Found out girl I've been dating has HPV...

[rocio]

As long as it's caught in time, cervical cancer is easily cured. I've known a few women who had it, including my mother, and none of them ever went through chemo, let alone died. It was simply burned off in an almost painless in-and-out procedure.

 

As long as you're getting regular PAP tests, the HPV virus is very unlikely to kill you.

 

I'm glad this girl informed you that she has the virus. The fact that she knows about it means that she gets regular check-ups and is concerned about her health. The fact that she told you about it means that she is honest, courageous, and cares about your health. I wouldn't let her get away. She sounds great.

[donescobar2000]

As long as it's caught in time, cervical cancer is easily cured. I've known a few women who had it, including my mother, and none of them ever went through chemo, let alone died. It was simply burned off in an almost painless in-and-out procedure.

 

As long as you're getting regular PAP tests, the HPV virus is very unlikely to kill you.

 

I'm glad this girl informed you that she has the virus. The fact that she knows about it means that she gets regular check-ups and is concerned about her health. The fact that she told you about it means that she is honest, courageous, and cares about your health. I wouldn't let her get away. She sounds great.

 

I definitley give her the the courage award...It was SO TUFF for her to tell me...I guess she expected me to up and leave but I guess I am not that type of guy.

[StillClimbing]

PLEASE DO NOT JUST TAKE FACTUAL INFO FROM A MESSAGE BOARD!! Call a doctor or nurse's health line for true facts. I have dealt with this disease and being in the medical field myself I can tell you the info I have been given from professionals as I understand it.

 

 

 

First, RELAX! HPV is a VERY common virus. You probably already have it (not nec. from this partner) and will never know because it is VERY rare for men to show symptoms. Urologists in the US no longer test for it becuase it is not a big deal for men in the vast majority of cases. It is passed from skin-to-skin contact. It is not a sign of being dirty or slutty. You CAN get it even when using condoms if the condom does not cover all the way to the very base of the penis.

 

Also, once a person has a virus, it never "goes away". What resolves on its own are the "lesions" (patches of abnormal cells) that the virus can cause. An abnormal pap means the following:

when the cells on the cervix of the woman are scraped and examined under a microscope, they look a little off. This could be due to inflammation from hormones, it could be because the virus is attacking them, or it could have progressed further and become full blown cancer. If it's just inflammation, the body can heal on its own...she just needs to get regular tests done to check (every 6 mos). If the virus is attacking them, they can be frozen off (like warts) with liquid nitrogen in the doctor's office (that is the end of the lesions, but the virus still lives in the body...so you need regular check ups). If it is full blown cancer, the doctor must remove the lesion surgically. If you wait too long on this one (like 10 years for most), the cancer can grow and spread to other body parts and cause death. This usually would take while.

 

There is no way to remove the virus from the body currently, but it is not a HUGE deal. What does this mean for you? Nothing. What does it mean for your girl? It means she has to be very regular with her pap tests.

 

Don't worry that she has it in terms of your own health. It won't affect you other than increasing your chance that you could pass it to your next partner. Just make sure you inform that person if it comes down to it and let her make the educated choice since you know. But you actually don't have to according to the medical community based on the prevalence of the virus. Up to you, really. Most of this has become a big deal recently becuase of the hype around the new vaccine!

 

 

SexySadie: Hate to break it to you but you probably already have it. You really need to educate yourself here...this disease is not as "russian roulette-ish" as you seem to think it is. Many of us live with hpv virus the same way people who carry the varicella zoster virus (the one that causes chicken pox) live...i.e., we don't even notice. I have had only 3 partners (all protected sex , all long-term boyfriends, and they had all been with few or no women). I have been getting paps since I was 21 (when I became sexually active) and now, 8 years later, I finally got an abnormal one. I was scared, but educated myself and learned how common and manageable it was. I got it tested again (a different test where they actually take a look at your cervix with a special light) and no lesions were even there. My body had cleared them up on their own. So in theory, I could have had dozens of other lesions in the past that my body had cleared away so the paps never even detected them. Did it lower my overall health? No, not more than a zit would. Now I just go in every 6 months for a pap test (which is where they scrape so cells off your cervix with a little stick) and get it checked. I will be fine. And so will others who get tested regularly and manage their results according to their doctor's advice.

