HPV and you! Part 2 in a series of….well, a lot.
Over the past few years, and if you did not live under a rock, you have probably heard a lot about HPV – the Human Papillomavirus. HPV can cause all kinds of issues including sterility and cancer, especially in women. The American Social Health Association reported estimates that about 75-80% of sexually active Americans will be infected with HPV at some point in their lifetime.
In fact, if you’re hanging around a group of 10 women ages 20 – 24, it’s a good chance that 3 of them have HPV. Just imagine a very large Sorority house – oh god it’s likely HPV is everywhere!! All joking aside, let’s take a look at this chart:
“But wait! I heard that you can now get a vaccine called Gardasil or Cervxil that prevents girls from getting HPV?” Yes, you can. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardasil “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends vaccination before adolescence and potential sexual activity” I won’t get into the debate on whether Big Pharma scared everyone into pushing their tweens to get this vaccine or the debate that if you force your adolescent to get this vaccine they should know what it’s for and what it prevents. (Ex: Mommy and Daddy think you’re potential slut material, so we are taking you to the doctor to get you protected but aren’t telling you why.) Of course I generalize greatly with that statement as some parents did use this as an opportunity to talk to their spawn about sex and STDs. Good on those guys. In my personal experience I find that many mom’s take their daughters for the vaccine because the mom already has HPV. So onto chart numero dos:
The good news is after the initial spike in the late 90s, now armed with the Vaccine, and the ability for young adults to remain on parent’s health insurance (Thanks Obamacare!) we should see substantial drops in HPV rates. For those wondering why HPV and Genital Warts are different, HPV causes the Warts but the virus itself is not considered Genital Warts, but the two are easily confused. Think of it this way: HPV is the Cause, Genital Warts is the Effect. And cancer. Terrible, cervical & life destroying cancer.
How did a crazy % of women get HPV anyway? It sounds like there needs to be a lot of sex going on for such high infection rates…well… the answer to that is chart #3:
In the majority of these bars, homosexual and heterosexual men out number the prevalence rates in women substantially. In most instances a woman is not going to get HPV from a homosexual man, (although crazier things have happened) but from an unprotected sexual encounter with an infected heterosexual male. Many infected men show few symptoms…however with a disturbingly increasing frequency I have been getting texts from girl acquaintances that FWD me a picture of some dudes junk, asking “WTH is that on his penis and should I be worried?” It’s not even shocking to me anymore….
(If you see something that looks like “crotch acne” don’t go down there, you will thank me later)
HPV can not be cured but medicines can be taken to decrease outbreaks of warts, and only about 10% of the HPV strains cause Cancer. The HPV Vaccines primarily protect against the strains that cause cancer, but also are effective against the wart causing HPV strains. Adolescent males can also receive the vaccine to prevent HPV but the most serious side effects happen to women. Receiving the vaccine after becoming infected with HPV may help lower symptoms but will not get rid of HPV.
Likelihood: *****
Deadliness:**
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