What is HPV?

HPV (human papilloma virus) is a very common sexually transmitted virus. In fact, HPV is an epidemic. Over 6 million new cases will be diagnosed this year. It is possible that up to half of men and women between the ages of 19-22 are already infected! The only way you can get HPV is through sexual activity with someone who already has it. Sexual activity is not restricted to intercourse. You can catch HPV from someone if your genital area comes in close contact with his genitals.

HPV is important because of all the problems it can cause. HPV causes genital warts. This is a bothersome problem that results in warty growths near the outside of your vagina and the surrounding area. That's unpleasant enough, but HPV can cause abnormal cells of the cervix. In fact, the cells of your cervix can become so abormal, that over many years they can turn into cervical cancer. Doctors believe that most cases of cervical cancer are the result of HPV infection earlier in a woman's life. That's right, this is a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cancer in some women.

Not every woman who gets HPV will get genital warts or cancer. Most women won't get either, but there is no way to know in advance which cases of HPV will progress to genital warts, or abnormal cervical cells, or cervical cancer. That's why you want to do whatever you can to prevent getting HPV.

Unfortunately, it's not so easy to keep from getting it. First of all, most men never get symptoms from HPV and there is no reliable test to diagnose HPV in men besides looking for symptoms. So, chances are that if your partner is carrying the HPV virus, there is no way for you to tell. Even if you know for sure that your partner has HPV, there is no reliable way of making sure that you don't catch it. That's because HPV can be anywhere on the penis, scrotum or surrounding areas. A condom only covers the penis, so it can reduce your chances of getting HPV, but it can't prevent it altogether.

How do you find out if you have HPV? Since most women don't have symptoms, especially in the early years after you catch it, you won't know unless you ask your doctor for a special test for HPV that can be done at the same time that you are having a PAP smear.

There is some good news, though. A vaccine against HPV was recently introduced. If you get the vaccine before you ever have sexual activity or before you catch HPV, it can prevent you from catching it. So the HPV vaccine keeps you from getting the virus, and prevents genital warts, abnormal cells of the cervix and cervical cancer. Not bad for one vaccine!