HPV

Human Papillomavirus

What I Have Learned

Definitions:

A virus that causes abnormal tissue growth (warts) and is often associated with different types of cancer.
A family of over 100 viruses including those which can cause warts and can be transmitted by contact. Many types of HPV are associated with tumors of the genital tract including, cancer of the cervix, a growing common factor with women diagnosed.
A virus which causes warts, including, but not limited to genital warts, a type of STD

Symptoms:

Genital warts are the most common symptom, although, you may have HPV and have no visible signs or symptoms, yet still pass it on to others
They (genital or other warts) may be raised or flat, single or multiple, small or large.
In some cases genital warts do not cause any symptoms, but they can sometimes cause itching, burning, or tenderness.
Women who have genital warts inside the vagina have experienced bleeding following sexual intercourse or an abnormal vaginal discharge. In some rare cases, bleeding or urinary obstruction has occurred if a wart involves the opening of the urethral.

Diagnosis

Other than the sometimes visible symptoms, another way to diagnose HPV is by a pap smear. Pap smears are designed to identify abnormal cell that are precursors to cancer. Since HPV can lead to precancerous changes in the cervix it will show up on a pap smear as "abnormal". The pap smear doesn't give an established diagnoses, but it does give a high probability. If a pap smear is tagged as "abnormal your doctor may order a specific DNA test of the HPV cells to determine which type of HPV you have.
Talk to your doctor... really talk. Tell them you think you may have PCOS and give them all the facts about your body.
Some women have normal hormone and insulin levels and still have PCOS! Remember doctors use a very wide range of statistics when deciding what's "normal". A lot of women with PCOS fall inside of that "normal" range.
You may have to get a second opinion. Many doctors still don't know enough about PCOS to make a proper diagnosis. You may have to find one who does.
Your doctor can also order an ultrasound, or any other number of expensive image tests, but it is important to remember that women without PCOS may also have cyst on their ovaries.

Treatment

There is no cure that will eliminate HPV, however if you are having frequent breakouts there are a few options available.
No treatment prevents the spread of HPV to your partner.
There are creams and gels of different strengths that can be applied daily and/or weekly and washed off. All of which have to be administered by prescription. The stronger concentrations have to be applied by or physician.
There is also an injectable gel (5-flurouracil epinephrine gel) that can be injected directly into a wart or lesion that has proven to be affective. Again this is a procedure that must be administered by a physician.
Alternative methods also include cryotherapy (freezing the genital warts with liquid nitrogen) every 1 to 2 weeks, surgical removal of the lesions, or laser surgery.
If you have been diagnosed with HPV talk openly with your doctor about your options. There are new studies going on constantly. He/she may be able to provide you with new information on treatment as it arises.

Good things to know.

HPV is transmitted by direct genital contact during sexual activity. The virus is not found in or spread by bodily fluids, and HPV is not found in blood or organs harvested for transplantation
This means even if a condom is used, there is still a high chance of passing HPV on to your partner.

HPV Q & A

Does having HPV affect my ability to get pregnant?

HPV by itself should not affect your ability to get pregnant unless one of the following is true:

you have the form of HPV that is pre-cancerous or cancerous. This can affect your fertility as well as your ability to carry a baby to full term.
There is scar tissue on your cervix or warts or lesions on your cervix. This can affect your fertility.

If you have HPV and are trying to get pregnant, talk to your doctor about any and all the risks that my be involved. The more you know the comfortable you will be making the right decisions.

Will I always have HPV?

It is still uncertain if there will ever be a cure for HPV. Science has come a long way and there is currently a massive research taking place. With all the advances in medicine and science we can keep our fingers crossed. We do know that 9 out of 10 women's symptoms go away and still cannot be detected 2 years later. But this doesn't mean they aren't passing HPV on to others.

How can my husband or boyfriend get tested for HPV?

The answer unfortunately is the can't There is currently no way to test men for HPV. If a male has HPV he may pass it on to others and never even know he had the virus.

What are the chances I will get cervical cancer if I have HPV?

If you have been diagnosed with HPV but have a "normal " pap smear then your chances are about 4% (4 of 100) of having cells that will need to be treated for pre-cancerous activity within a year of detection.

How common is HPV?

About 1/4 of all women in the US [Science Daily (press release) - Feb 28, 2007] have some form of HPV.

Other Great Sites

Here is a list of websites I found very informative about this infection. The more research I do- the more I will add.

cancer.org/hpv

Medicinenet.com/hpv

wikipedia.org/HPV

LifesLittleIssues.info

Resources For Women-HPV

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HPV