passed through genital contact such as anal and vaginal sex. Another way it can be passed on is from skin to skin contact. At some point in the life of sexually active men and women at least 50 percent will acquire HPV. By the age of 50 at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital warts. According to the CDC each year over 6 million Americans will get a new genital HPV infection.

What are the signs and symptoms of genital HPV infection? Most people who have this virus do not know it. The reason why is because most people that become infected will mot have symptoms and will clear the infection on their own. HPV is a group of infections that include more than 100 different strains or types. More than 30 of these viruses are sexually transmitted and they can infect the genital area in men and women.

The signs that you have this virus are visible genital warts. In the genital area will be soft, moist, pink or flesh-colored swelling. The warts can be raised or flat, single or multiple, small or large, and sometimes cauliflower shaped. They also may appear on the vulva, in and around the vagina or anus, on the cervix and on the penis, scrotum groin or thigh. The infection can appear within weeks are months of having sex with an infected person.

Who can get HPV? The Office of Women’s Health says anyone who has had sex with another person with HPV. Females and males can pass this on with out knowing it. You are more likely to get HPV if you have sex at an early age. If you are having sex with multiple persons you can get this virus. If the person you are with has had many sex partners.

What should you know about cervical cancer? Women should go get a Pap test on a regular basis. The test can find cell changes caused by HPV. It finds these changes early so the cervix can be treated before the cells turns into cancer. Research has shown that for most women (90 %), cervical HPV infection becomes undetectable with two years. Persistent infection with High-risk types of HPV is the main risk factor for cervical cancer in women.

Is there a cure? There is no cure fore HPV. There are treatments for the health problems that HPV causes.

Ways to reduce the risk of getting HPV. The surest way to eliminate risk is to refrain from any genital contact with another individual. For the people that choose to have sex you should be in a monogamous relationship with an uninfected partner is the strategy most likely to prevent future genital HPV infections. This is difficult because you cannot determine whether a person is infected. You can also reduce the number of sex partners you are with.

Posted at 08:15 AM by Latasha in the STDs category/ies.

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