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nanofever · 03-10-2004, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by motdakasha
Woah there...

Just because you don't show signs of warts, does NOT imply "the chance of infection is almost nil" of getting HPV.
Clarification: All genital warts are caused by HPV. NOT ALL HPV are genital warts.

Genital warts are caused by several strains of HPV. Several strains of HPV are implicated as a cause or strong influence of developing cervical cancer. Several strains of HPV cause plantar warts (common skin wart). The two are not one in the same, although you can have multiple strains. HPV is transferred by skin contact, whether or not you are showing symptoms of being "infected," as there are several thousands of invisible, no-symptom strains that affect you in ways other than just warts.

Clarification: If she currently has a strain of HPV that is implicated in cervical cancer, you can catch it, end of story.
There are no visible symptoms of most cancer causing strains except under a microscope. That's why women are supposed to get annual pap smears. You may not get cancer from having this strain, but you can pass it on to other women. You become a carrier.

Also HPV is not a lifelong virus. In some cases, it just goes away on its own because of a healthy immune system and whatnot. They're still trying to figure how and why it goes away in order to create vaccines/cures. (BTW, there is a vaccine on the way for several strains of cancer-causing HPV.)

In most cases, HPV is not life-threatening. It's a lot like Herpes. Simplex Type 1 is common and considered harmless, whereas Type 2 presents a problem. Similarly, the common strains are "harmless," but there are malignant strains, though not as many as the allegedly harmless ones. Statistics have shown that almost 1 in 4 college women have a strain of HPV. There are thousands of strains out there, most of which don't seem to do anything as far as we know. Treatment is only advised when HPV is actually causing bodily harm, which is why most of the 1/4 of women don't get treatment. On top of this, children get HPV, too. The skin wart causing strains of HPV are often contracted from schools, locker rooms, pools, etc. when children walk around barefoot or chew nails, etc.
While I want to say chill out about HPV, it is contagious, so proper prevention needs to occur. But you don't have to think of those of have it like they're diseased filth. They're people, too.

If she's fully treated, it's possible that she will no longer have the strain, but you would be taking that risk. In the event that you did contract the strain, the next time you have sex won't guarantee you'll infect your partner. If you want to pursue her, I'd recommend a female condom as it protects skin regions that a male condom won't. It's the skin cells that are "contagious."
To answer your question, yes, it is roulette in a sense. For you, the guesswork has been eliminated. A strain like hers is only going to be "infectious" in the genital region through skin contact only if it's also to a region of yours that would be affected by her strain. (The same can't be said for general strains like the ones that cause skin warts. In which case, any infected skin cell can "infect" you anywhere.) Oral to oral transmission is highly unlikely since that's not the area it affects. Oral-genital contact will also be unlikely to transmit anything. Also, sex toys (preferably with a condom on them) to her genital region are okay as long as you make sure to wash your hands afterwards. A gloved hand to her genital region, that is washed afterward would also be safe. It's the genital-genital contact you need to watch out for.

I have been wondering this for a while: have you been to some kind of wonderous sexual meccha where you know each and every area of sexuality ? I'm starting to wonder if you majored in something akin to Human Sexuality.

Excellent post !