Getting infected with a human papillomavirus (HPV) is nothing to worry about. According to studies by the World Health Organization, nearly all sexually active adults contract at least one type of HPV in their lifetime.
But in most cases, the HPV appears asymptomatic. Without visible symptoms or regular checkups, most HPV infections go undetected.
How Long Does HPV Last?
There are over 200 different types (strains) in the papillomavirus family. Although in most cases, the HPV infection exists without any symptoms, some low-risk variants can cause genital warts, which can appear as painless, flesh-colored, small bumps or cauliflower-like clusters. They primarily appear around your genitals. However, they might also appear inside your mouth, in your throat, on your tongue or lips.
Not everyone with an HPV infection gets genital warts. Even if the symptoms appear, the warts can come and go until the virus gets completely cleared by the body’s immune system. In 90% of the HPV infections, the body’s immune system actively resists and fights back.
In a healthy body with a strong immune system, the infection often resolves on its own, as the immune system eliminates the virus within one or two years without causing any health issues or abnormalities. Genital warts can also disappear without any treatment in such cases. In some cases, it can take longer than 2 years for complete elimination.
In certain cases, some high-risk HPV strains can cause changes in the infected cells and lead to the development of precancerous abnormalities or even cancer. These strains never cause any visible symptoms or warts. But in the majority of cases, even the high-risk strains can be cleared by the immune system within two or more years, depending on the person’s immune system.
Prevention of Transmission and the Treatment of HPV
The HPV virus itself doesn’t have any cure. However, the genital warts can be treated effectively with creams and other medications. Genital warts in an individual can appear after weeks, months, or even after years of contracting HPV. But for those who take appropriate medications, treatments, or undergo surgical procedures, they disappear faster than those without treatment.
The treatments include topical creams (such as sinecatechins and imiquimod), cryotherapy (uses liquid nitrogen to freeze genital warts), electrodesiccation (a surgeon burns the genital warts using electricity), and laser surgery (a surgeon uses laser light to burn the genital wart).
The best method of prevention is abstaining from sex or skin-to-skin contact if you are infected with HPV. Visible symptoms are helpful in such scenarios. However, without symptoms, people often fail to detect the infection and end up transmitting HPV.
Using barriers like condoms and dental dams can reduce transmission of HPV or other STIs to an extent. However, they cannot fully guarantee safety. This is why regular checkups like a Pap smear or HPV test become very crucial in the early detection and prevention of HPV infection. HPV vaccine is also very helpful in preventing the contraction and transmission of HPV.
If your HPV test becomes positive, showing that you are infected with a high-risk strain, your doctor might conduct further tests to detect whether it is linked to cancer. The follow-up procedure might include a Pap smear, colposcopy, or a retest after a year to check for any changes. If your infection is found to be causing precancer or cancer, the physician will decide the next steps based on the severity of the condition.
Conclusion
Getting your HPV test result positive can make you feel anxious. That is why it is important to have a good awareness of the various types of HPV, their impacts, and the treatments. The majority of sexually active adults contract HPV at least once in their lifetime and may not even realize it.
Although HPV is the primary cause of cervical cancer, it is only caused by some of the high-risk strains. In most cases, the body’s immune system clears away the virus without causing major impacts. However, regular health checkups and HPV vaccination can be very crucial in the prevention of contracting a high-risk HPV strain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most HPV cases go undetected due to the lack of symptoms and the lack of regular checkups. In which around 90% of HPV infections resolve on their own within one to two years, as your body’s immune system will fight back and eliminate the virus.
According to the statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO), almost all sexually active adults contract at least one type of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in their lifetime, and around 80-90% of them get it by the age of 45.
Most of the time, the HPV virus lies dormant in your body for months or years without any visible symptoms. However, the most common signs of HPV infection include genital warts, which are painless, flesh-colored bumps, growths, or lesions.
No. HPV is not caused by poor hygiene. It is caused by a sexually transmitted virus called human papillomavirus. They are primarily spread through sexual activities, direct skin-to-skin contact, and also from a mother to child during birth.
