Would Gardasil still work properly if you're a non-virgin but not infected by an HPV virus?
2007-03-05 15:32:55 · 5 answers · asked by frondeur 1 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ STDs
Absolutely!
They suggest ALL young women get the vaccine, whether they have had sex or not. They are trying to get girls to get the vaccine before they have sex because chances of them having any kind of contact with HPV is pretty slim to none.
If you have had sex before it shouldn't keep you from getting the vaccine though. If you have had sex already it just means that you may have had more exposure to the virus, compared to someone who is a virgin.
Some doctors even suggest women with HPV get the vaccine. Gardasil protects against 4 different kinds of HPV. Two are known to cause cervical cancer and two are known to cause genital warts. Chances of a woman being exposed to ALL 4 kinds of HPV that the vaccine protects against are pretty rare. So, theoretically, if a woman woman who already has a kind of HPV the vaccine protects against and she gets the vaccine, she should be protected against the other 3 kinds she doesn't have.
2007-03-05 22:12:18 · answer #1 · answered by Alli 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Gardasil is effective against certain high risk strains of HPV. Almost all women who are sexually active have some form of the virus, but most will never have an active infection. Your OB/GYN can test for specific strains of the virus and tell you which ones, if any, you have. Unless you already have all of the strains that Gardasil is effective against, which is extremely unlikely, then you can go ahead and get the vaccine. Keep in mind that the testing may or may not be covered by insurance, which will affect whether or not your doctor will test or just give the vaccine after evaluating your risk. Risk is evaluated by taking into consideration how many sexual partners you have had and how many each of them has had.
2007-03-05 18:16:15 · answer #2 · answered by redheadrn 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gardasil only works on a few types of HPV -there are many.
all females aged 9 and over should have the vaccine. it protects against the HPV which causes cervical cancer.
2007-03-05 17:18:34 · answer #3 · answered by KitKat 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I BELIEVE SO JUST MAKE SURE U HAVE BEEN TESTED FOR IT BEFORE YOU ASK ABOUT GETTING THE SHOT
2007-03-05 16:10:44 · answer #4 · answered by mom of 2 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, if you had sex it's simply to late.
2007-03-05 20:57:54 · answer #5 · answered by ? 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