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Does HPV go away eventually?
Hello,
I am a 23yr old fairly healthy female adult who was recently diagnosed with a strain of HPV, however, there are a few topics that have me very, very confused.
1. When my gyno told me that my condition looks like HPV, he said verbatim: This is not for life, the virus usually diminishes with a healthy immune system within a number of years. He said it is not like herpes which recedes into the spine and then resurfaces forever. BUT I later called his assistant a day later with questions, and she told me the virus is 'for life' but the breakouts will diminish over time. This makes for a very confusing situation, considering I also find an equal amount of both pieces of info online etc.
2. I believe the strain of HPV that I have contracted is considered 'low-risk.' It surfaces below my vaginal opening as little, painless white headed bumps that literally fall off and disappear within 1-5 days. This has only surfaced twice in my lifetime in a 1yr time period, and I am in a monogamous, healthy relationship of 4 1/2 years. What types of warts show up one day and disappear the next? Why do I not need to have any treatments for them?
3. My third question is this: If for some miraculous reason my immune system DOES rid my body of the virus, my significant other has it also. Are we going to ping-pong it back and fourth to eachother, or will we somehow have some kind of 'immunity' to the specific strain we have?
Thank you so much for hearing me out. Getting these questions answered are a high priority for my state of well-being at the moment.
I am a 23yr old fairly healthy female adult who was recently diagnosed with a strain of HPV, however, there are a few topics that have me very, very confused.
1. When my gyno told me that my condition looks like HPV, he said verbatim: This is not for life, the virus usually diminishes with a healthy immune system within a number of years. He said it is not like herpes which recedes into the spine and then resurfaces forever. BUT I later called his assistant a day later with questions, and she told me the virus is 'for life' but the breakouts will diminish over time. This makes for a very confusing situation, considering I also find an equal amount of both pieces of info online etc.
2. I believe the strain of HPV that I have contracted is considered 'low-risk.' It surfaces below my vaginal opening as little, painless white headed bumps that literally fall off and disappear within 1-5 days. This has only surfaced twice in my lifetime in a 1yr time period, and I am in a monogamous, healthy relationship of 4 1/2 years. What types of warts show up one day and disappear the next? Why do I not need to have any treatments for them?
3. My third question is this: If for some miraculous reason my immune system DOES rid my body of the virus, my significant other has it also. Are we going to ping-pong it back and fourth to eachother, or will we somehow have some kind of 'immunity' to the specific strain we have?
Thank you so much for hearing me out. Getting these questions answered are a high priority for my state of well-being at the moment.
Stress is bad for HPV. Can't you go to Planned Parenthood? You should see a doctor. You say were diagnosed with it, what strain? High or low risk? Warts?
Ok so last year I was diagnosed with hpv. I haven't noticed any sort of odd signs or symptoms. But last month I had excruciating pains in my abdomen which were cramp like and then my period was shorter. Since then, my scent has been a little stronger and my bf said I "taste" different during oral. And I have been spotting only after sex. All this has been recent after my painful episode last month and I just got my period again.
I don't know what to think! I have been under a great deal of stress with work, moving, money, and the loss of two good friends right before all of this. Can stress be a cause? I have no health insurance now so I am stumped on what could be happening.
I don't think it could be an std. Besides hpv. He isn't showing any signs of anything. Could it be a miscarriage or pregnancy? Or could it be hpv related?
I don't know what to think! I have been under a great deal of stress with work, moving, money, and the loss of two good friends right before all of this. Can stress be a cause? I have no health insurance now so I am stumped on what could be happening.
I don't think it could be an std. Besides hpv. He isn't showing any signs of anything. Could it be a miscarriage or pregnancy? Or could it be hpv related?
Yes, very odd. Never heard of them falling off my themselves in a few days. Can't be GWs. And I agree with much what you wrote. The human body is one big party for germs and viruses.
