Contracting HPV
HPV is spread through sexual contact with someone who has the virus. Oral, anal and vaginal sex put you at risk of contracting the virus. Having multiple sex partners, who have multiple sex partners increases your risks. Contagious warts that can form anywhere on the body are a symptom of HPV. In men they may form around the anus, on the scrotum and penis. They may itch but rarely cause pain and discomfort. Women typically get them on the legs. Touching someones warts without gloves or protection, puts you at risk for contracting the virus. A person can go years with no symptoms of the virus, leaving it untreated. It can last for years or you may have the virus for the rest of your life. …show more content…
There are more than 3 million cases in the United States every year. There is no treatment, the body normally rids itself of the infection over the course of
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a few years and was found in research that almost ninety percent of women infected show no trace of the virus after two years.
HPV Prevention
Although there is no cure for Human Papillomavirus currently, there are ways to prevent it. One way is to use condom, although it may not be one hundred percent effective due to the condoms leaving exposed areas, it greatly decreases the risks of getting the virus. There are also vaccinations. Cervarix, Gardasil, and Gardasil-9 are used reduce the spread of the HPV virus.
Typically being vaccinated consists of a series of three shots that one must receive over six months. It is extremely important to get all three doses in order to be effectively protected against the virus. It is highly recommended to get boys and girls vaccinated between the ages of eleven and twelve years old. It is also suggested that men aged up to 21 and women up to 26 to get the vaccine if it was not received when they were younger. Bisexual/ gay men as well as anyone living with HIV and AIDs are recommended to be vaccinated as well if hadn’t been when younger. The only true way to avoid risksof contracting HPV is to practice abstinence and refrain from sexually intercourse all together. Health problems caused by HPV In many cases the virus goes away by itself and causes no further complications or health problems. However when it does not cancer can be one of the outcomes. Two types are, cerivical cancer and oropharyngeal cancer (or cancer of the in the back of the throat). It could be decades before cancer develop. With the many different types of HPV , the ones that may cause genital 3 warts isnt the same as they strands that cause cancers. There is no way to know who will develop which health problems. Women who are pregnant or who are trying to get pregnant should know that in most cases of HPV, the virus