Sexual Health Buzz

What are genital warts?

Genital warts are flesh-colored growths that are most often caused by certain types of HPV. Genital warts most often appear on the external genitals or near the anus of females and males. Less commonly, genital warts can appear inside the vagina and on the cervix.

Who gets genital warts?

Anyone who has any kind of sexual activity involving genital contact could get genital HPV, and certain types of HPV can develop into genital warts. Because many people who have HPV may not show any signs or symptoms, they can transmit the virus without even knowing it. After sexual contact with an infection person, genital warts may appear within weeks, months, years, or not at all.

Genital warts are very common. It is estimated that in 2003, there were over 260,000 new cases of genital warts in the United States alone.

How do I know if I have genital warts?

A healthcare professional can usually recognize genital warts just by seeing them. Genital warts often do not cause symptoms. In some cases; however, they may cause burning, itching, or pain.

How are genital warts treated?

Genital warts sometimes disappear on their own without treatment. However, there is no way to tell if they will disappear or grow larger.

A healthcare professional may choose to apply a special cream or solution to the warts. Alternatively, some genital warts can be removed by freezing, burning, or using a laser treatment. If these treatments don’t work, they may be removed by surgery.

There is a chance that genital warts can reappear after treatment, since the HPV that caused them may still be present.

* These facts do not cover everything there is to k now about genital warts. Talk to your healthcare professional or visit HPV.com for more information. This information was presented for educational purposes and only for personal use.

Gardasil Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus (Types 6, 11, 16, 18) Recombinant Vaccine

Read this information with care before you or your child gets Gardasil. You or your child will need 3 doses of the vaccine. It is important to read this leaflet when you receive each dose. This leaflet does not take the place of talking with your health care professional about Gardasil.

(As you can see I picked up the leaflet from my doc’s office, came home, and then I copied it to my blog so that you guys could get access to the information. Not all doc’s offices have this information so I felt it would be a good idea to share it with you.)

What is Gardasil and what is it used for?

Gardasil is a vaccine (injection/shot) that helps protect against the following diseases caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Types in the vaccine (6, 11, 16, and 18):

• Cervical cancer (cancer of the lower end of the uterus or womb)
• Abnormal and precancerous cervical lesions
• Abnormal and precancerous vaginal lesions
• Abnormal and precancerous vulvar lesions
• Genital warts

Gardasil helps prevent these diseases – but it will not treat them. You or your child cannot get these diseases from Gardasil.

What other key information about Gardasil should I know?

• Vaccination does not substitute for routine cervical cancer screening. Females who receive Gardasil should continue cervical cancer screening.
• As with all vaccines, Gardasil may not fully protect everyone who gets the vaccine.
• Gardasil will NOT protect against diseases due to non-vaccine HPV types. There are more than 100 HPV types; Gardasil helps protect against 4 types (6, 11, 16, and 18). These 4 types have been selected for Gardasil because they cause approximately 70% of cervical cancers and 90% of genital warts.
• This vaccine will not protect you against HPV types to which you may have already been exposed.
• Gardasil also will not protect against other diseases that are not caused by HPV.
• Gardasil works best when given before you or your child has any contact with certain types of HPV (i.e., HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18).

Who can receive Gardasil?

Gardasil is for girls and women 9 through 26 years of age. See “Who should not receive Gardasil?” below.

Who should not receive Gardasil?

Anyone who:

• is allergic to any of the ingredients in the vaccine. A list of ingredients can be found at the end of this leaflet.
• has an allergic reaction after getting a dose of the vaccine.

What should I tell my health care professional before I am vaccinated or my child is vaccinated with Gardasil?

It is very important to tell your health care professional if you or your child:

• has had an allergic reaction to the vaccine.
• has a bleeding disorder and cannot receive injections in the arm.
• has a weakened immune system, for example, due to a genetic defect or HIV infection.
• is pregnant or is planning to get pregnant. Gardasil is not recommended for use in pregnant women.
• has any illness with a fever more than 100 degrees F (37.8 degrees C).
• takes or plans to take any medicines, even those you can buy over the counter.

