Archive for the ‘Cervical Cancer | HPV’ Category

Men can also receive and give HPV. Any sexually active male or female can pass on HPV to their partners. There is no known cure for HPV. HPV is a group of 100+ viruses. Men get HPV the same way women do, through skin-to-skin sexual contact. This contact can be vaginal or oral. If you are male and have a healthy immune system, HPV will not normally have any serious health threats for you. You can however pass on HPV to the females that you have genital contact with and pass along HPV to them and they can have serious health related issues from HPV.

There have not been as much large group studies conducted on males and HPV, in America, so it is difficult to determine male statistics regarding HPV. It is known that HPV infection is common to both males and females. There are no FDA approved HPV tests for men at this time. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does estimate that more than half of all American men will get HPV during their life.

Men will not usually have any symptoms that they are infected with HPV. It is not very usual for there to be skin changes once infected with HPV, though there can be skin changes that are not noticed. One visible skin change is the presence of genital warts. These can be seen or felt on the genitals (anus and penis or scrotum, groin or thigh areas) of men. The genital warts may vary in appearance and can be small, flaky patches or they may be raised cauliflower looking or flat bumps. Genital warts are not a serious health issue for men. They can be treated or left alone, depending on the patient’s preference and on the advice of a medical professional. Treatment depends on the location, size and position of the wart.

After treatment for HPV, if the body is still not immune suppressed to the virus, genital warts can reappear.

HPV can cause certain types of cancer such as cancer of the penis or anus, but it is rare for this to occur.

At this time, there is no HPV test for men that has been approved by the FDA. There is no data yet, that can prove that a vaccine would be affective in males.

Males, who are sexually active with someone who discovers they have HPV, do not need to stop having sex with them if they are taking condoms. Unfortunately, by the time HPV is detected, the sexual partners have already been infected. However if you should become involved with a different sexual partner you should tell that partner that you have been exposed to HPV whether or not you have any genital warts.

HPV is a very common occurrence and cannot be avoided altogether if you are sexually active–especially if you have multiple partners. There are steps you can do to help minimize your risk for HPV exposure. You can:

Limit your sexual activity to one partner

Wear a condom every time you have sexual relations.

If you are going to have more than one sexual partner, it is imperative that you avoid sexual contact with a new partner when there are noticeable genital warts.

nyone who is sexually active or has skin-to-skin contact with someone who has HPV genital warts runs the risk of getting HPV, even teens. HPV does not discriminate again any age or sex. Anyone from infants through the elderly can and do become HPV infected. HPV is a highly contagious, sexually transmitted and skin-to-skin transmitted viral infection. If a person were having sexual relations with three or more persons, it would be impossible for them not to be at risk for receiving HPV from their sexual activity. Condom use during sex is not a guarantee of protection against HPV, though it may reduce the risk of infection.

As with most diseases, teens feel invincible, and may not recognize their risk factor concerning HPV. Information should be made available to teens before they become sexually active concerning the risks of any sexually transmitted disease. Knowledge is the only way to make an informed decision regarding preventing or protecting oneself against the occurrence of HPV.

One visible sign of possible HPV are the appearance of genital warts. There is risk of receiving HPV from a sexual partner even if that partner does not have any noticeable genital warts. A person can have HPV and not even know it.

Teens are also at risk for having multiple sexual partners, especially during parties or other social events. Teens can be pressured into a sexual activity during peer-centered events, especially if there is no adult supervision at these events. Multiple sexual partners put anyone at high risk for sexually transmitted infections that includes HPV. According to the National Physicians Center, 90% of all cervical cancers are associated with HPV infections. Those teens whom are female and experiencing persistent HPV infections, there is a 14 fold increase in their risk for developing precancerous cervical lesions, also according to the National Physicians Center.

Teens are at special risk for persistent HPV infections due to the changes taking place on the cervix during puberty.

There is an association between HPV and development of anal, vaginal or vulva cancers.

