stds, genital warts, wart virus

[seihonnoo.livejournal.com]

This is probably a silly question but I'm going to ask it anyways.

My last pap smear was abnormal so I had to go back for more testing. The test results came back and said I have the wart virus. Apparently there is a wart on my cervix?

Does this mean I have genital warts? Does this mean I have an std? If so, what do I do about this? Have any good everything-you-want-to-know-about-genital-wart links? :)

I always thought I was really careful. >.> That being said, anyone know of some good "how to have completely safe fooling around/sex" books or online articles? I'm finding my sex education to be a bit lacking.

Thanks in advanced! :)

Edits: I guess something I should add is that I'm as interested in safe intercourse as I am in safe oral sex and safe fingering. ;) I haven't had a penis in my vagina, but I have done a bit of oral sex.
That being said, I have been recently fingered by a man with a wart on his hand, could that be the reason for the wart on my cervix? One HPV strand causes warts on hands and other places on the body. Another strand of HPV is genital warts. And yet another strand of HPV can cause warts on the cervix (genital warts can also do this, but it isn't as likely). Am I getting this right?

Comments

[frolicnaked.livejournal.com]

The Vulvapedia entry on HPV (http://www.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=Human_Papillomavirus_%28HPV%29) is a good place to start, since I'm assuming "wart virus" means "a strain of HPV that shows up as warts." And this page (http://www.ashastd.org/hpv/hpv_learn_warts.cfm) from the ASHA is really informative, too.

Basically, you might find a couple of things repeated:

1) HPV is very common. The majority of the sexually active population has at least one strain, though it may or may not be a strain that causes visible symptoms for them.

2) It's possible to spread HPV even being "really careful." Since the virus is spread through skin-to-skin contact, condoms are only about 70% effective in reducing transmission.

In terms of safer sex practices, this page (http://www.plannedparenthood.org/northern-adirondack/safer-sex.htm) from Planned Parenthood lists various activities and their risk levels. Also, this site (http://www.positive.org/JustSayYes/safesex.html) explains some safer sex tips and techniques -- and is especially fabulous for its animated condom-wearing penis illustrations! :P

[seihonnoo.livejournal.com]

Thanks! All this reading of HPV hurts my brain. :P

*read a little bit of the different links*
"Only certain types of HPV cause genital warts. Other types of HPV, not related to genital warts, can cause abnormal cell changes on the genital skin, usually on a female's cervix."
Well, that is certainly promosing, but I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up. :)

[frolicnaked.livejournal.com]

Well, that is certainly promosing...

Maybe not. Those cell changes, called cervical dysplasia (http://www.ashastd.org/hpv/hpv_learn_dysplasia.cfm), often require treatment and can come with their own set of complications. Cervical dysplasia can, if left untreated, eventually progress to become cervical cancer.

Without trying to be dismissive of people who've been diagnosed with genital warts -- or trying to alarm people who've had abnormal cervical cells appear -- wart-causing strains of HPV don't carry with them the potential for more serious complications. As this section (http://www.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=Human_Papillomavirus_%28HPV%29#What_are_genital_warts.3F) of the Vulvapedia entry explains, "Though genital warts can be uncomfortable and inconvenient, the strains of HPV that cause genital warts are not associated with cancer, and are therefore considered low risk."

[seihonnoo.livejournal.com]

These test results make little since to me. But it does say, "no overt evidence of dysplastic cells," which means it is unlikely for me to have cervical dysplasia (or there is no overt evidence of that)? Does that mean that the wart wasn't caused by that?

I feel bad for asking this because I feel like I should be able to find the answer in my reading, but if I have genital warts and someone gives me oral, can they get genital warts from me? I think the answer is yes, if so, how likely is it? Do I have to have warts at the time for them to get it from me? How do I protect them for getting genital warts from me through oral sex?

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

Do you see any set of letters on your test results -- letters like LSIL, ASC-US?

I think that this is something you will need to clear with your health care professional. I do, however, see one potential possibility here: perhaps your pap test turned up only very mild abnormalities -- what is described as ASC-US in the link frolicnaked posted above. The DNA test showed that you do have an HPV infection, but the abnormalities on the pap test itself are so mild that they may be unrelated and are not clearly HPV-caused lesions.

If this is the case, for you it means very little other than to continue to have regular pap tests to ensure that the infection is cleared normally and no serious lesions develop.

Once again, these test results probably do not mean that you have a wart on the cervix. Your health care professional should clarify this with you further, since s/he has access to your test results.

[seihonnoo.livejournal.com]

Yes, the results from the pap smear were ASC-US. My understanding of my pap smear results were that they were the best abnormal results someone could get.

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

That's right. If you check out the link frolicnaked posted above, and scan down, you'll see that ASC-US basically means evidence of abnormal cells that are very much at the borderline of normal of and abnormal, and are usually nothing to worry about.

