In most HPV cases, a person's immune system fights off the infection within two years.

The human papillomavirus HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the country, affecting about 79 million people.

But despite it's prevalence, there are many misconceptions about who gets HPV, how they get it, and what a diagnosis means.
Here are the most common myths and facts about HPV.

 

Myth 1: Only Women Get HPV!

Fact Men get HPV, too.
Most sexually active men and women will have at least one HPV infection at some point in their lives.
Any person who has close, skin to skin contact with another person who has an HPV infection can get the infection, too.

 

Myth 2: All Strains of HPV Cause Cancer!

Fact Not all HPV strains can cause cancer.
The human papillomavirus is a group of more than 150 related viruses.
Some of those strains cause skin warts, some cause genital warts, and some can cause precancerous changes in cells that can lead to cancer of the cervix, vagina, vulva, anus, penis, and oropharynx the back and sides of the throat, tonsils, and base of the tongue.
The HPV strains that cause cancer are called high risk HPV.
Types 16 and 18, in particular, raise the risk of cervical cancer and genital cancers in men and women.
Type 16 also causes the majority of cases of oropharyngeal cancer.
When a high risk type of HPV does persist, it can take years to decades for cancer to develop, which is why women are advised to get screened for cervical cancer every three to five years, depending on the method of screening used, from age 21 through age 65 and possibly beyond that.

 

Myth 3: If You Don't Have Sex, You Won't Get HPV!

Fact HPV can be spread through skin to skin contact, so you don't have to have sexual intercourse to get HPV.
Using condoms can lower your risk of contracting HPV, but you can still contract the virus if it's present in skin not covered by a condom.

 

Myth 4: Men Can Get Screened for HPV!

Fact There are no FDA approved tests to screen for HPV in men.
For women, there is a test that can detect HPV in cervical cells.
Women can also get a Pap test, also called a Pap smear, to check for cancerous or precancerous changes in cervical cells.

 

Myth 5: There Are Treatment Options Available for HPV!

Fact Although healthcare professionals can treat precancerous lesions, cancers, and genital warts that are caused by HPV infections, there's no treatment available for the virus itself.

 

Myth 6: People With HPV Always Have Symptoms!

Fact Most people who have HPV do not develop any symptoms.
Although there are many potential health problems associated with HPV, including genital warts and cervical cancer, most people don't develop health problems from an HPV infection.
The CDC reports that in 90 percent of HPV cases, a person's immune system fights off the infection within two years.

 

Myth 7: I Got the HPV Vaccine, So I Don’t Need to Get Pap Tests!

Fact Even if you get the HPV vaccine, you still need to get regular Pap smears to screen for cervical cancer.
That's because the HPV vaccines don't protect against all the HPV types that can cause cancer.
A woman may also have been infected with a cancer causing strain of HPV before getting the vaccine, in which case it won't protect her against that particular strain.
The HPV vaccine currently used in the United States, Gardasil 9, protects against HPV types 6 and 11, which can cause genital warts, as well as against types 16 and 18 and five other types that can cause cancer: 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58.
Two earlier HPV vaccines Gardasil and Cervarix protect against only two high risk HPV strains (types 16 and 18) that cause cancer.