Your health care professional will decide if you or your child should receive the vaccine.

How is Gardasil given?

Gardasil is given as an infection. You or your child will receive 3 doses of the vaccine. Ideally the doses are given as:

• First dose: at a date you and your health care professional choose.
• Second dose: 2 months after the first dose.
• Third dose: 6 months after the first dose.

Make sure that you are your child gets all 3 doses. This allows you or your child to get the full benefits of Gardasil. If you or your child misses a dose, your health care professional will decide when to give the missed dose.

What are the possible side effects of Gardasil?

As with all vaccines, there may be some side effects with Gardasil. Gardasil has been shown to be generally well tolerated in women and girls as young as 9 years of age.

The most commonly reported side effects included:

• pain, swelling, itching, and redness at the injection site.
• fever.

Difficulty breathing (bronchospasm) has been reported very rarely. If you or your child has any unusual or sever symptoms after receiving Gardasil, contact your health care professional right away. For a more complete list of side effects, ask your health care professional.

What are the ingredients in Gardasil?

The main ingredients are purified inactive proteins that come from HPV Types 6, 11, 16, and 18. It also contains amorphous aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate, sodium chloride, L-histidine, polysorbate 80, sodium borate, and water for infection.

What are cervical cancer, precancerous lesions, and genital warts?

Cancer of the cervix is a serious disease that can be life-threatening. This disease is caused by certain HPV types that can cause the cells in the lining of the cervix to change from normal to precancerous lesions. If these are not treated, they can turn cancerous.

Genital warts are caused by certain types of HPV. They often appear as skin-colored growths. They are found on the inside or outside of the genitals. They can hurt, itch, bleed, and cause discomfort. These lesions are usually not precancerous. Sometimes, it takes multiple treatments to eliminate these lesions.

What is Human Papillomavirus (HPV)?

HPV is a common virus. In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 20 million people in the United States had this virus. There are many different types of HPV; some cause no harm. Other can cause diseases of the genital area. For most people the virus goes away on its own. When the virus does not go away it can develop into cervical cancer, precancerous lesions, or genital warts, depending on the HPV type. See “What other key information about Gardasil should I know?”

Who is at risk for Human Papillomavirus?

In 2005, the CDC estimated that at least 50% of sexually active people catch HPV during their lifetime. A male or female of any age who takes part in any kind of sexual activity that involves genital contact is at risk. Many people who have HPV may not show any signs or symptoms. This means that they can pass on the virus to others and not know it.

Will Gardasil help me if I already have Human Papillomavirus?

You may benefit from Gardasil if you already have HPV. This is because most people are not infected with all four types of HPV contained in the vaccine. In clinical trails, individuals with current or past infection with one or more vaccine-related HPV types prior to vaccination were protected from disease caused by the remaining vaccine HPV types. Gardasil is not intended to be used for treatment for the above mentioned diseases. Talk to your health care professional for more information.

* This leaflet is a summary of information about Gardasil. If you would like more information, please talk to your health care professional or visit gardasil.com - This information was issued in June of 2006, Manufactured and Distributed by: MERCK & CO., INC., Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889, USA 96823 – This information is presented only for informational and educational reasons and should not take the place of your own doctor’s medical advice. Permission was granted to help spread the word about the HPV vaccine Gardasil.

Let’s Talk about HPV

What is cervical cancer?

Cervical cancer is cancer of the cervix. The cervix is the part of the uterus that connects the upper part of the uterus (the womb) and the vagina.

Cervical cancer is a serious condition that can be life threatening. When a woman becomes infected with certain high-risk types of HPV and does not clear the infection, abnormal cells can develop in the lining of the cervix.

If not discovered early and treated, these abnormal cells can become cervical pre cancers and then possibly cancer. Most often this can take a number of years, although in rare cases it can happen within a year.

Who gets cervical cancer?

About half of all females diagnosed with cervical cancer are between 35 and 55 years old. What many of these women may not realize is that they were most likely exposed to one of the high-risk types of HPV during their teens and 20s.

