The past couple weeks, I have been seeing this guy. He doesn?t have the best reputation on campus and has several nicknames, all referring to him as a ?man whore.? a few days ago, his ex-girlfriend sent me a message on Facebook with a warning. She explained to me that before dating him, she had only been with one guy, and after dating him, her doctor discovered she had HPV. should I worry that I have HPV too?

Sincerely, Stressed About HPV Answer:

Dear Stressed About HPV, in some cases, angry ex-girlfriends could try to get back at their exes by trying to break the trust between that guy and his new girlfriend. But since you recognize he has a not-so-favorable reputation among the female population on campus, this may be something to look into.

Ideally, you would hope anyone you become sexually active with would let you know of any communicable diseases he or she may have, but with human papillomavirus, better known as HPV, a carrier may not show signs or symptoms of the disease. and many people don?t realize you do not have to have sexual intercourse in order to transmit or catch the disease. HPV is transferred through genital contact of any kind, so even if she?d only had intercourse with one other person, she could have contracted the disease through other types of sexual contact with others. according to the website for Gardasil (the vaccine currently used in preventing HPV), “an estimated 75 to 80 percent of males and females will be infected with HPV in their lifetime.? So basically, in a class of 50 people, between 38 and 40 of those people either have or will contract HPV before they die, but a majority of cases will occur between the ages of 15 and 24.

Most cases of the disease will clear up on their own, which is one reason men and women spread the disease without even knowing it. But for those who are not so lucky, HPV can cause vulvar, vaginal and cervical pre-cancers and cancers in women, and genital warts in both men and women.

Gardasil is being recommended to both women and men between the ages of 9 and 26 in the prevention of HPV. It protects against the two types of HPV that cause 75 percent of cases of cervical cancer, and the two types causing 90 percent of genital warts. The vaccine is distributed in three doses ? the initial injection, the second injection two months later and the third injection six months after the first.

My pediatrician told me many years ago when giving me the first dose of the vaccine, ?Unless you?re planning on becoming a nun, it?s just a good idea.? unfortunately, HPV usually goes undetected until problems resulting from the disease come to the surface, but there is a test available that goes alongside your regular Pap smear to detect the presence of high-risk types of the HPV virus. It is recommended that sexually active women and women older than 18 receive a Pap smear yearly unless directed otherwise by their doctor. with the Pap alone, cervical cells are inspected under a microscope to search for any abnormalities, but adding the digene HPV test with your Pap allows you and your doctor to detect cervical diseases before they have time to turn into cancer. My best advice for you is to get the Gardasil vaccine if you haven?t already and schedule a Pap smear with your doctor, especially if you have never received one. regardless of it being your first exam of the sort, or if it has only been a few months since your last, explain to your doctor the situation and your concerns.

Since you know this guy has a sexual history that would make your grandmother weep, it wouldn?t hurt to throw in a regular STD test while they’re at it. while going through all of this, it will give you some time to reevaluate whether this guy is worth all the fuss.

good luck to you, Alyssa