UrbanAngel Posted April 18, 2005 Posted April 18, 2005 I was wondering what your opinions are on dating someone with HPV? I went to have my gynocological exam recently, and my pap test came back abnormal. My doctor thinks it may be caused by HPV, I'm having further testing to find out. I have been doing a lot of research and asking my doc questions, and this is what I found out. There are two types of HPV, genital warts and the "invisible" kind. I have the invisible kind, where males are pretty much just "carriers", but girls can have abnormal pap smears because of it. Over 90% of people that have it have no idea, most girls don't test abnormal, and if they do it usually clears up on it's own. In some cases it can lead to dysplasmia , in which case an in-office procedure is done to remove the abnormal cells, it takes about 30 minutes. Most people will not have reccurences after this, but it's important to keep up with your gyno exams to make sure. Cervical cancer is rare, and can be prevented by having regular paps done, but it could progress to this point if your cells do become abnormal and you never treat them, but it usually takes about 5 to 30 years to progress to that point. It is EXTREMELY common, my doc and also web research has told me that if you have had sex with 4 people, your chances of having it are 80%, and the numbers go up from there. It is normal for people to acquire this at some point over the course of their lifetime. I have talked to some of my most brutally honest guy friends, and they all have said they wouldn't mind dating someone that has this, being that it is so common they have a good chance of having it anyway, and the negative effects in females for the most part can be prevented. It is almost impossible to diagnose in males, unless they have the genital wart kind, which has more obvious symptoms. So what do you guys think? I'm 22, by the way.
Merin Posted April 18, 2005 Posted April 18, 2005 I agree that your Friends are right.. Unfortunately HPV is very common and a lot of people do have this, are a carrier of this or have a strain and are unaware... It's good that you had a regular check up because if left untreated it can become cancerous cells and become more serious... I'm not saying that any STD isn't serious... but I'm also saying that having HPV isn't the end of the world or your Love life.
Cecelius Posted April 18, 2005 Posted April 18, 2005 Brutally honest? Most guys are going to see it as evidence of promiscuity (though that may have nothing to do with it, obviously). If they're not worried about that or if it's not the case, my guess is most men can get educated about it (that it is very common, not likely to result in any problems, etc.)
Pocky Posted April 18, 2005 Posted April 18, 2005 Many people that have STDs live normal healthy lives and have relationships and even get married. I know it's hard to believe that even with an STD someone might actually love someone else (gasp), but it's true. If weeding out those that lose interest because you have a disease is what it takes to find the right one then so be it, right? To hell with the rest of them - a relationship is more than what's between your legs. Honestly, don't worry. More people than you could imagine have STDs. Just use a condom and when you're in a committed relationship decide how you'll deal with the issue.
blind_otter Posted April 18, 2005 Posted April 18, 2005 I've had cervical cancer and don't really feel the need to tell everyone about THAT (mine was from HPV and I developed the cancer less that 5 yers after I was first infected) -- honestly I was also told that HPV isn't protected against with condoms, so.... Personally I wouldn't care (probably because I had HPV, and dealt with the worst consequence of it). I also happen to know like 3 or 4 girls who are under 30 yrs. who have had cervical cancer, too, and not all of them were "promiscuous" in any sense of the word.
UrbanAngel Posted April 19, 2005 Posted April 19, 2005 Thanks for your replies everyone. I'm not promiscuous, I've only had sex with two people and have never had unprotected sex. Condoms don't protect you from this...you can see why it's so common! Blind_otter - sorry to hear you had to go through that. I've heard that this isn't like herpes and that the body can clear it on it's own...do you still have to tell people once you have cleared it? My doc was kind of flippant about that when I asked, saying almost everyone had some strain of this anyway. I was planning on always telling people before getting intimate. I figure if they can't make the connection that they probably already have this, then forget them! I've always been kind of neurotic about STD's and even I probably wouldn't have a problem with this, being that it's so common. I'm kind of over being embarrased about this, I'm actually more worried about catching something from someone else now than telling them I have HPV. Does anyone one else have opinions or experience with this?
blind_otter Posted April 19, 2005 Posted April 19, 2005 I don't feel the need to share, but that's just me. I was also surprised at how flippant the doctor was until I learned how common this disease is.
Skullcrusher Posted April 20, 2005 Posted April 20, 2005 Sure, I'd bed with a woman that had HPV. It doesn't affect me but may affect any other women I'm with. Oh well.
mandymeeee Posted April 20, 2005 Posted April 20, 2005 Cervical cancer isn't an STD. That is a very different thing.
UrbanAngel Posted April 21, 2005 Posted April 21, 2005 Cervical cancer actually is an std. Essentially all cervical cancers are caused by hpv. This is not to say if you have hpv you will get it, the vast majority don't. And cervical cancer is, for the most part, preventable if you go annually to your doctor. It's weird, the genital wart kind of hpv is considerd by most to be an std, I guess because of the visible symptoms. Most people don't consider cervical cancer to be an std, but that is the only risk of having the other type of hpv. Again, that happens rarely and is preventable. You can also see, by previous responses, you can get the worst from it (cancer) and be treated and turn out just fine. My doc said that because it is so common and almost everyone gets it at some point, it's usually not included in STD statistics, like herpes is for example.
blind_otter Posted April 21, 2005 Posted April 21, 2005 Originally posted by mandymeeee Cervical cancer isn't an STD. That is a very different thing. what urbanangel said. Mine actually WAS an STD, I had an especially virulent form of HPV, I suppose, and I was a smoker at that time, as well, which led to me developing a cancerous growth on my cervix even though I got regular annual paps.
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