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Believe it or not, one of the most common things couples can give each other during sex is a sexually transmitted disease called HPV. What's up with THAT? Have you heard about HPV? It's out there in force, but many people - maybe even you? -- have never heard about it. And there's a whole bunch of confusion out there about this sexually transmitted disease. So let's start with some hard facts: Just the facts
·HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease.
More about HPV Say Yes to Pap Smears and No to Cervical Cancer And if the Warts Do Pay You a Visit... We know that some strains of HPV cause genital warts, but most show NO symptoms. Now, you say, no symptoms, why should I care? Well my friend, new research has clued in researchers to a few of the big mysteries Down There. Some kinds of HPV are associated with genital cancer, especially cancer of the cervix (the opening to a woman's uterus). Researchers have found that women who get cervical cancer almost always have HPV too, which makes them think that HPV is linked with cervical cancer. It's estimated that there are 5.5 million new cases of HPV ever year. For many people, HPV may cause no health problems, and for others it may cause genital warts. For some people the virus may produce abnormal changes in the cervix or genital area that could lead to cervical cancer. HPV can be tough to understand - so if any of this is confusing, that's OK - you can always talk to someone at a clinic about it, or call one of the hotlines listed in the resource section. The sneaky side of HPV is that it spreads just from skin-to-skin contact with an infected area. But you often can't tell you're in contact with an infected area. Since HPV usually hangs out in the skin around the genitals, the best way to protect yourself is by not having genital contact, and not having intercourse. But if you are having contact, putting on a condom every time helps protect both partners, as does using other protection like dental dams when giving or receiving oral sex or other touching. It's just that these protections are not 100% since HPV is sometimes spread from touching your partner's bod on the butt, testicles, etc. Say Yes to Pap Smears and No to Cervical Cancer So, you say, what are my options? One answer my friend - Pap smears every year. Cervical cancer is a serious disease, but doctors say that almost all cases can be treated, if they're caught early enough by Pap smears. So women should get a Pap smear every year, starting when they become sexually active or turn 18. For a description of Pap smears click here Also, some hard-working scientists recently came up with a DNA test that can help doctors figure out whether someone has HPV in their cervix and whether it's the kind that's high-risk and might be linked to cervical cancer. The test is approved to be used after a doctor gets an unclear result from a Pap smear and wants to get more information. The test isn't widely available yet. And if the Warts Do Pay You a Visit... OK, so most people with HPV don't have warts or don't have any symptoms that you can see. But if you do see something on yourself you might see something that's a raised or flat bump, and there might be one or lots. Now's the time to go to a doctor or your clinic to get checked. Remember, doctors won't be able to "cure" you of having HPV. But they can help make the warts go away. There are lots of different options, none of them sound lovely and can range from a cream or acid that gets put on the warts to freezing or cutting off the warts - but believe it or not they're usually not painful. The American Social Health Association (www.ashastd.org) has more information on treatments and on HPV in general. One thing they recommend: Don't use drug store treatments for warts because they are not meant for sensitive genital skin. Go to a clinic or to your regular doctor.
So the bottom line is:
·Call the HPV hotline run by the folks at the American Social Health Association . Their number is 877-HPV-5868.
There are real people there Monday-Friday 2pm-7pm Eastern Time.
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