DIVINE WORD COLLEGE OF LAOAG

SCHOOL OF BASIC EDUCATION

HIGH SCHOOL

HUMAN
PAPILLOMAVIRUS

(HPV)

HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS
(HPV)
Human papillomavirus (HPV)
is the most common sexually
transmitted infection in the
United States. Some health
effects caused by HPV can be
prevented with vaccines.

 How is HPV spread?

You can get HPV by having vaginal, anal, or oral
sex with someone who has the virus. It is most
commonly spread during vaginal or anal sex. HPV
can be passed even when an infected person has
no signs or symptoms.

 HPV is spread through sexual contact. Genital warts

resulting from HPV infection can be found around
the anus, vulva, or cervix of women and around the
anus and shaft of the penis in men. Visible warts
are usually harder to see in women than in men.
However, not everyone infected with HPV will
develop warts.
It should be kept in mind that while the risk of
transmitting the virus is the highest when there are
visible warts, transmission can be spread when no
outward signs of HPV are present. Another thing to
keep in mind is that HPV can lay dormant for years.
Even in long-term monogamous relationships ,
genital warts or cervical changes can occur without
an obvious infectious event.

WHAT DOES MY FUTURE

HOLD?
Once you are infected with HPV, you will probably
carry the virus for life. Remember you can spread
the virus when you have visible warts and you
may be able to spread the virus when no warts
are visible.
Women should have yearly PAP test. Early
detection is the key to a good prognosis. The
presence of HPV or cellular changes of the cervix
should not interfere with a womans ability to bear
children.

I HAVE HPV WHATNOW WHAT

SHOULD I DO?
FOR WOMEN THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO IS GET
YEARLY PAP TESTS. ABOUT 90 PERCENT OF ALL CERVICAL
CANCERS CAN BE DEFECTED EARLY THROUGH A PAP
SMEAR. OTHER THINGS YOU SHOULD DO INCLUDE: REPORT
TO YOUR DOCTOR ANY ABNORMAL VAGINAL BLEEDING,
FLANK PAIN, OR FEVER. INFORM YOUR PHYSICIAN IF YOU
KNOW YOU HAVE OR THINK YOU MAY EXPOSED A PARTNER
TO HPV. NOTIFY YOUR PARTNER THAT YOU HAVE HPV AND
MAKE ANY DECISION ABOUT SEX, PROTECTION, AND YOUR
HEALTH TOGETHER. USE CONDOMS DURING EACH AND
EVERY ANAL, VAGINAL, OR ORAL SEXUAL ENCOUNTER.
SUGGEST THAT YOUR SEXUAL PARTNER(S) GET A MEDICAL
EVALUATION AND AN HPV SCREENING.

CAUSES OF HUMAN PAPILLOMA

VIRUS
HPV INFECTION OCCURS WHEN THE VIRUS ENTERS YOUR BODY
THROUGH A CUT, ABRASION OR SAMLL TEAR IN THE OUTER
LAYER OF YOUR SKIN. THE VIRUS IS TRANSFERRED PRIMARILY
BY SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT.
GENITAL HPV INFECTIONS ARE CONTRACTED THROUGH
SEXUAL INTERCOURSE, AND SEX AND OTHER SKIN-TO-SKIN
CONTACT IN THE GENITAL REGION. SOME HPV INFECTIONS
THAT RESULT IN ORAL OR UPPER RESPIRATORY LESIONS ARE
CONTRACTED THROUGH ORAL SEX.
ITS POSSIBLE FOR A MOTHER WITH AN HPV INFECTION TO
TRANSMIT THE VIRUS TO HER INFANT DURING DELIVERY. THIS
EXPOSURE MAY CAUSE HPV INFECTION IN THE BABYS
GENITALS OR UPPER RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

SYMPTOMS OF HPV
IN MOST CASES, HPV GOES AWAY ON ITS OWN AND DOES NOT CAUSE ANY
HEALTH PROBLEMS. BUT WHEN HPV DOES NOT GO AWAY, IT CAN CAUSE
HEALTH PROBLEMS LIKE GENITAL WARTS AND CANCER.
GENITAL WARTS USUALLY APPEARS AS A SMALL BUMP OR GROUP OF BUMPS IN
GENITAL AREA. THEY CAN BE SMALL OR LARGE, RAAISED OR FLAT, OR SHAPED
LIKE A CAULIFLOWER. A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER CAN USUALLY DIAGNOSE
WARTS BY LOOKING AT THE GENITAL AREA.
CERVICAL CANCER USUALLY DOES NOT HAVE SYMPTOMS UNTIL IT IS QUITE
ADVANCED, VERY SERIOUS AND HARD TO TREAT. FOR THESE REASON, IT IS
IMPORTANT FOR WOMEN TO GET REGULAR SCREENING FOR CERVICAL
CANCER.
OTHER HPV-RELATED CANCERS MIGHT NOT HAVE SIGNS OR SYMPTOMS UNTIL
THEY ARE ADVANCED AND HARD TO TREAT. THESE INCLUDE CANCERS OF THE
VULVA, VAGINA, PENIS, ANUS, AND OROPHARYNX (CANCERS OF THE BACK OF
THE THROAT, INCLUDING THE BASE OF THE TOUNGE AND TONSILS.)