Hpv vaccine

[Jurassicmuma]

Morning

Has anyone e paid to have the hpv vaccine? I'm 29 and missed out of getting it in school by A couple of years

I have a bit of anxiety over cervical cancer, for years now I've been worried it'll be what kills me. I know I'm being silly, I do know that but I can't help it. I've read stories of women who develop symptoms but it's already too late and they've passed away in their early thirties. It breaks my heart reading stories about the kids being left behind. Again I know there's loads of things which could cause an early death, I do know this

I've only ever had 3 sexual partners, only my husband since I was 19 and clear smears so far. Would the vaccine benefit me?

Who is best to talk to? It's hard work getting an appointment at the gp, would a pharmacist be able to offer advice?

Just had a look at my smear result from June and it doesn’t mention HPV at all. I’m in South London.

It depends on which HPV test is being used, the NHS uses both DNA and mRNA based tests. The mRNA tests for integrated HPV.
@Bumpandtoddler perhaps you could explain a little more about the difference between these tests, also the difference between analytical and clinical sensitivity?

Primary HPV testing is being rolled out across the country over the next few months. 40 labs are being closed and most of the staff being made redundant. Difficult times for screening lab staff 😔

Fizzy, it's true that gardasil, the vaccine used in the UK, doesn't protect against all types of hpv, but it does give protection against the ones that cause the majority of hpv-related cancers. I'd still like to give my kids the protection it does offer...maybe like a seatbelt won't prevent all car crash-related fatalities but that doesn't mean to wouldn't wear one?

Also the aim of giving vaccine at 12/13 is to try to reach kids before they've been sexually active. You could be infected at your first fumble. The vaccine can't get rid of the virus if you've already acquired it.

I had a smear a few months ago and was told I'm in an area that is trialling a new system whereby if you're HPV negative they don't actually look at the cells they scraped. A few weeks after my smear I received the usual letter saying the smear test was all clear - but no indication if this means I'm HPV positive thus they looked at the smear results or if I'm negative and this is why the result is clear. Very annoying and I don't really want to waste a GP appointment just to ask......

My understanding is the vaccine only protects you for 5-10 years?