Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a very common disease that leaves both children and adults unprotected.It is quite easy to get this type of infection because its cells are all around us and remain viable without a carrier for a long time.
In addition, it can exist in the human body unnoticed and will not manifest until a certain time.During this time, the infected subject is a carrier of the disease, which is why HPV is transmitted both to people close to him and to his family members.
Papillomavirus – initiator of cancer development
Almost every third person develops small tumors on the body, which initially seem innocuous and harmless.When detecting such tumors, the patient's first reaction is to tear them out or remove them using traditional methods.
In fact, such actions often cause irreparable harm to health, since improper removal of papillomas can stimulate active proliferation of epithelial tissue.This is what contributes to the rapid spread of HPV in the body, and in some cases even causes skin cell mutations with subsequent degeneration into cancerous tumors.
To date, scientists have divided all papillomaviruses into three types:
- safe;
- low tumor;
- has high potential to cause cancer.
These groups include certain types of diseases, which have distinct degrees of potential for transforming growth into cancerous tumors.A virus with low and high carcinogenicity, when entering the body, penetrates the genome of epithelial cells, changes their structure and causes the appearance of malignant tumors.In this case, the patient needs immediate professional treatment, because if this problem is ignored, everything can end in death.Fighting this disease on your own is not worth it, because it still cannot be cured without the help of a specialist.
Important!In medical practice, there are precedents when patients were diagnosed with a safe form of papillomavirus, but under the influence of external factors, often due to mechanical damage during development, the papilloma still degenerated into cancer.
How is human papilloma virus transmitted?
All diseases, cancerous and harmless, are spread in similar ways.HPV can be transmitted in one of three ways:
- having sex with an infected person;
- transmission of disease from mother to child during pregnancy (vertical method);
- household transmission.
The presence of lesions on the skin increases the likelihood of disease.Through small scratches or abrasions, virus cells quickly penetrate deep into the skin and begin to spread throughout the body.Additionally, the following factors may increase the risk of infection:
- weakening of the body's protective functions (seasonal or after surgery);
- the presence of intestinal dysbiosis or disruption of the normal microflora in the vagina;
- vitamin deficiency;
- alcoholism;
- sexually transmitted diseases, especially gonorrhea, syphilis, and trichomoniasis
- diabetes of any type;
- exacerbation of any chronic disease;
- pregnancy at any stage;
- often face stressful situations.
In addition, the people most susceptible to papillomavirus infection are experienced smokers, as well as women taking combined oral contraceptives.
Sexual transmission of HPV
If you have a weak immune system, having sex with an infected person is a 100% way to get infected with human papilloma virus.Due to such a high risk of transmission of pathogens, doctors categorically abandon promiscuous sex and recommend intimate relations only with a trusted partner.
Research into the nature of papillomavirus has helped to determine that in almost 75% of cases, the source of infection is men.However, this does not mean that the majority of infected people of the fair sex are not transmitters of the HPV virus.The presence of external symptoms of the disease – papillomas, located on the mucous membranes of internal organs – can increase the risk of transmission of human papilloma virus from women to men.Furthermore, even a strong immune system cannot always protect against this type of human papillomavirus infection.
There is an opinion that you can only get the disease during normal sexual intercourse (penis entering the vagina).But that's not the case.Doctors say virus cells spread regardless of the method of sexual contact with the carrier.It could be:
- oral sex;
- touching genitals with hands;
- anal sex;
- having sex without penetration.
In addition, the virus is also present in saliva, so you can get infected with HPV even through a simple kiss.
Do condoms protect against disease?
Manufacturers of barrier contraceptives say that condoms are 99% effective in preventing infection with any sexually transmitted disease.This raises a completely reasonable question: does it work against papillomavirus?
HPV is a unique infection for which there is no absolute protection.Therefore, even condoms do not completely guarantee that the disease will not be transmitted from a carrier to a healthy person during intercourse.This is explained by the fact that the infected object has virus cells all over the skin, and if you wear a condom, the papilloma virus will enter the body not through contact with the genitals, but through contact with other parts of the body.
Of course, this does not mean that condoms are a useless method of contraception.Although it does not protect against the HPV virus, it does prevent the transmission of other serious diseases and also protects against unwanted pregnancy.
Important!If you have a strong immune system, the chance of getting infected with HPV during sex is almost zero, but doctors advise not to rule out this possibility and take additional precautions, such as regularly taking immunomodulators.
Vertical infection method
The mode of vertical transmission of the virus is infection of the child during intrauterine development or during its passage through the birth canal.
Infection occurs until about the sixth week of pregnancy, at a time when the baby's bronchioles and alveoli have not yet formed.At this time, the fetus begins to develop respiratory papillomas.If at birth the baby is diagnosed with difficulty breathing due to the development of the respiratory tract, doctors will perform surgery.Medical treatment in this case is useless.
If the expectant mother is infected with papillomavirus after 6 weeks of pregnancy, the virus can be transmitted during childbirth.The baby is not protected by the placenta and passes through the birth canal, where infection occurs.
Treatment of HPV in pregnant women
If human papillomavirus is detected without external signs, doctors will prescribe immunostimulating drugs for the woman.If the expectant mother has warts on the vaginal wall or cervix, they must be removed.You can do this using:
- laser therapy;
- electrocoagulation;
- destruction of radio waves.
In particularly serious cases, patients are referred for surgery.This method is only used when the tumor exceeds 5 cm or there is suspicion of cancer.
With a predetermined diagnosis of papillomavirus, a pregnant woman will require a cesarean section.This is the only way to protect your child from infection.
Very often, papillomavirus manifests itself after pregnancy.The reason is that the body's protective function is temporarily impaired.If no tumors develop on the vaginal wall or cervix, no treatment is needed.Usually, after the baby is born, the external signs of the HPV virus will disappear on their own.
Family transmission of viruses
When diagnosing papillomavirus in a person, we can say with 90% confidence that it has been transmitted to all other members of his family.You can get HPV at home:
- when wearing shoes or clothes of a sick person;
- when sharing towels, washcloths and other personal hygiene items;
- through saliva when using dishes or toothbrushes;
- after using a razor once (the greatest risk of infection is when cutting into the skin).
Other ways infection spreads
In addition to all the listed routes of papillomavirus transmission, it is quite possible to identify the causative agent of the disease:
- in the bathhouse, sauna or swimming pool;
- in public transportation (the main places where virus cells accumulate are handrails, seats, and doors);
- when shaking hands with sick people;
- when using elevators and escalators;
- in nail salons (in cases where tools are not adequately sterilized).
Not so long ago, information was published showing that almost 20% of cases of papillomavirus infection occur due to donor blood transfusion.Additionally, hospital and clinic staff are at the highest risk of infection because they can inhale disease cells when coming into contact with patients.In this case, a medical mask is a weak method of protection.
Vaccination – guaranteed safety against HPV?
Many people have heard about the benefits of vaccination against human papillomavirus, but few people know that even this method does not guarantee complete safety from infection.
Today there are two types of preventive medicine.It would be wrong to assume that they protect against all existing types of papillomavirus.Their composition helps protect you from certain types of HPV, which are classified as dangerous types that cause cancer - 6, 11, 16, 18.