[seihonnoo.livejournal.com]

*after reading the sites some more*

Really awesome sites! Everything is so nicely explained! And the last safe sex site you linked is hilarious! I love it. :)

[thenumber111.livejournal.com]

you can get STDs through fingering?! can anyone clarify it for me?!

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

It's a very, very low risk activity. The warts on someone's hands are not the same type of warts that infect the genitals, so that isn't really a concern. However, if the person has cuts, sores, or open wounds on their hands, and then inserts their hand into your vagina, there would be a possibility that some of their blood could possibly transmit an STI, if they have one.

[marionravenwood.livejournal.com]

Everything frolicnaked said, but I wanted to clarify:

My last pap smear was abnormal so I had to go back for more testing. The test results came back and said I have the wart virus. Apparently there is a wart on my cervix?

If by "wart virus" you just mean HPV, then no, having a positive HPV test does not mean you have a wart on your cervix. It does mean you probably had abnormal cells on your cervix, but the types of HPV that cause abnormal paps do not cause warts.

Does this mean I have genital warts?

No. Genital warts are caused by a different strain of HPV and are detected by visual examination (you see a wart) not pap tests.

Does this mean I have an std?

If you had a positive cervical HPV test, yes, that's an STD. However, it's incredibly common (about 80% of people are exposed to it at some point) and most people clear it within two years.

[seihonnoo.livejournal.com]

So, what caused my abnormal pap smear was this "wart virus", which is a strand of HPV. But the strands of HPV that cause abnormal pap smears don't cause warts. Then why is it called "wart virus"? ;)

Also, because I have a wart virus that caused abnormal cells on my cervix it is an HPV and an STD. Correct?

And I should be practicing safe oral sex (especially since this is an STD), by putting some barrier between my vagina area and the other person mouth? And really, I should always be doing this. Correct?

But even though this is an STD, it is one that just goes away on it's own and therefore isn't that bad?

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

Then why is it called "wart virus"? ;)

It isn't really, in my experience, though I can see how someone might say that. Basically, more people are familiar with HPV as the virus that can cause genital warts, so some doctors might think saying "wart virus" instead of HPV might make it more clear. However, it is not generally referred to as the "wart virus."

But yes, your doctor was definitely referring to HPV. Basically, there are two types of HPV strains: the low-risk ones, which can cause genital warts, and the high-risk ones, which can cause lesions on the cervix, abnormal paps and, in very rare cases, cervical cancer.

Most people who get an HPV infection of either strain will never show symptoms, either a wart or an abnormal pap. Some, however, do.

The majority of the time, women with cervical abnormalities caused by HPV will not need medical intervention. Usually, the body is able to clear the infection on its own within two years. However, regular pap testing is important to ensure that the virus does not continue to develop to a higher grade of lesion, which could potentially become cancerous.

And I should be practicing safe oral sex (especially since this is an STD), by putting some barrier between my vagina area and the other person mouth? And really, I should always be doing this. Correct?

It's up to you. My partner and I would not find this necessary, although it is something you will want to discuss with your partners. It is thought that HPV infection via oral sex increases the likelihood of oral cancer, (http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/hpv-genital-warts/news/20070827/hpv-linked-to-throat-cancer-trend) though like cervical cancer, that doesn't mean that getting an oral HPV infection will usually lead to oral cancer... it just means that it increases the (very small chance) that this will occur.

[goddessdeath.livejournal.com]

Everything the person above me said...

Like they said, they are called "lesions" on the cervix, not warts...Think more like abnormal cells.

[rose-yuille.livejournal.com]

Ugh, this was exactly the same as happened to me! I had low-risk abnormal cells on my pap smear, and they sent me my results saying "signs of wart virus present". I freaked out thinking this meant that I had genital warts, but it turns out they just meant I had HPV of the cervical cancer kind, and they called it 'wart virus' as they thought that's what people normally called HPV. Um, no! We call it HPV, thank you! I found that very annoying as it was unclear and misleading. I'm all for avoiding pointless jargon, but there's nothing wrong with calling an infection by its proper name!!

Even if your paps keep coming up with abnormalities, don't worry too much. As long as you keep getting them at least every two years, your doctor WILL catch anything before it becomes a cause for concern. Cervical cancer is one of the slowest growing cancers out there. Amongst women who get regular paps, chances of dying of cervical cancer are basically zero :)

[foureyeddarlin.livejournal.com]

If you have been exposed to a low-risk strain of HPV - one which can cause benign (non-harmful) growths - you can develop growths (warts) on your cervix.

If you have been exposed to a high-risk strain of HPV - one which can cause cell changes which could become malignant - you can develop cell dysplasia/cell abnormalities on your cervix.

I'm a fan of the National Cancer Institute (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/HPV) information page on HPV.