The American Cancer Society estimated that in 2005 there were 10,370 new cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in the United States, and 3,710 women died from the disease.

How do I know if I have cervical cancer?

The usual way to detect cervical cancer is through a Pap test. If the results of a Pap test indicate that you have abnormal cervical cells, it’s important to follow your healthcare professional’s recommendations for more testing, such as repeat Pap testing, HPV DNA testing, colposcopy (examination of the cervix through a magnifying device), and possible biopsy (obtaining a tissue sample for analysis in the lab).

How is cervical cancer treated?

The three main methods are surgery (an operation to remove the cancer), radiation therapy (using high energy beams to destroy cancer cells), and chemotherapy (using medications to disrupt the growth of cancer cells). Sometimes treatment included two or more of these methods.

Before choosing a treatment, a healthcare professional will consider the size of the cancer, whether it has spread, the woman’s age and overall health, and patient preferences. The treatment that is right for one person may not be right for someone else.

These facts do not cover everything there is to know about cervical cancer. Talk to your healthcare professional or visit HPV.com for more information.

* This information was presented strictly for personal use as well as educational purposes. With all the discussion about ways we can prevent HPV I would think that this would help people get to the root of this issue.

Talk about HPV

I bring up the “alternative/natural” substances vs. “prescription” because there are a lot of conspiracy theorists that read my blog on a daily basis – so that was more for their benefit than strictly just for you.

How long should we have to wait before we figure out that vaccines save lives? Ten years, twenty years, thirty years of waiting before we can find out that it’s really ok to take the HPV vaccine and that as with all vaccines, there may be some side effects? We already know this, right? How long do you think it took for scientists to put together the HPV vaccine? Do you think that they just sat around in the board room, through it together without conducting years of testing before offering it up to the public?

So we miss out on the vaccine that has the potential to prevent two types of HPV that can cause cervical cancer. Why? Because of conspiracy theorists against any and all research that has been conducted within the pharmaceutical industry to try and save lives? Are you against the drug companies so much so that you would forgo vaccinating your children just to prove a point after all the years of research that has already been done on this? Does that not count at all or do we have to start over because it’s finally made it to the market?

Everything out there to treat any type of illness whether it be alternative or clinically proven has the potential to have side effects. When you go to pick up your medication at the pharmacy there is always a list of possible side effects that come with medications. The same thing goes for vaccines. When you vaccinate your children they send you home with a sheet of paper that tells you what to watch out for and what to do if your child develops any of the symptoms associated with that vaccine. Why would the HPV vaccine be any different?

I know that it’s different for some… because there are MANY that truly believe that vaccinating our daughters with the HPV vaccine essentially says to them that they can go out and have sex and won’t have to worry about two types of cancer or contracting any type of genital wart. Why is it that it’s ok to vaccinate but when you are vaccinating for the purpose of preventing a sexually transmitted disease people have a problem with that? The strange part is that this sexually transmitted disease happens to cause various strains of cervical cancer which happens to be one of the leading causes of death in women. I guess the three letters STD sorta trumps that then so that makes it bad. WHATEVER!!

So basically what you are saying is that it doesn’t matter how many years have gone into researching and developing this vaccine. It will never be good enough unless we wait another life time and millions of deaths later in order to know what we already know about the vaccine. Oh THAT makes perfect sense to me now… what I want to know is what your definition of a lifetime is? How long should we wait before we protect our kids from the four types of HPV that cause cervical cancer and genital warts?

As an Expectant Parent eagerly awaiting the birth of your new baby, you are probably taking a number of steps to ensure your baby’s health. One step many experts recommend is that you become informed about herpes simplex virus (HSV). This common virus is usually a mild infection in adults. But in infants, HSV can cause a rare, but serious, illness.

What is herpes simplex virus?

HSV can cause sores near the mouth (oral herpes or “cold sores”) or sores on the genitals (genital herpes). HSV-1 is the usual cause of oral herpes, and HSV-2 is the usual cause of genital herpes. But either type of HSV can infect either part of the body. Either type can infect a baby.

