How do men get HPV? You can get HPV by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has the virus. It most commonly spreads during anal or vaginal sex. It also spreads through close skin-to-skin touching during sex.
Now, a new study published Thursday in the journal JAMA Oncology points to how common that common STI really is — in men. Approximately 45 percent of U.S. adult males aged 18 to 59 are carrying active genital HPV infections, the researchers found.
Myth: HPV causes health problems in women, not men.
HPV can cause various types of cancers in men, including those that affect the tonsils, base of the tongue, anus and penis. While anal and penile cancers are rare, cancers in the throat are the most common HPV-related cancers found in men.
While men can be infected with HPV, there are no approved tests available for men. However, your doctor may do an anal pap test if have had anal sex. Your doctor will be able to diagnose low-risk HPV and cutaneous HPV through a physical or visual exam.
This is because it is difficult to get a good cell sample to test from the thick skin on the penis. Most people will not have visible symptoms if they are exposed to HPV. Therefore, for most, the virus is subclinical (invisible). This is especially true for males.
In 90 percent of cases, the body's immune system clears the infection on its own within two years. In the HIM study group, new HPV infections took an average of 7.5 months to clear (see Table 2).
In countries with limited screening, mortality from cervical cancer far exceeds that of HPV-related disease in men. However, in the developed world, the number of HPV-related cancers in men, including penile, oral, and anal cancer, is similar to that of cervical cancer in women [2–5].
While sexual intercourse is the primary means of transmission, genital-to-genital interactions, oral-to-genital interactions, or deep (French) kissing can also spread the virus.
HPV clearance in men
But here again, some high-risk strains took longer to clear than low-risk HPV strains. The age of a man can also influence how long the infection lasts. One study found that older men seem to clear the infection faster, which may be because older men have more antibodies against HPV (Anic, 2011).
HPV is very common. It is estimated that up to 80% of people in Australia have HPV at some time in their lives. Many people who have HPV have no idea that they have been exposed to the infection.
Can HPV be cured in men? There's no cure for HPV, no matter what gender you are. However, with regular testing, your nurse or doctor can find abnormal cells in your cervix and treat them before they turn into cancer. And most HPV infections go away on their own and don't cause any serious health problems.
It is important to use a condom from start to finish of every sex act, including oral and anal sex. HPV is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact. Because HPV can infect areas that are not covered by the condom, condoms will not fully protect you against HPV, but condoms do help in HPV prevention.
According to the CDC, at least 50% of sexually active men and women will get a genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. After a person has been infected by HPV, it may take one to three months (or longer in some cases) for warts to appear.
Even if a person delays sexual activity until marriage, or only has one partner, they are still at risk of HPV infection if their partner has been exposed. You cannot get HPV from: Toilet seats.
For 90 percent of women with HPV, the condition will clear up on its own within two years. Only a small number of women who have one of the HPV strains that cause cervical cancer will ever actually develop the disease.
HPV is easily spread from sexual skin-to-skin contact with someone who has it. You get it when your vulva, vagina, cervix, penis, or anus touches someone else's genitals or mouth and throat — usually during sex. HPV can be spread even if no one cums, and even if a penis doesn't go inside the vagina/anus/mouth.
It most commonly spreads during anal or vaginal sex. It also spreads through close skin-to-skin touching during sex. HPV can spread even when a person with the infection has no signs or symptoms. If you are sexually active, you can get HPV even if you have had sex with only one person.
You can get HPV by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has the virus. It is most commonly spread during vaginal or anal sex. It also spreads through close skin-to-skin touching during sex. A person with HPV can pass the infection to someone even when they have no signs or symptoms.
Around 90% of HPV infections clear within 2 years. For a small number of women and people with a cervix, their immune system will not be able to get rid of HPV. This is called a persistent infection. A persistent HPV infection causes the cells of the cervix to change.
Is HPV Contagious Forever? Most cases of HPV clear up on their own after one to two years, and you'll no longer be contagious once it leaves your system. However, the virus can remain dormant for years, and some people experience infections that stick around for much longer.
Previous research suggests that a key concern among individuals with other STIs, such as herpes and chlamydia, is telling a sexual partner. Unlike other STIs, there is no treatment for HPV, so it is not necessary to disclose HPV to current or previous sexual partners.
No screening test is 100% effective
an HPV infection or abnormal cells can sometimes be missed (a 'false negative' result) abnormal cells can develop and turn into cancer in between screening tests.
Most people who become infected with HPV do not know they have it. Usually, the body's immune system gets rid of the HPV infection naturally within two years. This is true of both oncogenic and non-oncogenic HPV types.
The types of HPV in the vaccine protect against the most common causes of cancer and genital warts. If, after being vaccinated, a person is exposed with a type of HPV that was included in the vaccine, he or she is unlikely to be infected and, therefore, wouldn't spread the virus.