[Question #13682] Oral hpv
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1 months ago
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Yesterday received unprotected oral sex from a sex worker female . I am vaccinated for hpv but am worried about getting hpv . I’ve read that some of the common oral hpv strains are protected from vaccine . Seeing what’s the chances are of contracting a non vaccine covered strain from this incident
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
1 months ago
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Welcome to our forum. Thanks for your questions. I’ll be glad to provide some information.
Your risk of acquiring HPV from receipt of oral sex is relatively low. Oral HPV is far less common than genital infection and a single exposure rarely leads to infection. To your credit, you have been vaccinated and most oral HPV infections are due to HPV type 16, six, or 11, all of which are contained in the vaccine. When they occur, most HPV infections resolve on their own over 1-2 years without consequences. Further, there are no recommended tests for HPV in men. My advice is to not worry and move forward. EWH
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1 months ago
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Any concern of picking up a hpv strain not covered in vaccine and having it show up on wife’s hpv test during papsmear?
Any opinion on odds of this ? I know oral sex is low , oral hpv is low, common strains are covered in vaccine , most 1 time acts don’t transmit ,
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
1 months ago
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The likelihood of picking up and then transmitting a non- vaccine HPV strain are unknown but are certainly very low for all of the reasons you list. Even if HPV were to be detected during an examination, there would not be a good way to determine where it came from. As I said above, there’s little to be done and worrying is non-productive. Again I encourage you to move forward and not get hung up on something that’s unlikely to happen. EWH---
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1 months ago
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My last questions . If oral sex rarely transfers hpv , then where does oral hpv come from . And I read New studies are showing teactivation of HPV in people in their 50s due to immune deficiencies from aging How accurate is this and how often does this occur , thank you
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
1 months ago
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As I've said, oral HPV is far less common than genital infections. When oral infection is present, it is rarely transmitted at a single exposure. Lot of people have oral sex.
Immune deficiencies increase the risk of HPV reactivation although the majority of persons with immunosuppression do not experience obvious HPV recurrence. As we age, host defenses (immunity) gradually declines with increasing age. As a result, older persons response slightly less well to vaccines and fight all sorts of infections less well than they did when they were younger. The degree to which immune function declines tends to be modest in most people and is poorly quantified.
Final comment. You do not know that you were even exposed to HPV in the encounter you describe and your risk of infection is low. There are no recommended tests for HPV in men. My advice is to put your concerns behind you and move forward with your life as normal. This thread will be closed shortly. Take care. EWH
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