 

 

Best of luck.

 

Edit: Aqua-finally someone who makes some sense here!!!

[Mythical_Suicide]

 

Also, once a person has a virus, it never "goes away". What resolves on its own are the "lesions" (patches of abnormal cells) that the virus can cause.

 

It can go away, but there's a very high chance that you will get it again at some point of your life.

I know this, My body rid itself of the virus and I was very clear to my doctor when asking if it went away OR if my body just didnt show any signs and both said the body CAN and in alot of cases do rid itself of the virus.

[Mythical_Suicide]

 

 

Some doctors even tell their patients that they don't need to tell their partner that they have HPV. And most women that have an abnormal pap with HPV clear it in a year without a problem. And actually, the standard is to have a pap ever 6 months for 1.5 years after the abnormal pap to make sure it's cool. Sometimes it's just for a year as long as the second pap is negative for HPV. There is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON TO GO BACK EVERY THREE MONTHS FOR A PAP. That actually is completely wrong to do and not standard procedure because HPV takes time to clear just like it takes time to show up.

Actually, I'm more concerned about your girlfriend than I am about you... Because you can give HER more strains....

 

I dont know what Doctor or clinic you're at but HPV is a STD, and ANY doctor who tells one not to even inform their partner does not even need to be practicing medicine. I dont care if it is so common it's a STD none the less and they need to be informed of the risks involved.

Secondly, I have to go back for paps every 3 months because I had the high risk strain and even though it rid itself i'm at a higher risk of it coming back. I dont know where you are or where you work at but can you please inform me so I stay clear of there?

 

They do routinely check for HPV, atleast here they do as it can be a very dangerous thing if not caught early enough.

[StillClimbing]

Mythical.

 

Sorry, dear, you must not have understood your doc or, alternatively, he dumbed it down for you so you wouldn't worry...because he knew it was not something to worry over. This is not meant to attack you, just to inform.

 

 

I can tell you that as far as current medical science knows to date (though you can always find someone to disagree with anything), once you acquire a virus of any kind, you are never "cured". It simply does not go away. What DOES happen is that your "viral load" or you # of virus particles is reduced by your immune system to the point of being undetectable. Your body simply fights it down and hides it. It may or may not reappear (this is what he meant by it coming back).

 

This can happen with Hepatitis C, HIV, Herpes and all other viruses.

 

The lower your viral load, the less your chances are of infecting others.

 

Should you worry about it HPV being there? No.

 

As for doctors telling patients they are not required to tell, this is a matter of ethics and very personal. But Aqua is right. The consensus in the medical community is that HPV is soo common (if you swab a grocery cart you would find the particles there! really!), that almost the entire human population comes into contact at some point anyways. Did you know that there isn't even a test for men for HPV? So while it may seem absurd to you, the truth is that you've likely been in contact with it unknowingly too! The turmoil created by telling your partner may not be worth the benefits of their knowledge.

 

I would personally inform my partner because I am a germaphobe and would want my partner to tell me, but that is me.

[Mythical_Suicide]

As for doctors telling patients they are not required to tell, this is a matter of ethics and very personal. But Aqua is right. The consensus in the medical community is that HPV is soo common (if you swab a grocery cart you would find the particles there! really!), that almost the entire human population comes into contact at some point anyways. Did you know that there isn't even a test for men for HPV? So while it may seem absurd to you, the truth is that you've likely been in contact with it unknowingly too! The turmoil created by telling your partner may not be worth the benefits of their knowledge.

 

I would personally inform my partner because I am a germaphobe and would want my partner to tell me, but that is me.

