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Original poster

I have a question about HPV

47 replies

YepNameChanged · 30/12/2021 15:39

My latest smear in Nov came back positive for HPV and no abnormal cells. I’m really freaking out. I’ve never had a real with anyone except my husband before it after marriage / same for my husband.

The smear I had before this was normal but that was about 4 years back- smear delayed due to the pandemic- then the pandemic hit and we haven’t even been out and about that much.

How in the world did I get HPV?? I’m scared that this will develop into cancer..

OP posts:
Original poster
YepNameChanged · 30/12/2021 15:39

I’ve been asked to come for a smear next year but I’m baffled how I hit it in the first place. I suffer from anxiety as it is and now this..

OP posts:
Justjoinedforthis · 30/12/2021 15:42

Don’t worry, I think they have only recently started testing for HPV. Now they test for it first, and only look for abnormal cells if you have it (I THINK).

Justjoinedforthis · 30/12/2021 15:43

It’s a really common thing to have, and takes years to develop into anything so you will be fine with a yearly smear test and well done for going

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SummerHouse · 30/12/2021 15:46

Lordy this should not give you a moment's worry. 90% of the population have it at some point. But it comes and goes like a cold sore so not always present. Really, really, really nothing to worry about. I wish they made this more clear.

Shmithecat2 · 30/12/2021 15:48

Have you told your husband? HPV is typically spread through sexual activity...

Theimpossiblegirl · 30/12/2021 15:52

Mine was exactly the same. They have recently changed how they do smears. It could have been dormant or undetected for years. They check for abnormal cells and want to see you in a year. It's pretty standard so don't panic.

Rudeppl · 30/12/2021 15:55

I would be asking your husband some very serious questions.

Babyroobs · 30/12/2021 15:56

@YepNameChanged

My latest smear in Nov came back positive for HPV and no abnormal cells. I’m really freaking out. I’ve never had a real with anyone except my husband before it after marriage / same for my husband.

The smear I had before this was normal but that was about 4 years back- smear delayed due to the pandemic- then the pandemic hit and we haven’t even been out and about that much.

How in the world did I get HPV?? I’m scared that this will develop into cancer..

I am in exactly the same situation op. I had some gynae investigations last year and smear came back that I had HPV. I have never slept with anyone except dh. I think they said something about not routinely testing for it before so maybe they have just started testing? I am worried that I could have had it for years and not known. i too am baffled as to how I suddenly have it? I have to go for another smear soon.
Original poster
YepNameChanged · 30/12/2021 16:05

@Shmithecat2 he was the one who opened the letter. He was baffled as well..well he was worried as he thought it meant possible cancer in the future but then read up on it…

@Rudeppl the past 18 months we have been working from home and pretty much been everywhere together…what questions more to ask?

I suppose that’s one of my questions/ is HPV transmitted only through sexual encounters?

OP posts:
Theimpossiblegirl · 30/12/2021 16:07

@Rudeppl

I would be asking your husband some very serious questions.
They've only recently started screening for HPV as part of the smear. You can have had HPV for years. It doesn't mean he's been cheating. It's very common. This is why they're is now a vaccine, the younger generation will be pretty much HPV free.
GidgetGirl · 30/12/2021 16:18

HPV lies dormant in your body for years - decades, even - before showing up as positive on tests. That’s totally normal and doesn’t mean your partner has been cheating on you.

Original poster
YepNameChanged · 30/12/2021 16:37

@GidgetGirl no I don’t think this is the reason at all.. was just answering the poster who was immediately full of doubts!!!

OP posts:
sunlovingcriminal · 30/12/2021 16:53

I really wish that the literature that was provided by the nhs made hpv clearer.

