The human papillomavirus is quite a mouth full when spelled out. Most of us are more familiar with the abbreviated term HPV: the virus that has swept its strands across the country, infecting more than 6.2 million people each year. The unique but deceiving aspect of this disease is that it takes on many forms. With 40-100 different strains of the virus, we rely on numbers to try and differentiate the types. I can recall first hearing about HPV my sophomore year in college. Before this my friends and I would refer to the only strand we knew as “genital warts” and then cringe at the thought of ever being exposed to it. Little did we know that if we choose to be sexually active in our lifetime there is a fair chance that at one point we will be exposed to this strand if we aren’t careful. In college, HPV started to become rampantly prevalent among students. The virus was spreading like wildfire. It seemed if you were sexually active and not cautious in your ventures you were pretty much guaranteed to have an encounter with this virus. Like a common cold, some experts believe that the virus is either suppressed or exacerbated depending on how strong your immune system is at a given time. For example, I have talked with several individuals who have acquired the strains HPV 6 or HPV 11 (the ones that can lead to genital warts). In their cases, they found that when they are stressed or sick, an outbreak is more likely to occur.

The Sex Ed Guru Says: "HPV types 6 and 11 are classified as low-risk HPV. These are the ones that may lead to genital warts. 6 and 11 are also the two types that are responsible for 90% of the genital wart cases out there. You can get an outbreak of warts when you come in contact with the virus (usually by coming in contact with the wart or infected skin), and since there is no cure, outbreaks may indeed come back if your immune system is not cooperating or healthy."

HPV can be scary, and knowing how common it is can be even scarier. When I was in college and HPV became more established, people wanted to understand more about the disease, the different strands, and hopefully realize in the end that acquiring HPV is not the end of the world. If treated promptly and correctly, HPV does not have any serious side effects. The stigma of having HPV, however, may be the hardest part to get over; especially if you have a strand that causes outward symptoms that can be aesthetically discouraging and lead to lowered sexual self esteem. The HPV strands that may not show any physical signs may be of most concern. HPV 16 and 18 are the most common strains that lead to cervical cancer among women. Getting your annual pap-smear is essential to preventing these strains from developing into cervical cancer.

The Sex Ed Guru Says: "True, types 16 and 18 are two of the many high-risk types of HPV, and are responsible for 70% of the cervical cancer cases out there. Fortunately, there is a vaccine available (Gardasil) that specifically targets these two types to help prevent cervical cancer. There are other types of high-risk HPV as well, but the majority of them do not lead to cancer and can go away on their own."

This disease can be biased, and by this I mean it tends to not affect men. Although the strands that cause genital warts can show up on a man’s genitals, they frequently don’t show any symptoms and remain the carriers of the strands that can cause cervical cancer in women.

The Sex Ed Guru Says: "Unfortunately, no exam can be done to see if a male is infected with high-risk HPV (the ones that may lead to cervical cancer), but a visual exam can be done on males who have low-risk HPV (the type that can cause genital warts)."

It’s also important to keep the communication open about the last time either you or your partner has been tested. And remember, even if a man shows no symptoms, that doesn’t mean he is not a carrier of the virus. Fortunately, there has been a medical breakthrough allowing kids as young as 9 to receive a vaccine that is delivered over six months. The vaccine, called Gardasil, is effective in preventing 70% of strands leading to cervical cancer and over 90% of strands leading to genital warts. Hip-hip-hooray! It’s not however, used to cure HPV strands already acquired.

The Sex Ed Guru Says: "True, so females should continue to receive their regular pap tests and cervical cancer screenings. Also, females who have already been exposed to one type of HPV may benefit from Gardasil so they can be protected against another type of HPV."

At the onset of the HPV outbreak, experts and educators didn’t know as much about the disease as they do now. In any case, it is so important to have your pap-smear done on an annual basis. I know it’s scary, particularly if you’re young, to think about mounting yourself in those gynecologist stirrups to get an exam, but in the end it’s in your best interest to have a checkup each year. In the meantime, take your sexual health into your own hands by staying informed, staying protected, and keeping the communication flowing between the one you choose to be intimate with.