After cryotherapy for warts (in men especially) are you no longer contagious with HPV (I realize that warts can come back but I mean excluding this)? If you are no longer contagious does this happen right away or how long does it take? I read the HPV link and it doesn't seem to answer this.
Also are the any numbers on what % of people will get HPV when everything is covered?
By the way, searching "HPV" here returns nothing for me which seems strange.
Hi Roy
Here is a link to our web blog page were we discuss HPV.
http://healthnurse.wordpress.com/faq-about-sexual-health/sexually-transmitted-infections-sti/hpv/
Genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are the most common STI. Currently they believe that 70% of the adult population will have had at least one genital HPV infection over their lifetime.
Currently they believe that most genital HPV infections will clear itself from the body within 18 months.
There is evidence that the HPV DNA viral load is larger when there are genital warts present when compared to someone who has a HPV infection but no visible genital warts. This means you would be more infectious with the genital warts present. After the genital warts have been treated as mentioned above it can take awhile to clear the HPV from your skin. As there are no tests available to the public to check for this it is impossible to tell if the HPV has gone away completely.
Another issue is that even though you have fewer viruses present because your warts were treated there is currently no evidence that this will reduce the chances of passing it on. This is because the virus may still be on the skin and it appears this amount of virus is enough to infect someone else. To answer your questions we do not known how long you will be infectious after treatment. Condoms provide protection but since it does not cover all the skin it is not 100%. I have not seen any information regarding what percentage of people get HPV when everything is covered.
I know that this can be difficult information for clients as people want to know if they can pass something on. Two points that we like to bring up with clients around this area is;
1) It is often difficult to determine who infected you, but within ongoing relationships, sex partners are usually infected by the time you notice the genital warts. As discussed before most people do not experience symptoms.
2) Genital HPV is a common infection among anyone who has sex, but because the duration of infectivity is unknown, the value of disclosing a past diagnosis of genital HPV infection to future partners is unclear. A general discussion about all STI is something we do encourage.
As a final note I just wanted to point out a few things about genital warts.
- They are not seen as a health problem but like other external warts are treated for cosmetic reasons.
- It is impossible to tell if anyone is infectious as most people do not show symptoms.
- Condoms can reduce your chances of getting HPV.
- There are a lot of uncertain things in life and at the end of the day you can only try your best.
Let us know if you want us to expand on a topic. Remember if you would like to ask me a personal question just send me a PM.
HN
www.healthnurse.wordpress.com
www.stiresource.com
