A Few Less Common HPV Questions - Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Message Board

artzy · 01-07-2008, 03:25 PM

- OK so I always hear how HPV is the most common virus etc. So what exactly does that mean? It sounds like there are many strains and only 2 of them cause genital warts.How many of them cause cervical cancer?
- I've heard that the strains that cause cervical cancer are NOT the ones that cause warts. Also what about the other strains.. do they do ANYTHING at all? If not than it would seem that the ones who have the warts or the cervical cancer strain really are not in such a majority as people make it sound... and are infact quite unlucky. Am I correct in this thinking? What is the likelihood of having MULTIPLE strains? Can that happen?
- The strain of HPV that causes warts on a male. What does it do to the female?? Does it create warts inside somewhere or only where genitalia come in contact?
- If someone clears themselves of the warts and has no warts left and it has healed. Is it safe to say that it probably will not be contagious?

Thanks all! very helpful board.

sam76 · 01-14-2008, 12:54 AM

#1. 13 strains can cause cervical cancer. And the reason they say it's the most common virus is because since it hides itself so well in its host, most people carrying it don't know they have it... and so it gets passed on pretty easily because if you don't realize you're carrying it, you can't inform someone. A majority of sexually active people will contract a strain of it sometime in their life.

#2. Yes, you're right... most people carrying HPV don't exhibit symptoms. There is a minority of us, the "lucky ones", who get the pleasure of warts and abnormal paps. There are dozens of strains of HPV, but not all of them do much of anything. Many of the "cutaneous" ones are the kinds that cause skin warts on any other part of your body. No one strain can cause symptoms of another, though. The strains that cause warts can't cause cervical cancer. However, yes, you can become infected with more than one strain and end up in a double bind. Consider how common HPV is to begin with - with over 100 strains. Now consider how easy it is to pick up more than one of them.

#3. The strains are not gender-specific. The ones that cause warts are the same for both men and women. The virus transmits itself through skin and can culminate in the entire genital region. It's really not predictable where warts will pop up or how many of them there will be.

#4. I'm still not clear as to whether or not there's a test to see if HPV is in your body. I know that for pap smears they can perform a test to see if it's still present or creating abnormal cell growths, but as for detecting strains... I don't think so. Generally if you haven't seen the warts in about a year, they're probably gone and your body has probably taken care of the virus on its own... but nobody seems to really know for sure whether or not that means that HPV is gone for good. So you should still inform people because as you probably know, warts still have a possibility of showing up after not being seen for a while. And yes, you're still contagious during the between phase of breakouts. I'd say talk to your doctor about this one.

artzy · 01-16-2008, 06:30 AM

thanks Sam, I really wish that medical science could just throw a number on the end of the HPV to distinguish some of the different types.

I mean these commercials seem to downplay it when they say 80% of the population has HPV. Why not breakdown some of the different versions of it.

sam76 · 01-16-2008, 11:29 AM

It's true. Eighty per cent could just mean 80% of the population will contract SOME strain of it in their lifetime... that includes anyone who just gets a simple planter's wart, or a wart on their finger. The 80% might not even be genital strain-specific. It's kind of frustrating how many spin-offs or variations of the facts there are because it makes researching it a whole lot more difficult and frustrating!

But bottom line is this virus is extremely common... as common as the common cold! So it's really not something that should be as stigmatized as it is.

artzy · 02-02-2008, 06:34 PM

Thanks Sam.

A couple more questions hopefully I can get answered...

what happens when a woman gets the warts? can you see if she has it? do the warts go inside or mostly on the outside? How does a woman get rid of them if they're on the inside?

i've heard that you can get cancer of the throat through HPV. Is that the type that do not cause warts? Can you get warts in the throat? How common is this?

I know a lot of women who do not like to use condoms. Its scary to know that doctors do not test for HPV in STD exams and yet SO MANY women and men feel comfortable believing they are safe once their doctor tells them they are STD-free.... Quite simply, two people can have STD tests with the idea "hey lets get tested so we can have sex without a condom!" get tested, turns out they are both negative of "all" STDs, throw away their condoms and then infect one or the other...

I guess in short everyone should just use condoms, all the time.

Hopefully someone can answer any of my questions.. thanks!