 

 

Sorry, any doctor who is going to tell ANYONE not to inform their partner if they have any form of STD is completely ABSURD if you want to call anything that. If you say this about HPV you can also say the same for most other common STD's, Herpes, etc.. Most people in their lifetime come into contact with some form of Herpes but people would be outraged if they found out their partner had the Herpes virus and never told, whats the difference? Eh? The big difference is, HPV can be very serious if not caught early on (the type I had) if I get herpes ya know what I'll just deal with annoying lesions and so on my health isn't really in any danger. Thanks but no Thanks, i'll stick to my better ethnics of telling partners if I have ANY form of STD/STI and would find another doctor if mine ever thought of telling me not to even worry about it.

If it wasn't such a big deal they wouldn't even test for it at EVERY pap smear and make it known it's very important to do this, now would they?

[StillClimbing]

Well, Mythical, you have now taken on the majority of the medical doctors in the US.

[Mythical_Suicide]

Sorry I dont know everything about every doctor around the world as you do, I must bow down to you!

[StillClimbing]

If you read my posts carefully you'll see that I actually agree and would tell my partner about hpv.

 

I am simply giving you info about what the doctors generally recommend. I have no invovement in that. Your anger is misdirected.

 

I'm not here for personal squabbles with online folks. I just happen to have some info on this topic and wanted to share. If you don't appreciate that, I can't help you.

[doyathink]

After seeing the battle my friend had to go through with HPV...I would be PISSED if my man had it and didn't tell me!

She had to have her cervix removed the second time it came back.... All within a year of initial onset! It was the cancerous type. She would have to have ,what was left of a cervix, sewn shut in order to have children now.....could have saved her health, money and pain if he would have told her he had it....presuming he knew.

 

I think ppl who down play this virus are not doing any favors to the community. You may not have had a bad ordeal with it....but many have!

[applepie]

After seeing the battle my friend had to go through with HPV...I would be PISSED if my man had it and didn't tell me!

She had to have her cervix removed the second time it came back.... All within a year of initial onset! It was the cancerous type. She would have to have ,what was left of a cervix, sewn shut in order to have children now.....could have saved her health, money and pain if he would have told her he had it....presuming he knew.

 

I think ppl who down play this virus are not doing any favors to the community. You may not have had a bad ordeal with it....but many have!

 

The whole point is that there is NO test for HPV for men. The only strains that can be detected are the strains that produce genital warts and these don't cause cervical cancer. A man can't tell you he has a dangerous strain because there is no test for it.

[doyathink]

The whole point is that there is NO test for HPV for men. The only strains that can be detected are the strains that produce genital warts and these don't cause cervical cancer. A man can't tell you he has a dangerous strain because there is no test for it.

 

I'm very well aware of that. image removed

I meant...if he had a previous partner who he knew had it....I would want to know.

[sweetsixteen]

I haven't told my bf about having hpv. I actually had 5 different doctors tell me it was unessary to tell your partner. When I first found out I freak out and went online and found so much information it scared the * * * * out of me. I don't want my boyfriend to worry even if everyone tells you not too. Plus there is no evidence he didn't give it to me and there is no treatmen for men unless u have the kind that are warts. Maybe if we break up I"ll let him know, but it is not affecting our sexual relationship at all. Please once u have it you can't pass it back and forth to each other is what several doctors and literature shows unless u pick up a different kind from someone else and spread that to your partner. Pretty much all of my friends have it. None had the genital type which would suck. Pretty much the hpv that doesn't show symptons doesn't affect you. If I were to go to another doctor and not tell them in my past I had an abnormal pap they would have no clue I might have HPV cuase I had an abnormal past in my history unless they specifically tested for it.

[Mythical_Suicide]

yeah, "maybe" if you break up, Okay so he can pass it on to his new gf/wife.. Lovely. It's an STD for christs sake no matter if there is a test or not they need to know, but I guess this day in age STD's are so common pretty soon people are going to be saying not to tell your partner you have AIDS. I can already see it happening people are getting too comfortable with these Diseases and Viruses. Whatever happened to the days of when you had a cold you would tell your partner? Now it's "oh I have an STD, no biggy!There isn't a test for you so no reason to worry about telling you, hell just pass it along to everyone else without them being informed."

[CluelessGuy321]

Most women have it. It's one way they get cervical cancer. There's a few variations, and the only one I know that affects men is the visible genital warts.