I was married 9 years to a woman who was diagnosed with HPV a year before we met. I have never shown any signs of warts or symptons, and neither has she. We are no longer married, and I am starting a new relationship. I know I have to talk to my new girlfriend about this, but what are the chances she could develop symptoms from me? If so, how long would it take and how bad would they be? Also, the last time I had sex with my ex-wife was in May. Does this amount of time have anything to do with reducing the symptoms?
2006-10-12 13:22:22 · 2 answers · asked by dodger 1 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ STDs
HPV goes away for most people. There is NO cure, but for most people their bodies are basically able to fight the virus off. Some people though have it their entire life.
Do you happen to know what kind of HPV your ex wife has or had? There are over 100 different kinds of HPV, about a dozen can cause cancer and about another dozen can cause warts.
If you did get the virus from her, it's possible you still have it and can then pass it on to any future partner you may have. It's also possible that if you did contract the virus from her that you were able to get rid of it, and therefore can not pass it on to any future partners. And, it's always possible you never got the virus from her.
There is no test to detect HPV in men though unfortunately, so it's basically impossible for you to know if you have it still or not. Just because you have never had any symptoms doesn't mean you don't have it. I have had the virus for over 5 years now, and I didn't develop genital warts from it till about 11 months ago. Other than having my pap smear come back abnormal I had no clue I had the virus. It took years for any symptoms to show up (warts).
It is a good idea that you tell your girlfriend and any other future partners you may have though. There is a new vaccine for HPV called Gardasil, maybe you two could look into it. It has had excellent results so far. The vaccine prevents getting 4 different kinds of the virus - two that cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases and two that cause about 90% of genital wart cases.
Many doctors and even Merck and Co. (the company that makes the new vaccine) recommend ALL women get the vaccine, whether they have HPV or not. Most people don't have all four of the kinds the vaccine protects against, therefore protecting them from any kind they don't have. So, if a person only has one kind that the vaccine protects against, and they get the vaccine, it should protect them against any of the three they don't already have. Gardasil isn't out quite yet, but it should be really soon.
Check out these sites for more information:
http://www.gardasil.com/
http://www.cdc.gov/std/HPV/STDFact-HPV-vaccine.htm
2006-10-12 14:15:28 · answer #1 · answered by Alli 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Everyone at one time or the other has the HPV virus, the immune system just takes care of it. If you have no visible signs and your ex-wife has no signs, chances are you don't have it to transmit to your girlfriend, unless she has the HPV virus herself. HPV is treatable. Don't stress overit but if you have symptoms or your new friend has symptoms, get the the doc immediately and have it taken care of.
2006-10-12 13:28:28 · answer #2 · answered by happi2bwu2 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