HPV symptoms: Five factors that put you more at risk of getting the infection
HPV SYMPTOMS are not always visible, but when they do show they often come in the form of warts. The virus is spread through close skin-to-skin contact, usually during sexual activity, but there are also a number of other factors that can put you at risk of the infection.
Jeff Brazier and Dr Christian Jessen explain what HPV is
HPV (human papillomavirus) symptoms may not always appear, but when they do warts usually appear on the fingers, hands, mouth and genitals.
It is a common infection and, for most people, the virus will clear up on its own, without you even knowing you had it.
But in some people, the infection can stay around for a long time and become persistent.
There are hundreds of different types of HPV, and most are harmless, but around 12 types can cause cancer.
HPV is often spread during sexual activity, but according to the Mayo Clinic, there are other risk factors for the infection.
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HPV (human papillomavirus) symptoms may not always appear, but when they do warts usually appear on the fingers, hands, mouth and genitals
The first is linked to your number of sexual partners. The more you have the more likely you are to contract a genital HPV infection.
The site adds: “Having sex with a partner who has had multiple sex partners also increases your risk.”
Age can also play a role. Common warts - warts that appears as rough raised bumps and usually occur on the hands, fingers and elbows - occur mostly in children, and genital warts occur mostly in adolescents and young adults.
People who have a weakened immune system are also at greater risk of HPV infections. The site explains: “Immune systems can be weakened by HIV/AIDS or by immune system-suppressing drugs used after organ transplants.”
Having damaged skin can make you more prone to developing common warts.
Touching someone’s warts or not wearing protection before contacting surfaces that have been exposed to HPV - such as public showers or swimming pools - may also increase your risk of HPV infection.
HPV vaccination
All girls can get the HPV vaccine free from the NHS from the age of 12 up to their 18th birthday.
The NHS explains: “It helps protect them against cervical cancer, which is the most common cancer in women under 35 in the UK.”
In England, girls aged 12 to 13 years are offered the first HPV vaccination.
A second dose is then offered six to 12 months after the first.
The health body adds: “The HPV vaccine is effective at stopping girls getting the types of HPV that cause most cervical cancers. It’s important to have both doses to be protected.”
Because men and boys do not have a cervix, the HPV vaccination is not available to them. But vaccinating girls helps to indirectly protect boys from cancer causing HPV.
But men who have sex with men do not benefit in the same way from this. They may be left unprotected from HPV.