  • men and women can both contract the hpv virus.
  • it can lie dormant in your body for years.
  • it can be passed between people readily, through sexual contact, but not just penis in vagina, but also any vaginal to penis contact (or vice versa).
  • it hasn't been commonly screened for until circa 4 years ago.
  • your body should put the virus back into dormant phase within a few years, and this is what happens to the majority of people. However, the virus can cause cell changes in your cervix.
  • the majority of people who are sexually active will get hpv over their lifetimes. Essentially the only way to avoid it is celibacy.
  • it should not be stigmatised given its prevalence, however currently only women are tested for it, due to the implications it could cause in women's cervixes.
  • certain lifestyle factors make it harder for your body to move it back into 'dormant' phase apparently - like smoking.
  • there are vitamins that are suggested on line which can help your body fight the virus. Obviously up to the individual whether they chose to research or take these.
  • it is fantastic that the nhs are now testing for hpv in women, as it is the biggest marker that women who currently have the active virus need their cervixes examined, treated if necessary, or monitored annually. It is not the only marker however.
  • low grade changes to your cervix often heal themselves. Obviously high grade changes need further treatment.

Everyone should get their smears when called up to do so!

Speaking from my experiences and research on hpv and low grade cell changes!

Kitkat151 · 30/12/2021 16:57

@Rudeppl

I would be asking your husband some very serious questions.
Ffs sake🙄🙄 how fucking ignorant are you?
EmpressCixi · 30/12/2021 17:04

Agree with @sunlovingcriminal and just wanted to add it is also possible for a baby to catch HPV from their mother during pregnancy or childbirth if the HPV is active in the mother...which does happen for some during pregnancy as you’re immune system is suppressed. So even a celibate virgin can unknowingly have it and pass it on.

“The risk of spreading the virus to a baby during childbirth is relatively low. Nevertheless, current medical literature states that HPV can be passed through the placenta, amniotic fluid, and contact with genital warts.”
flo.health/menstrual-cycle/health/symptoms-and-diseases/human-papillomavirus-and-pregnancy

sunlovingcriminal · 30/12/2021 17:08

@EmpressCixi I didn't know that! I think there is still much to learn on hpv, and hopefully routine testing on it now will lessen stigma (as there is none to be had).

Yebbie · 30/12/2021 17:08

I had the hpv vaccine in school and my last smear was HPV positive! Despite lots of information about how successful the vaccine was. I was devastated Sad

sociallydistained · 30/12/2021 17:11

I had this on a smear test and have 2 since where I am clear so it can leave the body.

EmpressCixi · 30/12/2021 17:13

@Yebbie

I had the hpv vaccine in school and my last smear was HPV positive! Despite lots of information about how successful the vaccine was. I was devastated Sad
The vaccine protects against 9 strains of HPV viruses. It covers the strains that cause I think over 90% of cervical cancer. So you can still get HPV if vaccinated, but is likely to not be a cancer causing strain of HPV. www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/infectious-agents/hpv-vaccine-fact-sheet
slaybell · 30/12/2021 17:14

As PP have said, it's really nothing to worry about. The main thing is you have no abnormal cells which is great.

I went though the same thing a few years back. Positive for HPV. Not been with anyone but DH for 10 years, l know with absolute certainty he hasn't cheated. So I was as confused as you until I read up on it.

I went back for my follow up smear a year later and it had gone. In fact that was three years ago now as I've just been called up for my next one.

bibbidybobbidyboo · 30/12/2021 17:15

@Yebbie the same thing happened to me. I was really shaken by it. I asked my doctor about it at my recent appointment and apparently the vaccine they offered at first didn't protect against all strains, so we must have just been unlucky.

EmpressCixi · 30/12/2021 17:16

@sunlovingcriminal
Yes, we do need to erase the lingering stigma about HPV. There shouldn’t be any. They are just warts that happen to grow on mucous membranes. (Yes can be in your mouth from oral sex....and also same cancerous strains can cause mouth and throat cancer...it’s why they now want to start vaccinating boys as well as girls).

MollyQueenOfSocks · 30/12/2021 17:17

You can get HPV from cold sores etc and it can literally lie dormant for decades.

You have nothing to worry about OP (but I get it as I also panicked about it for a time) Flowers

EmpressCixi · 30/12/2021 17:18

I’m too old to have had the vaccine, and yes, I did catch HPV. I never miss a smear.

MollyQueenOfSocks · 30/12/2021 17:20

@Rudeppl

I would be asking your husband some very serious questions.
You are completely misinformed and trying to cause aggro for no reason. I would advise you do some reading up on HPV before accusing anyone, your spouse or others spouses, of cheating.