Should a teen become pregnant and be HPV infected there is a slight chance that she could transmit HPV to her baby. HPV in infants can cause laryngeal papillomatosis which is a disorder involving polyps that develop on the vocal cords. These polyps can obstruct the baby’s breathing and cause severe respiratory distress.

There is only one way to detect abnormal cells in the cervix of a sexually active female and that is during a Pap Smear Test. If abnormal cervical cells are detected, then a HPV DNA test can be performed to detect the presence of HPV. If the teen or other person notices genital warts, the health professional can run the HPV DNA test either during the Pap Smear Test or independently.

Teens do not usually have Pap Smears at annual examinations unless it is suspected or verified that they are indeed sexually active. Without the Pap Smear Test being performed, abnormal cervical cells will not be detected.

One of the treatments for genital warts is the application of the drugs: Podofilox or Imiquimod. These medications must be applied repeatedly, which some teens may not be good at remembering to do. Podophyllin must be used weekly for up to sex weeks. It is applied daily for three consecutive days and then weekly. These treatments have a genital wart cure rate of 40% with reoccurrence rate of 20 – 30% according to the National Physicians Center.

There is a relationship between HPV and cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is a female disease. However, having HPV does not mean you have cervical cancer. Conversely, if you have cervical cancer you will most likely have had HPV. We will explore the connection briefly here.

If you have a history of female infections, it is likely you will develop cervical cancer and your risk is much higher than women who do not. As the immune system seems to be worn down after years of battling the hpv virus. A battle that could be fought for years without any symptoms, in both male and female alike.

There are close to 100 strains of HPV virus, and they all cause various health issues. Many of them are sexually transmitted and are usually the ones that put you at high risk for cervical cancer. Cervical dyskaryosis can develop into cervical cancer. This is a result of having been exposed to and developing HPV. Dyskaryosis lesions, known as CIA, are usually caused by an infection with HPV. These lesions in turn can lead to cervical cancer. Women having CIA rarely have symptoms they recognize and are not aware they have a problem.

Testing by Pap smear will catch the disease early and it can be treated, thereby avoiding cervical cancer. The Pap test or biopsy will detect the abnormal cells called dysplasia. Dysplasia is the earliest form of the lesion and they are precancerous. At this stage, it can be lower high-grade dysplasia. Low grade Dysplasia can go into high-grade, which in turn can lead to cancer cells. Testing can catch this disease early, which makes curing it easy. Cervical cancer develops very slowly as it can take up to 10 years before it is even detected.

The Pap test and DNA

Having a DNA with Pap tests is very accurate, close to 100% in checking for abnormal cells. This test is new and is better than just the Pap test. Having a Pap test is still important and should not be ignored, but if you do a DNA test with Pap test the regular Pap screening is not required. Childbearing women should have a Pap every three years unless your gynecological history indicates a need to do otherwise.

Using herbs and suppositories to cure HPV

Herbs and herbal suppositories are very effective. A licensed naturopathic Doctor prescribes a course of treatment including the use of Herbal suppositories. These suppositories are either singular or a combination of herbs and will be inserted into your womb and positioned and pressed up against your cervix. This is a long-range treatment with a rotation of different herbal suppositories leaving them in for different lengths of time.

The suppositories or antiviral in nature and the treatment performed is called escharotic. There are also medical suppositories containing chemical compounds Also antiviral in nature that can be prescribed by a medical doctor to clean up HPV. These are usually very effective and fast.

Depending on how advanced dysplasia is, you may need to have the pre-cancer cells surgically removed. However, with the testing and better health care for women today, cervical cancer claims fewer lives. Hpv might remain but the advancement of Dysplasia into cervical cancer can be halted and eliminated with regular checkups.

Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that grows over time and that can be very devastating to the health of a woman. This disease can be easily identified by regularly having pap tests, so it is important to do your best to take all the preventative measures that you can. In this article, we will work towards helping you to understand cervical cancer better by letting you know what types of stages the disease goes through as it develops within the female body.