How common is herpes simplex?

Some 80% of American adults have oral herpes (“cold sores”), and more than 20% have genital herpes. You can get genital herpes if you have sexual contact with a partner who is infected, or if a partner who has an active cold sore performs oral sex on you. Most people with HSV don’t know they are infected because they have no symptoms, or symptoms too mild to notice.

How can herpes simplex spread to an infant?

• Herpes simplex is most often spread to an infant during birth, if the mother has HSV in the birth canal during delivery.
• HSV can also be spread to the baby if he or she is kissed by someone with an active cold sore.
• In rare instances, HSV may be spread by touch, if someone touches an active cold sore and then immediately touches the baby.

How can herpes harm a baby?

HSV can cause neonatal herpes, a rare but life threatening disease. Neonatal herpes can cause eye or throat infections, damage to the central nervous system, mental retardation, or death. Medication may help prevent or reduce lasting damage if it is given early.

How many babies get neonatal herpes?

Less than 0.1% of babies born in the United States each year get neonatal herpes. By contrast, some 20-25% of pregnant women have genital herpes. This means that the great majority of women with genital herpes give birth to healthy, happy babies.

Which babies are most at risk?

Babies are most at risk for neonatal herpes if the mother contracts genital HSV late in pregnancy. This is because a newly infected mother does not have antibodies against the virus, so there is no natural protection for the baby during birth. In addition, a new herpes infection is frequently active, so there is a real chance that the virus will be present in the birth canal during delivery.

What about pregnant women who have a history of genital herpes?

Women who acquire genital herpes before they become pregnant have a very low risk of transmitting the virus to their babies. This is because their immune systems make antibodies that are passed to the baby through the placenta. Even if HSV is active in the birth canal during delivery, the antibodies help protect the baby. In addition, if a mother knows she has genital herpes, her doctor can take steps to protect the baby.

PROTECTING THE BABY: WOMEN WITH GENITAL HERPES

If you are pregnant and you have genital herpes, you may be concerned about the risk of spreading the infection to your baby. Be reassured that the risk is extremely small – especially if you have had herpes for some time. The following steps can help make the risk even smaller:

• Talk with your obstetrician or midwife. Make sure he or she knows you have genital herpes.
• At the time of labor, check yourself for any symptoms in the genital area – sores, itching, tingling or tenderness. Your health care provider will also examine you with a strong light to detect any signs of an outbreak.
• If you have an active outbreak at the time of delivery, the safest course is cesarean section to prevent the baby’s coming into contact with virus in the birth canal. If you do not have an active outbreak, you can have a vaginal delivery.
• Ask your doctor not to break the bag of waters around the baby unless necessary. The bag of waters may help protect the baby against any virus in the birth canal.
• As your doctor not to use a fetal scalp monitor (scalp electrodes) during labor to monitor the baby’s heart rate unless medically necessary. This instrument makes tiny punctures in the baby’s scalp, which may allow herpes virus to enter. In most cases, an external monitor can be used instead.
• Ask that a vacuum or forceps not be used during delivery unless medically necessary. These instruments can also cause breaks in the baby’s scalp, allowing virus to enter.
• After birth, watch the baby closely for about three weeks. Symptoms of neonatal herpes include blisters, fever, laziness, crankiness, or lack of appetite. While these can be symptoms of several mild illnesses, don’t wait to see if your baby will get better. Take him or her to the pediatrician at once. Be sure to tell the pediatrician you have genital herpes.
• Think positively! The odds are strongly in favor of your having a healthy baby.

PROTECTING THE BABY: WOMEN WHO DON’T HAVE GENITAL HERPES

The greatest risk of neonatal herpes is to babies whose mothers contract genital infection late in pregnancy. While this is a rare occurrence, it does happen, and can cause a serious, even life-threatening, illness for the baby. The best way you can protect your baby is to know the facts about HSV and how to protect yourself. The first step may be finding out whether you already carry the virus.

