What is HPV?
HPV is the acronym for human papilloma virus.
HPV is a virus that infects the skin and mucous membranes and has more than 200 variations identified by medicine. The most common manifestation of infection occurs in the vagina, penis, and uterus.
Symptoms
In some cases HPV contamination may not show symptoms, which can cause the diagnosis of the disease to delay.
When there are symptoms, the most common is the appearance of genital warts, anal or uterus. It is also possible that lesions are found in the mouth and throat.
HPV Transmission
The main form of transmission of HPV is through sexual intercourse, on skin contact. Sexual intercourse is responsible for the transmission of more than 90% of cases of infection.
It is the sexually transmitted disease most frequent and known and generally women are more infected. Although it is a little less frequent, the infection can also be contracted by men.
In rare cases, the virus can also be transmitted from the mother to the child at the time of delivery and the virus can be transmitted even if the infected person has no symptoms of the HPV infection.
Risk of Contamination
People who: are exposed to HPV contamination
- have active sex life,
- do not use a condom in sexual intercourse,
- have other sexually transmitted diseases,
- have low immunity,
- smoke or drink in excess,
- do not have the habit of doing routine checkups and health monitoring.
Diagnosis
In addition to the appearance of warts, tests are needed to confirm the diagnosis of HPV contamination. Blood tests and gynecological exams, such as the Pap smear and colposcopy, should be done. The pap smear evaluates the risk of uterine cancer and colposcopy evaluates the vagina and cervix.
In men should be done peniscopy that can detect the presence of injury that are not easily perceived with the naked eye.
The medical indication is that the exams are done from the beginning of the sexual life.
Treatment
HPV is not cured in all cases, but disease and symptoms can be managed with treatment.
Treatment can be done in several ways, according to medical evaluation. Ointments can be used to treat warts and remedies to increase immunity. In some cases cauterization can be done to eliminate the warts.
There are cases where the infection is controlled by the body and the symptoms do not appear. But it is important to get the correct treatment if the infection is diagnosed, mainly because almost all women who develop cervical cancer have had HPV infection before developing the cancer.
Even after treatment, it is important to continue to do routine screening and exams, as it is possible to be infected again by the virus whenever there is exposure to HPV.
HPV and Cancer
There is a link between HPV cases and the development of cancer. Some types of the virus are responsible for the onset of cervical, throat and anus cancer.
To prevent or have a diagnosis in the early stage of the disease, it is important for women to have gynecological examinations frequently.
HPV can be classified as low risk of cancer and high risk of cancer. Those considered to be at high risk are related to malignant tumors.
HPV Vaccine
The HPV vaccine is indicated for women aged 9 to 45 years and for men between 9 and 26 years and is offered by the Unified Health System (SUS).
The vaccine is given in three doses. The second should happen two months after the first application and the third should be after six months of the first vaccine.
The vaccine can be taken at any time, but it is most effective if it is applied before the onset of sexual life and contact with the virus.
Other Meanings of HPV
| Acronym | Definition |
|---|---|
| HPV | Hauptpersonalvertretung |
| HPV | High Priority Violation |
| HPV | High-Performance Vehicle |
| HPV | High-Priority Violator |
| HPV | High-Production Volume |
| HPV | Holographic Particle Velocimetry |
| HPV | Hours Per Vehicle |
| HPV | House Panel Vote |
| HPV | Human Papillomavirus |
| HPV | Human Powered Vehicle |
| HPV | Hydrocarbon Pore Volume |
| HPV | Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction |
| HPV | Kauai Island, HI, USA – Princeville |