According to the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, there are five stages of progression for cervical cancer, numbering from stage zero to stage four. We will examine each of these stages in-depth to give you a good idea about how to gauge the progression of the disease.

Stage zero of cervical cancer involves a superficial cancerous entity that exists in the lining of the surface of the cervix. The deeper tissues of the cervix have not yet been affected by the disease at this stage.

During stage one of cervical cancer, the disease has successfully begun to attack the cervix. This stage is separated into several sub-stages, which work to identify the size of the tumor that is present. The stages progress in the following manner: stage 1A1, stage 1A2, stage 1B1, and stage 1B2. In the ‘A’ stages, the cancer itself is not visible to the naked eye and only detectable via a microscope.

During stage 1A1, the invaded area of the cervix is only roughly an eighth of an inch deep or smaller and about one quarter inch wide. Once the disease progresses to the ‘B’ stages, the cancer should be clearly visible. During stage 1B2, the cancer has developed to a point at which it is larger than four centimeters.

Stage two of the disease begins to occur when the cancer begins to spread beyond the cervix while remaining in the pelvic area. In stage 2A, the upper third of the vagina may be afflicted by the cancer. In stage 2B, the cancer has spread to the parametrial tissue, located near the cervix.

In stage three of the disease, the cancer continues to spread. In stage 3A, the cancer may have spread to the lower parts of the vagina. During stage 3B, the cancer really begins to affect the body’s functionality, spreading to the pelvic wall and possibly blocking the victim’s urine flow.

Stage four is the last stage of the disease, and consequently the most devastating to an individual’s livelihood. Patients in stage 4A have cancers that have developed to the point that the bladder or the rectum is affected. In stage 4B, the cancer spreads even more, heading towards the upper organs of the body and infecting areas such as the lungs.

Now that you have a better idea about how cervical cancer is staged, you are more likely to be able to diagnose exactly what point cervical cancer is at in development. Remember, the best way to avoid falling victim to cervical cancer is to take many preventative measures.

You may be part of this statistic and not even know that you are! Despite the fact that 24 million Americans may have contracted the human papillomavirus (HPV), more than 76% of women living in the U.S.A., have yet to hear about what HPV is! The media has noticed this fact, and we now see more TV ads, and magazine ads proclaiming this astonishing statistic. What exactly does this statistic mean to you?

It is a scientific fact that there are over 60 types of HPV. The only visible symptom that you may have HPV is seeing or feeling genital warts. Not everyone who has HPV in their system will show this sign though, so you cannot trust that if you do not have genital warts, that you do not have HPV. Just having genital warts is no indication that you have an increased risk of having cervical cancer.

The types of HPV are numbered so scientists and medical personnel can keep track of them. These are the types that are associated with the appearance of genital warts: (HPV types 6, 11). The ones that have been linked to cervical cancer are HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33, and 35.These HPV high risk types have also been linked to anus, bladder and vulva cancers also.

The Connection between Genital Warts and HPV

You may not know you have the genital warts and therefore not be aware of the danger of having had contact with HPV and the possibility that you too have the virus in your body. The reason you may not know of the presence of your genital warts is that they are not always visible. They can be on the inside of genital areas like inside the anus, cervix, or vagina where you cannot see them.

Not knowing that you have the genital warts you could have HPV, pass it on to a sexual partner, and not even know that you are doing it. This is the scary part of HPV and the ramifications of having the virus and the possibility of also being exposed to cervical cancer and other cancers and passing that risk on to those you have sexual contact with.

Another reason why genital warts are difficult to detect is that they are flesh colored, so even if they are on a visible part of the genitals, you may miss seeing them on yourself or your partner because they are flesh colored. You may be able to feel them as they are soft and moist, but if you do feel them you may not pay attention to what you are feeling or notice enough to want to investigate what exactly you are feeling.

Genital warts are painless, so nothing is really going to alert you to their presence except for when and if they are detected by touch or visible detection. You, your partner or a medical professional may be able to detect the genital warts.