Alright so I got myself into a really tough situation. I've known this girl for about 9 years. Way back when I was her first boyfriend, since then it's been on and off over the years until I first hit the road. Since then a few years have gone by and i've since settled down within reach of her and recently got in touch with her out of the blue. We hit things off better then ever before... we spend days on end catching up, falling for eachother all over again I guess. Then she tells me she was raped and got HPV (Genital Warts) from the guy that did it. It was realy painful to hear that that had happened to her, and I want nothing but to be there for her and help set things straight. She's very eager to sleep with me... but after doing some research I found out that the HPV virus is highly contageous. I love this girl, always have. Now that we've finally got the opportunity to be together and maybe start up a life together though... this comes up. I want to be there for her, I want to please her etc. but i'm not exactly looking forward to getting genital warts... Supposedly even condoms dont fully prevent the transmission of the HPV virus. Where do you think I should go from here? Anybody have any experience with this, and if so, what did you do about it? ~A.
There are several effective treatments out there for HPV and from what I have heard even a new medicine coming out within the next year that is rumored to be a cure. The thing is, you get it by coming in contact with a wart, however if they are effectively treated and removed then you have a pretty low likelyhood of getting it. If I were you, just educate yourself about treatments and preventions. more than 50% of the population have HPV in one form or another(genital and non genital), so its definitely not uncommon. Weigh your options carefully, I know its a tough call. But there could certainly be a lot worse things that she could have.
Go to Planned Parenthood or ANY clinic that deals with that type of stuff. Tell them that you have a girlfriend that has HPV and you haven't had any sexual contact yet. Ask what you can do to avoid her passing it on to you. She might need treatment, you might need to take extra precautions, etc. but if you really want to do it, go for it, just educate yourselves first. Also, she should know that she can and should be treated for it. Some forms of HPV are one of the leading causes of cervical cancer, and treatment can really help prevent that. If you're both comfortable with it, I'd say go to a clinic together to talk to a doctor about it. That will also probably make her more comfortable, knowing that you care so much.
I don't think HPV affects men as much as women. Women (and men) can have warts, but only women can develop cervical cancer from it. There are over a hundred different strands, and only a few of them can be detected with tests and only in women. Peace and love
the CDC estimates that at least half of the sexually active people have HPV and that most people who have a genital HPV infection do not know they are infected. it would be best if you just never have sex...period...with anyone. too risky.
all warts are related, they just come from different strands. 85% of people have genital warts, and an even bigger percentage have 'normal' warts... a lot of people can have genital warts, or any form of warts for years without knowing. some people can have it and still not know when they die. you just need something to trigger it to come up as a lump on the skin or whatever... i wouldnt worry too much, or think that if you sleep with this girl, and get it, that youre gonna be a freak and one of the only people with it. i dont know if u have it in america, but in australia we have this product for genital warts called aldara.. its pretty expensive but apparently it works really well.. you just put it on the affected area 2-3 times a week, and it goes real weird and falls off.. anyways i dont know if this has helped any but i hope so
