Edited January 27th, 2012: In an article today in USA Today by Liz Szabo she cited a study published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association confirming that the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is mostly spread through sex rather than more casual contact such as kissing. Studies show that about 42% of women have a current genital HPV infection and about 80% of women are infected with HPV by age 50. Oral HPV infection is nearly three times as common in men as in women but research doesn't explain why.
Parents worried that teenagers might spread HPV through kissing, take some comfort in this recent study.
More and more dentists are diagnosing an STD-related cancer. The pervasive but often silent Human Papillomavirus (HPV) has been finding its way into mouths. But how so, you ask? Here's the connection in a..................nutshell.
- A guy gets HPV through vaginal sex with an infected partner.
- The infected guy receives oral sex (protected or not) from a woman; she picks up the virus. OR: the infected guy has protected or unprotected vaginal sex with a woman who gets cervical HPV. She then has vaginal sex with a new partner, who later passes HPV back to her through oral sex.
- HPV infected cells live and multiply in the mouth.
- HPV infected cells may develop into precancerous, then cancerous lesions.
- Changes in your voice or ability to swallow
- Painful sores in the mouth
- Long term hoarseness or unexplained persistent cough
- Pain or swelling in the lymph nodes or neck that last more than two weeks
- A persistent sore throat
Oral cancer can show up as tumors, cracks, or lesions on your throat, voice box, tonsils or tongue and oral cancer is tricky to catch. There is a test that is simple to administer and you can read about it at http://www.oraldna.com/Professionals/oral-hpv-testing.html .
Watch your Mouth...
Because Spit Happens!
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