How can I get tested for genital HSV?

If you have symptoms, the best test is a viral culture. To perform this test, your health care provider must take a sample from an outbreak while it is active, preferably on the first day. Test results are available in about a week. If you don’t have symptoms, a blood test can tell you whether you carry HSV-2, the type of herpes that usually infects the genital tract. (A blood test may also tell you whether you have HSV-1, but in many cases this simply means you have oral herpes.) The most accurate blood test is the Western blot, available from the University of Washington at Seattle. Your doctor can find out more about the test by calling (206) 548-6066. Other accurate tests, such as immunoblot assays, may be available through reference laboratories soon. Your doctor can find out more by calling (888) 703-4455.

How can I make sure I don’t get genital HSV?

If you test negative for genital herpes, the following steps can help protect you from getting an infection during pregnancy:

• If your partner has genital herpes, abstain from sex during active outbreaks. Between outbreaks, use a condom from start to finish every time you have sexual contact, even if your partner has no symptoms. (HSV can spread when no symptoms are present.) Consider abstaining from sex during the last trimester.
• If you don’t know whether your partner has genital HSV, you may wish to ask your partner to be tested. If your partner has genital or oral HSV, there is a very real chance that you may acquire it unless you take steps to prevent transmission.
• Do not let your partner perform oral sex on you if your partner has an active cold sore (oral herpes). This can give you genital herpes.

What if I contract genital HSV during late pregnancy?

If you experience genital symptoms, or believe you have been exposed to genital HSV, tell your obstetrician or midwife at once. However, be aware that herpes can lie dormant for several years. What appears to be a new infection is usually an old one that is causing symptoms for the first time. Talk with your provider about the best way to protect your baby. When a pregnant woman does contract a new genital HSV infection during the last trimester, some providers will prescribe the medication acyclovir. Some recommend a cesarean delivery under these circumstances, even if no outbreak is present.

How can I protect the baby after birth?

A baby can get neonatal herpes in the first eight weeks after birth. Such infections are almost always caused by a kiss from an adult who has a cold sore. To protect your baby, don’t kiss him or her when you have a cold sore, and ask others not to. If you have a cold sore, wash your hands before touching the baby.

FOR PARTNERS OF PREGNANT WOMEN

If your partner is pregnant, and she does not have genital HSV, you can help ensure that the baby remains safe from infection. Find out whether you have genital HSV (see “How can I get tested?”). Remember, more than 20% of Americans do have genital HSV, and most do not have symptoms. If you find that you have the virus, follow these guidelines to protect your partner during the pregnancy:

• Use condoms from start to finish every time you have sexual contact, even if you have no symptoms. HSV can be spread even when no symptoms are present.
• If you have genital outbreaks, abstain from sex until the outbreak has completely healed.
• Talk with your health care provider about taking antiviral medication to suppress outbreaks and to reduce the risk of transmission between outbreaks.
• Consider abstaining from intercourse during the last trimester. Explore alternatives such as touching, kissing, fantasizing, and massage.
• If you have cold sores (usually caused by HSV-1), avoid performing oral sex on your partner when a cold sore is present.

Here are some links you may find helpful:

• Herpes and Pregnancy
• Discussion board for pregnant women with herpes

What are abnormal cervical cells?

Abnormal cervical cells (also called cervical dysplasia) are cells in the lining of the cervix that have changed in appearance.

The more severe the cervical abnormality, the more likely it is that cervical cancer cold develop in the future. Most often this can take a number of years, although in rare cases it can happen within a year.

What causes abnormal cervical cells?

Abnormal cervical cells may have a number of different causes, such as an infection or inflammation, but are commonly caused by certain type of HPV (human papillomavirus).

How do I know if I have abnormal cervical cells?

The usual way to detect abnormal cervical cells is through a Pap test. You may have additional testing, such as repeat Pap testing, HPV DNA testing, colposcopy, and possible biopsy.

