HPV but no warts... please help!

[carrie1920]

After an abnormal pap smear I was told I have hpv. I'm getting a colposcopy done to make sure the cells aren't cancerous. My doctor told me that mine is low risk hpv. After reading on the internet I found that this is the type that causes warts, but I dont have any. What I'm worried about is wether this means in the future I will get warts or if I after treatment I will need to tell each new partner. At 23 I feel like my sexual life is over. Please help!!

[robinnete2]

OK, 1st of don't panic it is thought that 3 out of 4 people have hpv. There are a few things that most people don't know about. One it will lye dormint. Ex. a 50 woman started having sex when she was 20. Let's say she has had 3 partners since then. All her paps came back normal until this year. This year she was dx with hpv (high or low risk) She could have gotten it the very first time she had sex. So you can't get mad at your current partner. Two there really is not a test for guys to tell if they have it. If they have warts and can see them yes they know they have low risk, but you don't always have warts. They could still be carriers. Third even if you have your cervix frozen and a wedge cut off your cervix you can still get it agian. Fourth, Most people fight this virus off without ever knowing that they had it. It just takes a really long time and if it goes "active" then other steps need to be taken (surgery etc.) As a virus, this is a single DNA strain virus(the common cold is a multi-strain virus ). Now has to your question Even though you can't see a wart does no mean that there are none. You could have them in the vaginal vault or more likely on the cervixs itself (hince the abnormal pap) This is something that you have to take care of... but its not something that you have to stress about for all time.....Also I have heard that even if you have been dx with hpv(high and low) in the past you can still get the vaccine that is coming out on the market so ask you dr. about it.....I hope this helps

[girl522]

If you doctor said you have HPV based on a pap smear basically he meant they found abnormal (pre-cancerous) cells on your cervix.  There are many strains of HPV and the ones that cause abnormal cells is different from the wart strain.  Although, I guess you could have 2 strains at once.  The pre-cancerous strain doesn't show any symptoms in men and they have nothing to worry about it, so I don't see you have any obligation to inform furture partners.  Now if you do get a wart, then you should tell them but that would be from a different strain.  Just make sure you keep going back to the doctor for regular paps.  I think they usually have you come every 3-6 months to access the changes.  YOu should read up on HPV it's not as bad as you think it is.  They say 80% of people will have caught one strain or another by the time you are 50 and if you have 3 or more partners in your lifetime you have defienetely had one strain.  It's a virus and so the body needs to clear itself of it and it will in usually 2 years I believe.  You have nothing to worry about other than having the doctor keep an eye on the changes.

[sparkeler]

Carrie, YOUR SEX LIFE IS NOT OVER!  I assume you have either type 6 or 11.  However it does not necessarily mean that you will ever develop warts.  About 80% of sexually active people will acquire HPV one or more times in their life. (Depending on how promiscuous you are.)  The virus is known to shed itself over time or just lay dormant.  I suggest you read up on HPV it will ease your mind big time.  You will come to realize it just isn't that bad.  If you do get a wart, freeze it, and move on.  You'll be surprised how many people carry the virus.  It's a good thing to know you have it just for the fact that certain types can cause cancer.  It sounds like in your case it does not.  And I have heard conflicting arguments, but with lack of symptoms with HPV, you don't have a moral obligation to disclose that information to future sex partners.  Chances are they either have it or have had it anyway.  Hope this helps.

[Wendyin Annapolis]

Dear Carrie:  I was diagnosed with HPV last December as a reult of an abnormal pap.  I apparently had it for 10 years and never knew it beacuase I never had any warts.  I had another pap in July and it went from abnormal to severely abnormal.  I had to have what is called a culposcopy and my cervical cell came back with pre-cancer HSIL.  Yesterday I had a cold knife cone proceedure to remove this **** and get it our of my body before it turned into cancer.

I have been married now for 5 years, and my hhusband has never contracted this virus and I was told by my doctor that I am no longer "contagious".  You need to make SURE you get a pap no less than every year.

It is true thta sometimes your cells will shed and you will grow new ones that are healthy, but that as you can tell from what I experienced is not always the case.

The good news is that HPV is such a slow moving virus that if you do have damage to your cervical cells, it can be treated.