Should I Getting Vaccinated For The HPV Vaccine?

of genital warts

The Human Papilloma Virus, or HPV, is a common sexually transmitted infection. It has been estimated that fifty percent of sexually active adults in the United States will contract HPV at some point in their lives. As many as 80% of women will have been exposed to the virus by the time they reach the age of fifty. Strains of the virus have been found to cause genital warts, as well as cervical cancer. Fortunately, since 2006, there has been an HPV vaccine available for girls and young women.

The vaccine for HPV is called Gardasil, and is marketed by Merck. It has been found to be nearly one hundred percent effective in preventing the four strains of HPV that, when put together, account for seventy percent of the cases of cervical cancer and ninety percent of the cases of genital warts. It is administered in three doses over a six-month period. The vaccine is most effective if it is given before females become sexually active. It is currently recommended that girls be vaccinated at about the ages of eleven or twelve. The vaccine can be safely administered to girls as young as nine, and women as old as twenty-six years of age. Investigations are currently being done to find out if the vaccine is safe and effective to administer to boys and young men.

While the HPV vaccine is an extreme benefit for those that want to prevent the HPV virus, it should not be used by women during pregnancy. If you are trying to get pregnant, then have a pregnancy test administered before you start the treatment and then hold off on attempting to become pregnant until after all of the vaccinations have been taken. If, however, you find out that you are pregnant during the course of taking the vaccine treatments, then stop until after the baby is born.

Although the HPV vaccine does not protect against all of the strains of the Human Papilloma Virus that can cause cervical cancer, it can still significantly reduce a woman's risk. Since the virus is spread by skin-to-skin contact, condoms alone will not prevent the spread of the virus, as they do not cover all areas of the skin that may be infected. Any girl or young woman who is, or is going to be sexually active should be vaccinated against HPV. The jury is still out on whether the vaccine is safe and effective in males or in older women. However, those for whom the vaccine is approved will be at a significantly reduced risk of contracting genital warts, and a type of cancer that kills thousands of women every year.