An abnormal biopsy result may be reported as CIN (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia). The term CIN, along with a number (1 to 3), describes how much of the thickness of the lining of the cervix contains abnormal cells. A diagnosis of CIN 3 means there are severely abnormal cervical cells through the entire thickness of the lining of the cervix.

How are abnormal cervical cells treated?

Most abnormal cervical cells in the lining of the cervix will eventually go away on their own. If the abnormalities are mild, the healthcare professional may choose to closely monitor them. If the abnormalities are more severe, removing these cells can almost always prevent cervical cancer from developing in the future.

Methods commonly used to treat abnormal cervical cells include freezing, removing them using an electrical instrument, and conventional surgery. The treatment may have to be repeated if the abnormal cells reappear.

* These facts do not cover everything there is to know about abnormal cervical cells. Talk to your healthcare professional or visit HPV.com for more information.

Talk about HPV on our message board

I live in CA and I cant stand your commercials anymore! I see them on TV and in magazines.

If your company wants more customers, why don’t you focus on the real spreaders of genital herpes–those who don’t know they have it. If you are going to bother advertising to everyone that 70% of people who contract genital herpes contract it from someone who isn’t showing any signs or symptoms, why not mention that most people DON’T!!!!

In fact, you’re unlucky if you get even one “classic” outbreak of blisters/sores, let alone recurrent “classic” outbreaks. 90% of the people who have herpes, don’t know it. A lot of people have initial outbreaks so slight they don’t notice or they think it is something else like a yeast infection or ingrown hair.

Doctors don’t test for it on standard STD panels and most people don’t want to get tested because its such a stigmatized virus. Only HIV has a higher stigma.

So I suggest to you

STOP spreading the herpes stigma!! The stigma is what makes people with herpes “suffer,” not the outbreaks. The statistic you use makes it sound like those with genitals herpes are just waiting to give it to someone who doesn’t. Heck, if you include the 90% statistic you’d have a whole heap of new people getting prescriptions for Valtrex.

I sincerely hope you listen to this

This letter was sent to me to post on this blog because the person who wrote to GlaxoSmithKline did not receive a response from them and they thought my blog would be a good platform for such discussion.

If you would like to comment on what you think of the Valtrex Commercials and what GlaxoSmithKline might do to improve them, send me your thoughts OR leave a comment.

Read about what others think of the Valtrex Commercials

These are the most popular topics on the HPV message board for the month of October!

• Should I tell her?
• HPV
• I thought pap smears were enough, I just found out about HPV

Here is the Question

I was told I have HSV2 via a blood test, but I have no idea where the virus originated from since I have not had symptoms. I have had chapped lips, is it possible that that is wear my virus is? It feels like dry skin, peeling and small bumps on the lips. Having read your site you say that it is usually hard to have HSV2 on the mouth. I worry because I would hate to pass the virus to children or a partner just by kissing them. I know this may sound stupid, but I just worry about passing it on.

Here is my Answer

I personally would like to know what your doctor told you because I always understood it to be that HSV-2 prefers the genital area and that Oral HSV-2 is not all that common.

I have also always been told that if somebody were to test positive for both HSV-1 and HSV-2 that statistically it would mean that the person has Oral HSV-1 and Genital HSV-2.

A person that tests positive for HSV-1 could have oral HSV-1 OR genital HSV-1. If you don’t have any outbreaks that can be cultured it would be hard to tell.

Here’s more on the differences between HSV-1 and HSV-2 along with their location of preference

Thank you so much for posting this article, it’s really beneficial. Having the illness is a real struggle. I have a history of it in my family.

I’m a community ambassador with Pantene Beautiful Lengths, and together we are trying to gather 1 million inches of hair to provide wigs for women dealing with chemo related hair loss.

We come in and deliver these wigs to these women and hopefully try and rebuild their confidence to give them a fighting chance in overcoming this serious illness, and the depression it can cause.

If you are interested in donating or pledging please visit this site. Help support this amazing cause! – Ilsa

Many times when somebody leaves a great comment, I like to feature those on the blog. Especially if it’s for an important cause. Here are some more links I found that might be of interest to you! – Angela

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