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Concerned about HPV transmission to my partner after LSIL pap?
Backstory! I was in an open relationship for 6 years with a woman. During this time we had sex with a few men, who were all somewhat promiscuous. We generally used condoms, but due to the slippery nature of HPV, who knows. Close to the end of our relationship, she had an abnormal pap and they said it was caused by a high risk strain of HPV.
Flash forward a year. We’re broken up. I’m currently about to marry a man who I’m very in love with, and kind of see that part of my life as a past phase (the threesomes, not the bisexuality). About 6 months ago I got a pap and the result was LSIL. Overall, not really concerned for myself.
Then, my partner got genital warts, something that I’ve never had happen to me. I know that low-risk strains can cause lsil as well as Genital warts, but Planned Parenthood told me they only test for high risk strains (although I wasn’t confirmed HPV positive or negative at the time of the pap).
My questions are as follows:
1.) could I just have a low-risk strain of HPV, or is it almost certain I have high risk HPV at this point?
2.) if I do have a high risk strain (if I have HPV-16), as well as the one that caused the genital warts, is it almost certain that my partner has been orally infected? We use condoms regularly but have engaged in plenty of unprotected oral sex.
3. Are there currently any studies that explain how often oral HPV-16 turns into cancer? I’ve seen several studies say it’s as low as 1% or .7% of the time, and doing my own “calculations” has lead me to believe this is true, considering there are currently probably millions of men who have been orally exposed to HPV 16.
4. I have talked about it with him, and given him the facts. We have been avoiding oral sex until my next pap, taking multivitamins, and we’ve both stopped smoking marijuana. Should I encourage him to get his throat checked by a doctor regularly?
Thanks!
Flash forward a year. We’re broken up. I’m currently about to marry a man who I’m very in love with, and kind of see that part of my life as a past phase (the threesomes, not the bisexuality). About 6 months ago I got a pap and the result was LSIL. Overall, not really concerned for myself.
Then, my partner got genital warts, something that I’ve never had happen to me. I know that low-risk strains can cause lsil as well as Genital warts, but Planned Parenthood told me they only test for high risk strains (although I wasn’t confirmed HPV positive or negative at the time of the pap).
My questions are as follows:
1.) could I just have a low-risk strain of HPV, or is it almost certain I have high risk HPV at this point?
2.) if I do have a high risk strain (if I have HPV-16), as well as the one that caused the genital warts, is it almost certain that my partner has been orally infected? We use condoms regularly but have engaged in plenty of unprotected oral sex.
3. Are there currently any studies that explain how often oral HPV-16 turns into cancer? I’ve seen several studies say it’s as low as 1% or .7% of the time, and doing my own “calculations” has lead me to believe this is true, considering there are currently probably millions of men who have been orally exposed to HPV 16.
4. I have talked about it with him, and given him the facts. We have been avoiding oral sex until my next pap, taking multivitamins, and we’ve both stopped smoking marijuana. Should I encourage him to get his throat checked by a doctor regularly?
Thanks!
COMMUNITY LEADER
1.) could I just have a low-risk strain of HPV, or is it almost certain I have high risk HPV at this point?
There's no way to know this without a more thorough test. Did PP do the test? I'm not sure what "not confirmed" on the test means.
2.) if I do have a high risk strain (if I have HPV-16), as well as the one that caused the genital warts, is it almost certain that my partner has been orally infected? We use condoms regularly but have engaged in plenty of unprotected oral sex.
Your partner could have been orally infected. He's certainly been exposed.
3. Are there currently any studies that explain how often oral HPV-16 turns into cancer? I’ve seen several studies say it’s as low as 1% or .7% of the time, and doing my own “calculations” has lead me to believe this is true, considering there are currently probably millions of men who have been orally exposed to HPV 16.
Yes, it's low. Oral cancer incidences are low. You may have seen in the news that oral and neck cancers are on the rise, and they are, but they are still low -
https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=225677
Human papillomavirus is associated with about 44,000 new cases of cancer in the head, neck, anus, or genitals, according to the CDC. About 25,000 of those people with an HPV-related disease are women and 19,000 are men.
Considering the millions who perform oral sex, these are really low numbers.
4. I have talked about it with him, and given him the facts. We have been avoiding oral sex until my next pap, taking multivitamins, and we’ve both stopped smoking marijuana. Should I encourage him to get his throat checked by a doctor regularly?
He can get his throat checked at his next physical, but he doesn't need to rush out and get that done. Smoking anything is a risk factor for oral and neck cancers, so not smoking is a good thing. Heavy drinking is another risk factor, so if that's something you do, it might be something to ease off.
I hope this helps. I think it's something to keep in mind at doctor appts, but not something to overly worry about.
There's no way to know this without a more thorough test. Did PP do the test? I'm not sure what "not confirmed" on the test means.
2.) if I do have a high risk strain (if I have HPV-16), as well as the one that caused the genital warts, is it almost certain that my partner has been orally infected? We use condoms regularly but have engaged in plenty of unprotected oral sex.
Your partner could have been orally infected. He's certainly been exposed.
3. Are there currently any studies that explain how often oral HPV-16 turns into cancer? I’ve seen several studies say it’s as low as 1% or .7% of the time, and doing my own “calculations” has lead me to believe this is true, considering there are currently probably millions of men who have been orally exposed to HPV 16.
Yes, it's low. Oral cancer incidences are low. You may have seen in the news that oral and neck cancers are on the rise, and they are, but they are still low -
https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=225677
Human papillomavirus is associated with about 44,000 new cases of cancer in the head, neck, anus, or genitals, according to the CDC. About 25,000 of those people with an HPV-related disease are women and 19,000 are men.
Considering the millions who perform oral sex, these are really low numbers.
4. I have talked about it with him, and given him the facts. We have been avoiding oral sex until my next pap, taking multivitamins, and we’ve both stopped smoking marijuana. Should I encourage him to get his throat checked by a doctor regularly?
He can get his throat checked at his next physical, but he doesn't need to rush out and get that done. Smoking anything is a risk factor for oral and neck cancers, so not smoking is a good thing. Heavy drinking is another risk factor, so if that's something you do, it might be something to ease off.
I hope this helps. I think it's something to keep in mind at doctor appts, but not something to overly worry about.
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