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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

HPV vaccine, what's the score, it is compulsory ?

53 replies

piratecat · 30/06/2014 11:42

DD is 12, got a letter to bring home today. I am busy googling as know little about it.

Anyone decide not to go ahead? if so why.

OP posts:
beccajoh · 30/06/2014 11:45

Not compulsory but it can protect against cervical cancer. I'm sure someone anti-vax will have a list of reasons why not, but it would be a no-brainer for me.

Mabelface · 30/06/2014 11:45

It's not compulsory. I talked to DD about the whys and wherefores and we decided between us that it would be a good thing to have done. There is cervical cancer on her father's side of the family.

Original poster
piratecat · 30/06/2014 11:53

thanks, just been reading that it's now 2 jabs not 3 from sept onwards.

dd is genuinely terrified of needles too. This will obviously colour her view of the 'experience' more than thinking sensibly about the health benefits. sigh.

OP posts:
Madamecastafiore · 30/06/2014 11:56

Having to have any kind of treatment for cervical cancer or just a dodgy smear will probably necessitate more needles than just w vaccine.

Original poster
piratecat · 30/06/2014 11:59

of course, yes.
I want her to have it.

OP posts:
Pagwatch · 30/06/2014 12:00

No vaccinations are compulsory in the UK. None of them.

OldBeanbagz · 30/06/2014 12:02

My 12yo DD is not keen on needles at all (due to a very bad reaction to a typhoid jab) but even she realises the importance of the HPV vaccine.

Aren't they done at school? In which case isn't she less likely to kick up a fuss than if it was just you and her at the doctors? After all, her friends are going to be having it too.

littlegreenlight1 · 30/06/2014 12:38

My dd (now 16) had a severe and horrific reaction to the first jab and is therefore unprotected as we couldn't risk it again. We had to call an ambulance as she was hysterical and burning.
Having said that, I've never questioned having my children vaccinated. My dsd has just had hers and was fine.

MissMilbanke · 30/06/2014 12:45

We decided not to go with this particular vaccination.

Its not compulsory and you don't have to go with the crowd if you feel its not right for you.

You won't get hassled by your school nurse or GP. Its your choice.

Just to clarify its not a vaccine against cervical cancer.

Its a vaccine against ONE of the strains of HPV (which most of us have had contact with) which may or may not go on to cause cervical cancer.

Its interesting that its only 2 injections now.

Original poster
piratecat · 30/06/2014 13:05

your poor dd was it an allergic reaction ??

what was your reason for not having it. sorry on my phone and can't scroll back user names. Smile

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DrewsWife · 30/06/2014 13:38

I didnt allow mine to have it. of all the forms of cancer causing mutations, viruses and more the vaccine covered only about 4% and not the main types of virus responsible.. ok my percentages are likely to be out as it was a fair few years ago.

we dont know enough about it. there was no timescales on how long my daughter would be covered so I opted not to have it.

they amount of information on it was so poor at the time I wasnt allowing her to be a guinea pig. as an adult now. 18.. she can choose to have it if she wants.

adeucalione · 30/06/2014 21:25

My understanding is that HPV is a family of viruses and the vaccine (Gardasil?) protects against the two strains that are responsible for 70% of cervical cancer cases.

It is supposed to protect for 20 years, and must be delivered prior to exposure through sexual activity.

For this reason I didn't want to wait for my DDs to decide for themselves in adulthood, and allowed them to have it.

Skina · 30/06/2014 21:33

Mine did. They were among the first lot, though a little older than the suggested age. 12/13 is THE optimum time to have it. It is pretty pointless leaving it until they are older and when they may have had sex. The 70% figure drops right down to a 'not much point' one (not exactly sure, but pretty low). Personally I'd far rather protect my children than not, but each to their own I suppose.

From the NHS website:

A vaccine called Gardasil vaccine is used in the national NHS cervical cancer vaccination programme. Gardasil protects against the two types of HPV responsible for more than 70% of cervical cancers in the UK.

A bonus of using Gardasil to prevent cervical cancer is that it prevents genital warts too.

Current research suggests the HPV vaccine is protective for at least 20 years.

Skina · 30/06/2014 21:34

NB - mine were a little older because the vaccine was brought out after they were in Years 7/8, not because I waited.

Slipshodsibyl · 30/06/2014 21:41

My older ones had Gardasil at the recommended age. It is rather a painful one and they were quite faint after it and had to lie down for 20 mins or so. The paediatrician told me is most effective at 12/14. Most cervical cancer is caused by the 6 strains it vaccinated against. This was confirmed by my gynaecologist. I thought hard about it as they can have smear tests like we do. I haven't done the younger ones yet.

Original poster
piratecat · 01/07/2014 10:39

we have chatted a bit, she wants to wait till she is a bit older to have them.
Have talked about safe sex, regular smears etc

OP posts:
Hakluyt · 01/07/2014 10:43

Very little point having it at all if you wait til after you are sexually active.

ElephantsNeverForgive · 01/07/2014 10:49

Both DDs have had it, no problems at all.

Didn't even bother DD1, who refuses to have flu vaccinations because they make her feel like she's got mild flu.

Original poster
piratecat · 01/07/2014 10:50

yes would defeat the point but those are two things we discussed, having never had to broach that subject before. That there are preventative things she can also think to do.
I can't force her to have it. It's a tricky one really. She should learn to overcome the needle thing, but she is genuinely terrified. Do i wade in and say do it? arghh

OP posts:
Slipshodsibyl · 01/07/2014 11:39

It's not just that she will be sexually active before having it. I
Believe it 'takes' less well later. Also safe sex won't protect against hpv as it lives on the skin of the groin area aswell. It's kind of a decision you have to take within the next couple of years really.

eurochick · 01/07/2014 11:44

Condoms won't help as the virus can live on the surrounding skin, and could also be introduced with fingers.

I wish the vaccine had been around when I was a teenager. I have had a number of (thankfully mild so far) abnormal smear results, which have caused an awful lot of stress an worry.

adeucalione · 01/07/2014 11:46

Agree safe sex doesn't prevent against HPV - according to my GP it can be transmitted by touching your partner's genitals with your hand.

That's the main reason why the vaccine needs to be delivered at a young age.

junemami · 01/07/2014 11:50

If she waits til after 14 she will need the 3 vaccines rather than the 2 that have now shown to be effective if given before 14. It's a no brainer for me, to think cervical cancer could be a rarity in our daughters lifetimes (as well as penile & anal cancers once they start vaccinating boys too).
That the quadravalent vaccine also protects against the common strains of genital warts is a bonus, genital warts are miserable.

lettertoherms · 01/07/2014 11:59

We already had it in the US when I was a young teen. It was very new, and I didn't get it because I'm massively afraid of needles.

I wish I had, now that I've had an abnormal smear with a positive result for the cancer-related strains. It's something I will now have to deal with, that would have been easily preventable.

Original poster
piratecat · 01/07/2014 14:17

sorry to hear that.
thanks for sharing all your experiences. x

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