In most cases (9 out of 10), HPV goes away on its own within two years without health problems. But when HPV does not go away, it can cause health problems like genital warts and cancer.
Usually, the body's immune system gets rid of the HPV infection naturally within two years. This is true of both oncogenic and non-oncogenic HPV types.
Around 90% of HPV infections clear within 2 years. For a small number of women and people with a cervix, their immune system will not be able to get rid of HPV. This is called a persistent infection. A persistent HPV infection causes the cells of the cervix to change.
High-risk HPV infections that persist can cause cancer: Sometimes HPV infections are not successfully controlled by your immune system. When a high-risk HPV infection persists for many years, it can lead to cell changes that, if untreated, may get worse over time and become cancer.
If you got a positive HPV test and your Pap test was abnormal, your doctor will probably follow up with a colposcopy. Try to see a physician who specializes in this procedure. During a colposcopy, your doctor will look more closely at the cervix, vagina or vulva with a special microscope called a colposcope.
However, studies have shown that natural immunity to HPV is poor and you can be reinfected with the same HPV type. In some cases, some people will not get the same type of HPV again, but in some cases other people will get the same type of HPV again.
Summary: The body's ability to clear an infection by the cancer-causing human papilloma virus (HPV) may be largely due to unpredictable division patterns in HPV-infected stem cells, rather than the strength of the person's immune response as previously thought.
HPV-related cancers often take years to develop after getting an HPV infection. Cervical cancer usually develops over 10 or more years. There can be a long interval between being infected with HPV, the development of abnormal cells on the cervix and the development of cervical cancer.
Unlike other STIs, there is no treatment for HPV, so it is not necessary to disclose HPV to current or previous sexual partners.
Depending on the type of HPV that you have, the virus can linger in your body for years. In most cases, your body can produce antibodies against the virus and clear the virus within one to two years. Most strains of HPV go away permanently without treatment.
A positive test result means that you have a type of high-risk HPV that's linked to cervical cancer. It doesn't mean that you have cervical cancer now, but it's a warning sign that cervical cancer could develop in the future.
Most cases of HPV infection tend to be cleared by the immune system without intervention 1–2 years post-exposure; it is thought that persistent infection is most likely due to a lack of HPV-specific T-cell immunity [74].
A compromised immune response is the prerequisite for disease progression. One unique feature of HPV infection is that it can affect the immune system in such as way that it presents a much more tolerant state, which facilitates persistent hrHPV infection and cervical lesion progression.
The reason HPV is so common is because the virus lives on the skin. This means you can catch it simply through skin-to-skin contact. HPV transmission, of the types that cause genital warts, can happen during oral, anal, and vaginal sex, but you can also get it through intimate touching or sharing sex toys.
High-risk HPV doesn't have symptoms
Unfortunately, most people who have a high-risk type of HPV will never show any signs of the infection until it's already caused serious health problems. That's why regular checkups are so important — testing is the only way to know for sure if you're at risk for cancer from HPV.
HPV is easily spread from sexual skin-to-skin contact with someone who has it. You get it when your vulva, vagina, cervix, penis, or anus touches someone else's genitals or mouth and throat — usually during sex. HPV can be spread even if no one cums, and even if a penis doesn't go inside the vagina/anus/mouth.
Low risk HPVs do not cause cancer, but may cause skin warts on or around the genitals and anus. High risk HPVs account for around 12 types of HPVs and may cause cancer. Of the high risk HPV types, types 16 and 18 are responsible for most HPV-caused cancers.
The HPV test looks for cervical infection by high-risk types of HPV that are more likely to cause pre-cancers and cancers of the cervix. The test can be done by itself or at the same time as the Pap test (called a co-test) (with the same swab or a second swab), to determine your risk of developing cervical cancer.
In most cases (9 out of 10), HPV goes away on its own within two years without health problems. But when HPV does not go away, it can cause health problems like genital warts and cancer.
Unfortunately, once you have been infected with HPV, there is no treatment that can cure it or eliminate the virus from your system. A hysterectomy removes the cervix, which means that the risk of developing cervical cancer because of persistent HPV infection will essentially be eliminated.
Most men who get HPV never have symptoms. The infection usually goes away by itself. But, if HPV does not go away, it can cause genital warts or certain kinds of cancer.
It is important to use a condom from start to finish of every sex act, including oral and anal sex. HPV is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact. Because HPV can infect areas that are not covered by the condom, condoms will not fully protect you against HPV, but condoms do help in HPV prevention.
If you test positive for HPV 16/18, you will need to have a colposcopy. If you test positive for HPV (but did not have genotyping performed or had genotyping and tested negative for 16/18), you will likely have a colposcopy.