HPV - Everything you need to know

Jeremy Flores10 said:Regarding HPV, about 70% of women have it. Some people don't even show symptoms, so they have no idea they're carrying it.

...what do you mean by "no symptoms"?

...I'm thinking if you get a Pap smear once in a while, sooner or later it's going to flag some changes.
..There is no way 70% of women are walking around with HPV and never finding out, assuming they actually go to their doctor for regular checkups.

It’s honestly wild how little people actually know about this stuff. I mean, if you've never dealt with HPV, maybe you just don't care, but even none had it and still doesn't get some of the basics.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY GET RID OF HPV!!! But the thing is, there isn't really a specific "cure" drug—it's more like your own body has to clear it out, though you can totally catch it again later.
The meds and treatments out there are mostly just for dealing with the aftermath. Like, things like interferon therapy or liquid nitrogen treatments are used to get rid of warts caused by certain strains. Those warts come from the less dangerous types, but the real scary part is the strain linked to cervical cancer.
You could carry HPV for years without a gynecologist even noticing, because a standard Pap smear doesn't actually detect the virus itself unless it starts causing issues. Usually, it’s just a matter of your immune system dipping, which lets the virus flare up, and that's when a Pap test finally flags something.

As for gynecologists... I guess you could say they're like tailors, dentists, or pretty much any other profession. Just because someone is working doesn't mean they're doing a good job, so you're honestly lucky if you hit the jackpot with a good one on your first try. If they aren't meeting your needs at all, just switch.
I personally went through four different gynecologists before I found a good one, and I've stuck with them for the last six years.

If you're dealing with low-risk HPV causing CIN 1, the standard approach is to monitor things for up to two years, with check-ups happening every three months. However, if it's high-risk HPV causing CIN 1, we watch it more closely for about a year with follow-ups every two months—and if the Pap smear results don't show improvement, we move straight to a conservative surgical procedure.

When it comes to CIN 2, once we've finished typing the virus, performing a colposcopy, and taking a targeted biopsy, we proceed with a conservative surgical treatment within a year rather than just waiting around.

For CIN 3, though, we jump right into a cone biopsy immediately.

Real-world scenario: a friend of mine wore some pants belonging to a girl who has HPV. This happened just a day or two after she’d been wearing them while infected. She washed them, though. Is catching it actually possible in this situation?...

Not enough info. It’s possible if she had any broken skin or irritated mucous membranes that came into contact with the virus.

LaTiTeA said:It doesn't affect kids, and even if a woman goes in for surgery—she can still have babies later. At least, that’s how I read it.

Look, infections during childbirth are a real thing. A baby can pick something up passing through an infected birth canal. Depending on the strain—like HPV-6 or HPV-11—it can lead to throat papillomas.

Here is what it says over here

Excuse me, but did you actually just say that?

casualtinker14 said:liquid nitrogen burning

In my view, burning and liquid nitrogen don't really go hand in hand—it seems somewhat contradictory. Perhaps you meant cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen followed by a cauterization treatment? I guess that would make more sense.

Can anyone tell me if heavy bleeding—not just during a period, but spotting between cycles—could be a symptom of HPV?
Thanks

Any guys out there who've dealt with HPV want to give me the lowdown on what the symptoms actually look like?
I'm dealing with some redness on my penis and this constant itching, plus it stings a bit if I touch it. No bumps or weird growths yet, though. My partner had HPV a few years back, so there's a chance I picked it up from her—even though she isn't showing any symptoms at all right now.