Why do my cell changes keep coming back? The most common reason for cell changes to come back would be your immune system not getting rid of high-risk HPV. We don't yet know why some people can clear HPV and others can't.
Other factors that may contribute to or help trigger a recurrence of HPV include the use of certain medications that can impair the immune system (e.g., immunosuppression drugs), serious illness, surgery, or HIV infection. The truth is, experts are still not entirely clear about recurrence of HPV.
HPV goes away on its own and doesn't cause health problems in many people. For most people who have a healthy immune system, HPV will clear itself within one to two years.
Your immune system cannot get rid of the HPV. This is called a persistent HPV infection. The HPV may then cause the epithelial cells to change. Changed cells can make copies of themselves and the new cells will also be different.
Those who said they were depressed or believed they had high levels of stress also still had an active HPV infection. HPV usually clears up on its own, but this study is really the first to indicate a link between stress and persistent HPV infection.
For 90 percent of women with HPV, the condition will clear up on its own within two years. Only a small number of women who have one of the HPV strains that cause cervical cancer will ever actually develop the disease.
Options include freezing (cryosurgery), laser, surgical removal, loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) and cold knife conization.
If you still have HPV after 3 years, you may need to have a colposcopy. You'll be asked to have a colposcopy. Information: HPV is a common virus and most people will get it at some point.
Once your HPV tests come back negative, continuing with regular Pap and HPV tests mean any abnormalities that develop later can be found and treated before they become cancer. If you got a positive HPV test and your Pap test was abnormal, your doctor will probably follow up with a colposcopy.
How did I get HPV? HPV is a sexually-acquired virus. Even if you were to have sex with a single partner in your life, using condoms every time, there is an 80% chance you will acquire HPV in your lifetime. HPV can be spread by contact between genital skin, so LGBQTI people can also get the virus.
You're contagious for as long as you have the virus — regardless of whether or not you have symptoms. For example, even if your genital warts have disappeared, you can still spread the HPV that caused them if the virus is still in your body. Once your immune system destroys the virus, you're no longer contagious.
Occasionally, dormant HPV can become active again and may start to cause cervical cell changes. HPV that has become active would be detected with a test. We don't know exactly why this happens yet, but it may be because of changes in your immune system over time.
Infection with high-risk HPV does not usually cause symptoms. The precancerous cell changes caused by a persistent HPV infection at the cervix rarely cause symptoms, which is why regular cervical cancer screening is important. Precancerous lesions at other sites in the body may cause symptoms like itching or bleeding.
While HPV doesn't come back after clearing completely, it's difficult to know if an infection has actually been resolved or is simply dormant. Additionally, while you're unlikely to be reinfected with the exact same type of HPV, you can be infected with another strain.
If HPV isn't found, you won't need to be screened for another 3 years. However, if HPV is found, or if more significant cell changes (moderate or severe) are detected again, you should be referred for another colposcopy.
Having HPV does not mean that a person or their partner is having sex outside the current relationship. There is no treatment to eliminate HPV itself. HPV is usually dealt with by your body's immune system. HPV does not stop you having a normal sex life.
If someone is aware that he or she is infected with HPV, he or she is required to tell any possible sexual partner of his or her infection status before engaging in intimate contact.
HPV can stay in the body for 10-20 years. Finding out you have HPV doesn't mean you or your partner have been unfaithful. It's your decision whether or not to tell your partner you have HPV.
Does my husband/partner need to be tested? No your husband/partner does not need to be tested. HPV is very common, and we do not know how long you may have had it. Your partner is also likely to have had HPV, and they may still have it, or their body may have dealt with it.