[Question #3564] General HPV questions
34 months ago
|
As I learn more about HPV, I have some questions that I would greatly appreciate some clarification on as this is somewhat new to me(specifically the genital strains like hpv 16/18). I'm a late 30's, heterosexual male
1. How soon would someone show up as positive after exposure, or when is ideal for them to be tested?
2. If you had it and your body clears it, does it ever come up again if you are a healthy person (could I pass it to someone months or years after?). The last theoretical exposure was 4-5 months ago, I wonder if my body has cleared it enough so that it's not likely to be transferred (cumulative immune response).
3. Once you're a certain age, late 30's in my case, I've read that its more unlikely for new infections to occur in men? Is that because you've already been exposed to it, or it just doesn't happen for reasons unknown?
4. If a women tested positive and you used a condom through most of the relationship, but did not use a condom a few times towards the end (10 months later) would the viral clearance hypothetically be so low that transmission would be less likely? I read that you wrote that clearance is cumulative.
5. If you had multiple partners when younger, does that increase your chances for adapting immune response to future exposure.
6. Can you be exposed to it and develop antibodies without an actual full fledged infection occurring, and is that common? Hopefully that's not too many questions all at once. I'm not as concerned about myself, but my concern is that I don't want to harbor genital/cancer causing strain hpv and pass it to someone else, unknowingly. I certainly don't want pass to my next girlfriend and experience problems in that relationship, or problems simply because i'm nervous and unfocused because i'm scared that I did. Since there's no way to know for sure as a man, my mind is unsettled on the matter. I greatly appreciate your expertise and understanding. Thank you for your time.
![]() |
H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
34 months ago
|
34 months ago
|
![]() |
H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
34 months ago
|
34 months ago
|
![]() |
H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
34 months ago
|