Genital Warts in Men (HPV Virus) (cont.)
How to Manage HPV in a Relationship
If a man's long-term sexual partner has
HPV, chances are good HPV transmission has already occurred and he also has it.
HPV in men may clear from the body more easily than in women. Women, in general,
often clear the virus in two years or less.
The HPV types associated with cervical cancer usually do not cause health
problems for a heterosexual man having sex with an HPV-infected woman.
If a partner has HPV, it does not necessarily mean they have had sex with
someone else recently. The virus can lay dormant in the body for years without
causing noticeable symptoms.
How to Prevent Transmission of HPV
Abstinence is the only sure way to prevent
HPV transmission. Risk of transmission can be lowered if a person has sex only
with one person who is not infected and who is monogamous.
To lower the risk of HPV transmission, men can also limit the number of sex
partners and pick partners who have had few or no partners in the past.
Condoms can provide some protection against HPV transmission. But they aren't
100% effective, since HPV is transmitted primarily by skin-to-skin contact. The
virus can still infect the skin uncovered by the condom.
In a recent study of young women who had just become sexually active, those
whose partners used a condom each time they had sex were 70% less likely to get
an HPV infection than were women whose partners used a condom less than 5% of
the time.
WebMD Medical Reference
SOURCES: Joel Palefsky, MD, professor of medicine, University of California,
San Francisco. CDC: "HPV and Men," and "HPV Vaccine: Questions and Answers."
American Social Health Association: "HPV: Genital Warts: Questions &
Answers," and ""What Men Should Know." Diane Harper, MD, MPH, professor of
community and family medicine and obstetrics and gynecology, Dartmouth Medical
School, Hanover, N.H. Joan Walker, MD, gynecologic oncologist, University of
Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City. Winer R. New England Journal of
Medicine, June 22, 2006: vol 354: pp 2645-2654.
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD on April 24, 2007
© 2007 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved.
Last Editorial Review: 8/11/2008
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