Aa
HPV Concern
Drs.,
Three years ago I was fingered (one finger inserted less than 10 seconds) after the man had masturbated himself. The fingering did not take place immediately after he masturbated but he still had touched himself and then inserted his finger in me so I do not know if it matters how long after or not. I was not expecting him to finger so that is why it lasted less than 10 seconds. I asked him at the time if he had any stds and he said no. I have no way of knowing if he was telling me the truth or not however he is a Dr himself.
At any rate I am married and now have a 17 month old and am pregnant with my second child. My husband is the only man I have ever had intercourse with and I am the only person he has ever had intercourse with. All of my pap smears have been normal (negative), no stds ever. However during my year pap this year the Doctor told me about the HPV vaccine said I qualified for it since Im not 27 yet and basically scared me to death about HPV.
I am not terrified that at any moment I am going to show up with a genital wart or something on my cervix. My last pap was in September after I found out I was pregnant again and once again all normal no stds negative for everything. I have had 2 doctors examine me since to look for any possible growths. I am just a worried mess. I never thought of hpv being transmitted like that or anything else for that matter.
My questions are:
1. Am I at risk for genital warts or cervical cancer strains of hpv from this incident 3 years ago.
2. Would something have shown up by now 3 years later?
3. Would a gential wart hpv strain show up on a papsmear? I know that they test for the cervical cancer strain (I believe).
I guess I am looking for reassurance I feel like I have bothered my physician so much about this and my husband would really like me to move on from this incident and stop worrying about something I more than likely don't have.
Thanks so much.
Three years ago I was fingered (one finger inserted less than 10 seconds) after the man had masturbated himself. The fingering did not take place immediately after he masturbated but he still had touched himself and then inserted his finger in me so I do not know if it matters how long after or not. I was not expecting him to finger so that is why it lasted less than 10 seconds. I asked him at the time if he had any stds and he said no. I have no way of knowing if he was telling me the truth or not however he is a Dr himself.
At any rate I am married and now have a 17 month old and am pregnant with my second child. My husband is the only man I have ever had intercourse with and I am the only person he has ever had intercourse with. All of my pap smears have been normal (negative), no stds ever. However during my year pap this year the Doctor told me about the HPV vaccine said I qualified for it since Im not 27 yet and basically scared me to death about HPV.
I am not terrified that at any moment I am going to show up with a genital wart or something on my cervix. My last pap was in September after I found out I was pregnant again and once again all normal no stds negative for everything. I have had 2 doctors examine me since to look for any possible growths. I am just a worried mess. I never thought of hpv being transmitted like that or anything else for that matter.
My questions are:
1. Am I at risk for genital warts or cervical cancer strains of hpv from this incident 3 years ago.
2. Would something have shown up by now 3 years later?
3. Would a gential wart hpv strain show up on a papsmear? I know that they test for the cervical cancer strain (I believe).
I guess I am looking for reassurance I feel like I have bothered my physician so much about this and my husband would really like me to move on from this incident and stop worrying about something I more than likely don't have.
Thanks so much.
Thankyou so very much. You all provide a great service here. God Bless.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
No, no worries for either child. Best wishes for a successful delivery and for your growing family.
Dr.,
Sorry one last question do I need to have any worry for my 17 month old or for my current pregnancy? Thanks.
Sorry one last question do I need to have any worry for my 17 month old or for my current pregnancy? Thanks.
Dr.
Thankyou for your quick response I did not know that genital wart strains of hpv would cause my pap to be abnormal if present that does make me feel better. I will try to put it behind me and continue on. And I am 100% sure of my sexual history and my husbands. Thankyou so much again.
Thankyou for your quick response I did not know that genital wart strains of hpv would cause my pap to be abnormal if present that does make me feel better. I will try to put it behind me and continue on. And I am 100% sure of my sexual history and my husbands. Thankyou so much again.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum. I'll try to help. The bottom lines are first that you are at low risk for HPV, and in the circumstances described, HPV immunization seems to be optional. The chance you caught HPV from fingering is extremely low, zero for all practical purposes. But if you DID catch HIV during that event, vaccination won't help; the vaccine only protects against future HPV infections and can't do anything about HPV acquired before immunization.
To your specific questions:
1) "Am I at risk for genital warts or cervical cancer strains of HPV...?" If your sexual history is accurate, i.e. neither you nor your husband has ever had intercourse with another partner, then your risk for having HPV is very low. However, it probably isn't zero risk. Only you know your history and you know your husband better than I do -- but I can tell you that HPV sometimes appears in couples like you. It isn't known whether this is because one partner wasn't truthful, or didn't remember a sexual event (e.g. alcohol related), or caught the virus from a very low risk event (e.g., oral sex, fingering, etc), or because some HPV infections are not sexually acquired. We just know that it happens sometimes.
It is because these things often don't have clear answers that the HPV vaccine is recommended for all sexually active (non-virgin) persons up to age 26. However, if your sexual history is accurate, then vaccination is optional. The risk of HPV by fingering may not be zero, but it is very, very low, so the event 3 years ago shouldn't have any influence one way or the other.
2) If you had acquired a wart-causing strain of HPV, warts probably would have shown up by now. All other HPV infections are usually cause no symptoms at all. But I stress that you were at no measurable risk of HPV of any type from a single fingering event.
3) The wart-causing HPV types often cause pap smear abnormalities. Paps detect HPV infection of any type, not just the cancer-causing ones.
Bottom line: I agree with both your husband and your doctor; it is time to put that event behind you and stop overreacting to it. From a strict risk assessment standpoint, you probably don't need immunization against HPV. Still, I recommend patients follow their doctors' advice. Whether or not you do it, you really should not be at all concerned about HPV.
Regards-- HHH, MD
To your specific questions:
1) "Am I at risk for genital warts or cervical cancer strains of HPV...?" If your sexual history is accurate, i.e. neither you nor your husband has ever had intercourse with another partner, then your risk for having HPV is very low. However, it probably isn't zero risk. Only you know your history and you know your husband better than I do -- but I can tell you that HPV sometimes appears in couples like you. It isn't known whether this is because one partner wasn't truthful, or didn't remember a sexual event (e.g. alcohol related), or caught the virus from a very low risk event (e.g., oral sex, fingering, etc), or because some HPV infections are not sexually acquired. We just know that it happens sometimes.
It is because these things often don't have clear answers that the HPV vaccine is recommended for all sexually active (non-virgin) persons up to age 26. However, if your sexual history is accurate, then vaccination is optional. The risk of HPV by fingering may not be zero, but it is very, very low, so the event 3 years ago shouldn't have any influence one way or the other.
2) If you had acquired a wart-causing strain of HPV, warts probably would have shown up by now. All other HPV infections are usually cause no symptoms at all. But I stress that you were at no measurable risk of HPV of any type from a single fingering event.
3) The wart-causing HPV types often cause pap smear abnormalities. Paps detect HPV infection of any type, not just the cancer-causing ones.
Bottom line: I agree with both your husband and your doctor; it is time to put that event behind you and stop overreacting to it. From a strict risk assessment standpoint, you probably don't need immunization against HPV. Still, I recommend patients follow their doctors' advice. Whether or not you do it, you really should not be at all concerned about HPV.
Regards-- HHH, MD
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