CDC says something like "at least" 50%.  That is the most conservative figure.  More recent and increasingly reliable data suggest 80-90% is a better estimate.  I imagine CDC's website will change someday.

With regard to the number of people who eventually contract HPV. . . the CDC and websites says 50% of people, but then a lot of those credible websites also say 80%.  Dr. HHH has said essentially that everyone who is sexually active eventually contracts it in this and many other threads.

So is it 50% or 80%?  I just feel more comfortable in some ways with the 80% because that seems much more like an "everyone" number.  Thanks.

I just came home from a workshop taught by a gynecological oncologist. Men DO carry HPV & can give it to us. In fact that's a big problem because most people do not know that.

That clarifies things a bit.  But it doesn't materially change my opinion and advice.  In my opinion, having an asymptomatic HPV infection isn't a serious health risk, even with a high risk type.  It merely requires that you continue with periodic pap smears, with the expectation that most likely you will never have anything seriously abnormal, and that no harm will come to a sex partner.

My advice is that out of common sense and human concern, any future sex partners should know about your infection (until you have negative tests in the future, indicating the infection has resolved.  But there is no reason to alter your sexual practices in any way.  It just doesn't matter whether or not your partner is exposed or becomes infected.  In other words, inform but don't otherwise worry about it.

HHH, MD

Actually it was probably my fault that I misunderstood ya. My 6 mnth old was getting fussy at the time and my 4 yr old was driving me crazy, so I was trying to read and reply around all that...lol.
Anyway, like I said before though, the dr will not get worried about it untill your paps come back abnormal, and then all they can do is pap rechecks every 3-6 mnths(I am currently getting them every 3 mnths) and biopsys to catch cancer changing cells as fast as they can.
The other poster was right. HPV can cause gen. warts, not sores. However I would not freak out just yet about herpes. Yes, cold sores are Herpes complex 1, but just b/c your boyfriend devolps a cold sore a couple of days after going down on you does not mean it came from you or that you have herpes 2....actually it doesn't even mean that he has herpes 2...
Also, yes most everyone contracts HPV during their life and most  peoples  bodies fight it off. I have read/heard that it clears up within one to two yrs of your body getting it. There is a blood test to detect it, which I am assuming what was done on you. If you had the test done once and then done agian 4 yrs later then I am assuming if you still have it that it most likely will not clear up.
I would  not worry to much about not having sex. Be safe use protection.
I am just curious, have you ever seen the commerical where it talks about the virus that causes cervical cancer. All through it it says something about I want to shout it out...its a virus, its a virus, blah blah blah...lol

I am sorry. I should have been more clear. I was cheated on by a guy over four years ago. The doctor told me after I had been tested for everything that I had HPV. I was not sexually active and two years later I asked to have an HPV test done again at the suggestion of the doctor to see if I had it still. She told me the only way to do this was by typing my HPV. The test then came back with high-risk types but still no signs or abnormal pap smears. Since then I had not had a partner of any kind (mostly due to fear of passing it) until a few months ago.

There are around 100 diff. strains of HPV. There are the high risk strains (that are associated with cervical cancer) and the low risk strains, which are the genital warts kinds. I have one of the highrisk strains, so I do not have genital warts, but could get cervical cancer.
It is said that something like 80% of women have had HPV by the time they hit there 30's. It is a virus that your body usually fights off within the first yr of getting. But if you have another health condition, like and autoimmune disease (which in my case is endometrosis), where your body does not fight off infections too well, then that is when it stays in your body and can cause the problems. Since your body usally fights it off and there is usally no symptoms then most will not even know they have ever even had it at one time. Even though your paps are not showing up abnormal, if you still have HPV then you are still able to pass it to your partner.
Since you was tested four years ago, have you ever been retested agian to see if you still have it? Your drs. may not be concerned b/c if you do still have it there is nothing they can do about it. They will not get concerned untill your paps start showing up abnormal.
Do you know which strain you have?

About the boyfriend thing...is it possible that what he has is just a regular cold sore? If I remember right I think I read that when the genital warts are passed to someone else it will not show up untill at least 3 weeks.

Here are some good sites that talk about it...
www.HPVFAQ.com

http://www.cdc.gov/std/HPV/STDFact-HPV.htm

I also forgot to add that although I have never noticed any external warts I am aware that I could be possible I have some deep inside although no doctor has ever mentioned and seemed unconcered because of my normal pap.

I'm confused.  What test was done?  Aside from pap smears, there is no generally test for HPV, and testing for the virus usually isn't done unless the pap shows abnormal cells.  And if you never had warts, and if only one (recent?) HPV test, how do you know you have been infected for 4 years?  Anyway, asymptomatic HPV, without an abnormal pap, is not a health problem.  Everybody gets it; yours just happened to be diagnosed.  

Oral HPV isn't all that rare, and it can be acquired by oral sex.  But it almost never causes warts or other abnormalities of  the mouth and is not considered a significant medical condition.  In other words, there is no cause for concern about your boyfriend's oral exposure to your genital area.  (Also no problem if you have genital intercourse.)

HPV does not cause sores; and no HPV can cause a visible wart or any other symptom in less than 3-4 weeks.  So there is no chance his lip sore has anything to do with your (possible?) HPV infection.

A sore on the lip usuall is a cold sore, exactly as you suggest.  Cold sores are herpes, almost always due to HSV type 1.  HSV-1 is a common cause of genital herpes.  In other words, the main concern I have is that you apparently were genitally exposed to herpes at a time when your boyfriend might well have been infectious.

So the main thing now is for you to be on the lookout for symptoms of genital herpes (blister-like lesions, sores, etc), which typically would appear 3-10 days after exposure.  You might not be susceptible, especially if you have had oral herpes yourself in the past.  But get checked out if symptoms appear.

Good luck--  HHH, MD