10 Facts That You Should Know About HPV

HPV or Human Palpilloma Virus is the number one sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Though the disease can be transmitted unknowingly by males, it's affect takes a bigger effect in females. Though this disease infects genital areas in risky ways, you may not know that you have the disease. Here are 10 facts about HPV that you need to know.

1. HPV is the most commonly spread STI (sexually transmitted infection)
2. HPV is transmitted through genital contact, but in some rare cases can be passed on from a mother to a child
3. HPV can cause genital warts and cancer
4. There are low-risk types of HPV and high-risk types. The low-risk type usually clears itself within 2 years. The high-risk type has to be treated.
5. At least 50% of all sexually active men and women acquire this virus at least once in their lives
6. Most affected persons of the infection do not know that they have the infection, or that they are passing it on to their partner
7. There are more than 40 types of HPV viruses that can infect sexually active men and women
8. Most high-risk cases of HPV are not discoverable until the advanced stages of the infection
9. In rare cases, the virus can be passed on from a Mother to a child. The child can be born with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP), in which warts develop in the mouth or voice box of the child.
10. Certain people may be at a greater risk for HPV including gay and bisexual men, and people with weak immune systems

So what can you do to protect yourself from this infection? Use protection every time that you have sex unless you're sure, definitely sure, that your partner has been checked and that you are in a monogamous relationship. The number one thing to do is have annual PAP smears, and have one each and every time that you switch partners. There are vaccines on the market for this infection (Gardasil), but if you already have a form of the infection; the vaccine will have no affect on you. If you are diagnosed with the infection, it's not the end of the world. There are various treatment methods that your doctor can provide you with. Just help keep yourself and others in the population safe by being “one less.”