Hpv...????

my friend just had a pap smear for the first time in her 21 years...her HPV test came out positive. now shes worried and so am i and i need to know ho to comfort her as well as find out the most BEST info i can right now..i dont really understand what HPV is every where i read it says warts...so is it a form of herpes?? WHAT IS IT??? i need help...she is my best friend and i need to have ALL the info....

HPV is warts. Condyloma. Different from HSV.
HSV is herpes. Herpes Simplex 1- cold sores.
Herpes Simplex II-genital herpes - a STD. Same virus, different location.

Both are viruses, both are STDs. Each presents differently. Warts lesions are generally raised-looking bumpy where herpes looks more like an open sore. Cancers can have a viral component - HPV has been attributed to that.

Though there is a cure for neither, both can be treated by health care providers.

HPV is not herpes(HSV). They cause different syptoms. HPV causes genital warts. They can only be removed surgically, by laser or by cutting them off. Ointments do not work, nor does any other home remedy. In my opinion HPV is worse than HSV, because warts are just plain disgusting and can spread everywhere. There are different strains of HPV, some cause warts and some dont, but chances are it will cause them.

ACTUALLY, guys can get it. Whoever told you guys cant get it is extremely stupid, I know guys can get it because Ive tested positive for it, and yes I have warts, and you gave me a thumbs down? WOW, you are very very stupid.

HPV is divided into two general groups. Cancer causing and genital warts. There are hundreds of types of HPV, but only I believe only 3 are capable of causing cancer.

I was 17 when I was told I had HPV 16. It just happens to be one of the types that causes cancer. After I found out, my OBGYN Dr. did a colposcopy, where they take a small piece of the cervix to see if it's cells are cancerous. I have mild to moderate cell change... which basically means nothing is happening to me currently, I don't have cervical cancer, but it could... because the cells are in me, they just aren't doing anything. I'm not worried about it at all because it's very rare to get cervical cancer when you are being monitored like I am. I go in to have a pap smear every 6 months, instead of once a year like normal reccomendations.

Genital warts can be removed and taken care of if they are caught early. I don't know a whole lot about them.

It's not herpes. You are infected with it by genital contact with an infected person. That could mean sex or just rubbing on each other. Boys aren't INFECTED with it, they are just capable of spreading it. They can pick it up from one girl and give it to the next. Boy's can't GET it. Only girls get HPV.

Your friend is gonna be fine. I was really worried at first, but then I realized that it's not that bad. It doesn't mean you'll get cancer or you'll have warts. It just means that you now have the cells.

Be safe.

Yes men can be infected with HPV ... however there is no test available for men to let them know 1. if they have it or 2. what strain they have. Part of the danger of multiple partnered sex. 50% of women are already infected with some sort of HPV virus while over 80% of women over the age of 50 have HPV.

My favorite quote:

"We must emphasize that this virus lives in the top (layer) of our skin - not in our blood stream, not in our spinal cord, nor in any other internal organs. We must emphasize that this virus infects every single human being, usually in the form of hand or feet warts in childhood, so there is nothing extraordinary about having an HPV infection. We must emphasize that this virus can only move from one human to another through skin-to-skin contact (not through pets or towels or linen), where the receiving skin already has a (usually microscopic) abrasion. We must emphasize that humans are meant to live in communities and must have skin-to-skin contact to survive. Cancer-causing HPV infections (just) happen."

鈥?Diane Harper, MD, MPh, MS, Director of the Gynecologic Prevention Research Group, Norris Cotton Cancer Center; Associate Professor of Community and Family Medicine, Dartmouth Medical Center; and Associate Professor of the Department of Women's and Gender Studies, Dartmouth College. Quoted in HPV Today, October 2005.