DavanKael
Posts: 3072
Joined: 10/6/2007 Status: offline
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If it's any comfort, Lockit, the current stats are the 80%-90% of people have, have had, or will have hpv. It seems to be the 'common cold' of the sdt's. Luckily, most forms don't seem to do anything at all. And, even the ones that create symptoms usually do not manifest for more than 2 years. And, diligence about paps and all that happy stuff helps to monitor cellular irregularities to head off cancer. Oh, and there are more depthful tests than just paps for hpv now: one for the lower risk kinds (Generally, wart causing types) and one for the higher risk kinds (That can cause cellular irregularities and ultimately cancer potentially). You have to request the tests; they don't just do them, especially if you have a normal pap. My gyn knows I am a lunatic that insists on the latest and greatest in all testing, so she indulges me and I love her for it. In some cities, they are doing anal paps to assess for hpv but my gyn could only tell me that it's a big thing in areas with a large gay population and she really didn't have any information on the efficacy or how-to. I just assume everyone has hpv and have also learned that despite having 'the talk' with people, they are often either woefully under-educated about std's or simply don't care about what they may be exposing people to. I'm thinking folks should consider trips to the health department or veinipuncture center of mutual choosing as potential dates. Hpv's been rattling around for years; there's references to it in Roman Empire-era literature. Nothin' new. Davan
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