In regards to HPV strains that cause Genital Warts, the reading seems to agree that genital warts is a change of normal skin cells that have been infected with HPV strain 6 or 11. Why does the change of skin cells only occur at the genital region? Again, the reading suggests that it's because the virus isn't strong enough to infect skin cells anywhere else. A virus will multiply using the cell nucleus as a host to duplicate itself for further infection. It will either grow locally, forming a wart; transfer itself to another host by means of physical agitation (scratching yourself, getting it under your finger nails, and touching someone elses genitals); sexual contact with another person (genital to genital or even through the mouth as a conduit), or transfer from one set of genitals to another via towels, etc. Viruses are not delicate cellular organisms, so they can survive the harsh conditions of even a dry towel to find a new host.
The concern about being asymptomatic is that the skin cells within your genital region can be infected and contagious (through contact) without showing symptoms. I think generally, that's still better than "positive symptoms" which mean you are definitely infected and contagious. Positive symptoms also have a tendency of spreading, especially if you're not maintaining good hygiene, physically agitating the area a lot, weakening your immune system with smoking, stress, bad diet, not using any treatment to control the spread. At this point, you're just hoping that there's "spontaneous resolution" of the genital wart, which can happen.
I believe that HPV is for life, but hear me out. Everyone has a multitude of flora on their skin from bacteria to viruses to fungus. Your immune system is constantly battling the attack of dangerous microbes on a daily basis. So you were infected with a strain of HPV that forms genital warts. This is something new for your immune system to attack. Your immune system may never completely wipe out the infection, but we're all hoping that sooner rather than later, your immune system takes the virus count down to a point where 1) the infection is no longer able to show symptoms and 2) the infection is no longer able to infect another person. Beyond that, who cares if you're carrying a few strands of HPV 6 or 11 in your body, as long as you have the T cell antibodies to keep the infection close to non-existent. From my reading, this is what seems to be "clearing the virus" that everyone talks about. Taking the count down so low that it doesn't show up in any test, won't pop up from remission, and it's safe from being transmitted.
Finally, there's something in your post that strikes me as unusual that nobody else has seemed to comment on. Your hpv symptoms are white headed bumps that fall off after 1 to 5 days? Anyone else find that odd?
The concern about being asymptomatic is that the skin cells within your genital region can be infected and contagious (through contact) without showing symptoms. I think generally, that's still better than "positive symptoms" which mean you are definitely infected and contagious. Positive symptoms also have a tendency of spreading, especially if you're not maintaining good hygiene, physically agitating the area a lot, weakening your immune system with smoking, stress, bad diet, not using any treatment to control the spread. At this point, you're just hoping that there's "spontaneous resolution" of the genital wart, which can happen.
I believe that HPV is for life, but hear me out. Everyone has a multitude of flora on their skin from bacteria to viruses to fungus. Your immune system is constantly battling the attack of dangerous microbes on a daily basis. So you were infected with a strain of HPV that forms genital warts. This is something new for your immune system to attack. Your immune system may never completely wipe out the infection, but we're all hoping that sooner rather than later, your immune system takes the virus count down to a point where 1) the infection is no longer able to show symptoms and 2) the infection is no longer able to infect another person. Beyond that, who cares if you're carrying a few strands of HPV 6 or 11 in your body, as long as you have the T cell antibodies to keep the infection close to non-existent. From my reading, this is what seems to be "clearing the virus" that everyone talks about. Taking the count down so low that it doesn't show up in any test, won't pop up from remission, and it's safe from being transmitted.
Finally, there's something in your post that strikes me as unusual that nobody else has seemed to comment on. Your hpv symptoms are white headed bumps that fall off after 1 to 5 days? Anyone else find that odd?
No one knows if the immune system clears the body of hpv or if the virus goes dormant and cannot be detected. A lot of people say that the virus is cleared within 2 years in 90% of cases. I've had it for over two years now. After not seeing any visible symptoms in over 6 months I got my hopes up, but then recently a wart popped up. There is so much conflicting information about hpv out there and no one really knows the answer. However , it's not a big deal, If you have had sex, chances are you have one of the many strains, especially if you have multiple partners. So when most of the population has it, the stigma over it should be non existent. It's people lack of knowledge and education on the subject that creates this stigma and it sucks but life goes on. I told my gf I had it before we started dating, she did some research and her response was : it sucks but it's soooo common , it's not a big deal at all" we have been together now for 2 years ( except for a recent short term break up ) lol, I'm now rambling
Can HPV go away on itself & never come back again
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STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
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