Transfering HPV

[Oleg]

Hi.  I have a few inter-related questions.    I appreciate the time you take to addres these concerns!

1) Can a woman contract HPV by having oral sex with a man?  How big are the chances?  

2) If yes, can this woman transfer HPV to another man by kissing?  How big are the chances?  

3) If yes, can this man transfer HPV to ANOTHER woman by kissing?

4) These types of HPV that can be transfered this way (if so), what can they cause - oral cancer or other problems as well?

5) If this is all a plausible scenario of transfering HPV, it would seem that kissing ANOBODY new could be a dangerous activity?!  How much does one need to worry now?

Other related questions:

6) What about a woman who contracted HPV through vaginal sex, not oral - can she transfer it to another man by kissing?

7) Can a person contract HPV (and tranfer it to other people) by touching (with a hand) the vagina of a woman who has HPV (especially if if she is aroused and therefore wet)?

8) I am aware that HPV can be transfered by genital contact even if a condom is worn - by skin-to-skin contact.  Does this apply only to the cases when the skin of an HPV-infected person has warts, or even if that person has clear skin?  Are these warts obvious?

9) And finally, should one apply all these concerns/questions to other types of STDs, especially HIV?

Thanks very much for clarifying all these issues!
O.K

[adgal]

I am not entirely sure about the HPV virus, but I can answer in terms of HIV....it requires fluids, such as blood (and usually requires the virus to enter your blood stream, such as through a cut or somthing.) You cannot get it through skin contact, and in order to get it through kissing, you would have to consume something like a gallon of the person's saliva.  Most STD's are this way, hence the name sexually transmitted diseases. That is why a condom should always be used. But again, I am still learning about HPV, but I would be pretty surprised if you could get it from kissing or hand to genitilia contact., although I certainly don't know for sure.

Hope this helps a little bit.

[empathy60]

I'll answer this all to the best of my abilities...

1) Can a woman contract HPV by having oral sex with a man?  How big are the chances?  
Possibly, but this is VERY rare.  Usually those with compromised immune systems will only ever have oral HPV troubles.

2) If yes, can this woman transfer HPV to another man by kissing?  How big are the chances?  
No.

3) If yes, can this man transfer HPV to ANOTHER woman by kissing?
No.

4) These types of HPV that can be transfered this way (if so), what can they cause - oral cancer or other problems as well?
N/A

5) If this is all a plausible scenario of transfering HPV, it would seem that kissing ANOBODY new could be a dangerous activity?!  How much does one need to worry now?
Kissing isn't a particularly dangerous activity at all.  Don't worry.

Other related questions:

6) What about a woman who contracted HPV through vaginal sex, not oral - can she transfer it to another man by kissing?
No.

7) Can a person contract HPV (and tranfer it to other people) by touching (with a hand) the vagina of a woman who has HPV (especially if if she is aroused and therefore wet)?
If a person touches an active wart and then immediately touches another person's genitalia this may be possible in extremely rare cases.  I would say "no" to this question but don't, only because my doctor told me it could be transferred this way and that he is treating a virgin patient with genital warts.  Other experts might disagree with him though.  This is just what I was told.  Still, I personally wouldn't worry about this too much if someone doesn't have overt warts.

8) I am aware that HPV can be transfered by genital contact even if a condom is worn - by skin-to-skin contact.  Does this apply only to the cases when the skin of an HPV-infected person has warts, or even if that person has clear skin?  Are these warts obvious?
I contracted HPV using a condom with someone who did not have ANY visible warts.  If the person's immune system hasn't suppressed the virus to non-transmissible levels yet, it is very much possible to catch HPV from someone who has no signs of obvious warts and has "clear skin".  Using condoms is never 100% foolproof- even if they don't break.  That's why it's called "safer sex" now and not "safe sex" as commonly.

9) And finally, should one apply all these concerns/questions to other types of STDs, especially HIV?
HIV is a fluid transmitted disease, as adgal explained.  The best way to avoid STI is to ALWAYS use condoms, but realize that you are taking a risk with every single person.  I can not answer risk questions for all STI, as some have some other transmission specifics that don't apply to HPV.