HPV hysteria and misconceptions

[SweetCaroline]

I know you

[Daisyjoy]

Great, please remove the link posted above if you can, thanks Doctor!

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

OK, I downloaded both HSV and HPV; will look at both in the next few days.

Thanks!   HHH, MD

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Sorry I haven't had time to review your proposed HPV FAQ page in detail.  If your offers still goes and if you can temporarily re-post it, I will download, read, and possibly revise it, then post it on the STD forum under an FAQ link.  I also would love it if your offer still goes to do the same for other topics and message threads.  Thanks for the offer--

HHH, MD

[Daisyjoy]

Sorry Sunny, my site got hammered with people wanting to read it, and I exceeded my bandwidth quota, so I had to remove it and the link.  Give me your e-mail and I'll send it to you.

[SunnyTriangle]

Hey Daisy is there anyway you could put your file back online?  I would love to have that for myself, as navigating through all these posts for specific HPV information can be cumbersome.  THANKS!

[hpv newbie]

So, I can never say I don't have HPV??  The doctor suggests that I can consider myself as "cured" 6 months after free of warts.. but what about I don't have any visible warts at all since the encounter?  Could someone please bring up an idea on this?

[hpv newbie]

I can't find an answer for this... can someone please answer this?

What about if I don't have any symptoms (warts) a year after a possible explosure, can I consider myself as free of HPV?

Thank you for any input!

[ChicShane]

Hehe, the answer to that question is in that FAQ, here it is:

Q. After exposure to HPV, how long will it take to see symptoms?
A. Warts usually appear a few weeks up to 3 months after catching HPV, but sometimes warts may first appear many months or even a few years after catching the virus. Therefore, the appearance of warts doesn't always mean recent sex with an infected partner. However most HPV infections cause no symptoms at all.

[SweetCaroline]

hpv newbie, that answer posted is pretty concise.  IF you caught HPV, you most likely will never show symptoms.  If you do show symptoms, expect to see warts in the timeframe outlined.  If you don't see warts ever, then you either a) didn't catch HPV or b) caught HPV but are just a carrier and never show symptoms, and your body will eventually eliminate the virus (in most cases).  I would stop worrying about it, there's nothing you can do about it anyways and there is no test you can take for it.  70% of sexually active people get HPV at some point anyways.

You might better served at a support group, try hpvsupport.com, there's a lot of knowledgeable people there who can share their personal experiences with you.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

I wasn't blowing you off.  How long HPV infection persists and whether or not one is ethically obligated to inform future partners has been addressed repeatedly in this forum; I just wanted you to see those discussions before I repeated the same information.  I average an hour a day on this forum, and the HPV transmission/persistence questions are some of the greatest time sinks.

HHH, MD

[SweetCaroline]

Ok thank you doctor, I thought you might be able to shed some insight into why people still feel obligated to tell future partners forever, even after their HPV has disappeared for years and the medical community says otherwise.  Perhaps it's a debate on pyschology or morals, but I just don't know how to respond to people who insinuate I should be sued for not disclosing, and I was just curious to your reaction when people question you.  But I'll attempt to bring this discussion in a more suitable forum, thank you.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Most people agree with me, that HPV is either eradicated by the immune system or reduced to sufficiently low amounts that a person may consider him/herself cured, and not inform future partners.  But for more detail, please read many, many other threads on this forum, which deal very directly with these issues.  Start with the discussion "Genital wart/HPV" started April 14, then read all the other HPV strings in the past month or so.  If those discussions don't adequately answer your questions, come on back.

Good luck-- HHH, MD