HPV is a virus that is spread from person to person via sexual activity. It is extremely common. Not everyone who has HPV will test positive \u2013 it can take over a decade for infections to be found and sometimes not diagnosed until a routine pap test (a test which screens for cervical cancer in women) or until cancer is found in men.<\/p>\n
Vaccine misinformation strikes again and parental hesitancy takes hold. The human papillomavirus is responsible for nearly all cases of cervical, oral, penile, and anal cancers. This virus, commonly referred to as HPV, is preventable. Yet, data from the National Immunization Survey for Teens found that only 48.4 percent of teens in Texas are full vaccinated to protect them from HPV.<\/p>\n
When presented with cringe-worthy statistics like this, I do what any good pro-vaccinator does and I took to the World Wide Web to uncover some of the common misconceptions about the HPV vaccine \u2013 Gardasil \u2013 to help dissect the myths and expose the truth of this life-saving stick in the arm.<\/p>\n
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Photo by Istock IQoncept<\/span><\/p>\n MYTH: Gardasil leads to increased sexual activity for teens.<\/strong><\/p>\n FACT<\/strong>: Just like vaccinating against the flu doesn\u2019t increase the number of people I regularly sneeze on, Gardasil will not make<\/em> your teens have more sex. Teenagers are not less likely to have sex because of their fear of HPV either. So you\u2019re not protecting them from anything or keeping them from doing anything by choosing not to vaccinate. The only thing you\u2019re accomplishing is promoting is the spread of a cancer-causing virus.<\/p>\n MYTH: Just vaccinate the girls and leave my sons out of this!<\/strong><\/p>\n FACT:<\/strong> The truth is both boys and girls are going to spread the virus back and forth. They virus lives in all genders and can cause cancer in all genders. Someday your son may want to have a physical relationship with another person \u2013 protect your son and<\/em> the other person by vaccinating. Protect your daughters, too (from the other person whose parent\u2019s didn\u2019t vaccinate them \u2026 ahem).<\/p>\n MYTH: The HPV vaccine was rushed and is not safe.<\/strong><\/p>\n FACT:<\/strong> No, it wasn\u2019t. It took over a decade to develop the HPV vaccine. It\u2019s been around for nearly 20 years. It\u2019s safe, but like many other vaccines it may cause some discomfort immediately after \u2013 chief compliant is a really<\/em> sore arm (Still better than cancer!). Your child\u2019s medical provider is the best person to determine safety of a specific vaccine for your child (they literally went to school for it). Trust the science and trust your provider.<\/p>\n MYTH: The vaccine causes infertility in women.<\/strong><\/p>\n FACT:<\/strong> Not even a little bit. If fact, what can actually impact fertility is cervical cancer caused by HPV. Abnormal cervical cells are removed through freezing or burning them away \u2013 this can weaken or damage the cervix making successful pregnancy more difficult. If left untreated, cancer can also spread to other areas of the reproductive system. The treatment of cervical cancer can impact a woman\u2019s ability to get pregnant \u2013 preventing cervical cancer cannot impact fertility.<\/p>\n MYTH: The vaccine doesn\u2019t prevent all strains of HPV. <\/strong><\/p>\n FACT:<\/strong> This is true \u2013 but not all strains cause cancer. The vaccine prevents against the 9 cancer-causing strains. That\u2019s good enough for me!<\/p>\n MYTH: My children are too young to receive the vaccine! They\u2019re not even having sex yet.<\/strong><\/p>\n FACT: <\/strong>The truth is kiddos are having sex at pretty young ages. Vaccination begins around age 11 to ensure that children receive both doses before any chance of becoming sexually active. Unfortunately, if a person contracts one of the 9 cancer-causing strains of HPV before vaccination, the vaccine will not protect them. It\u2019s best to get the kids vaccinated fully BEFORE any chance of sexual activity \u2013 it\u2019s not going to hurt them.<\/p>\n MYTH: HPV is not common and only sexually promiscuous people get it.<\/strong><\/p>\n FACT:<\/strong> Most people \u2013 like nearly everyone \u2013 will have HPV at some point in their lives. It\u2019s very common and most people get it and spread it. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world with over 14 million new infections each year in the US alone. Currently over 80 million Americans have HVP. The odds of a sexually active person getting HPV is almost guaranteed.<\/p>\n Anecdotally speaking, I practice what I preach. I am fully vaccinated against HPV and received my first dose long ago when the vaccine was new \u2013 so I can attest to its early safety. I also have three little boys (no impact to fertility here!) and they will also get vaccinated against HPV to protect them and<\/em> their future partners.<\/p>\n Vaccination is not just something we do for ourselves or our children. We do it for our communities. Our actions (or inactions) have consequences and we should all do what is socially and ethically the right thing to do.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t wait \u2013 Vaccinate.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Blog Author: Erin Cox- Practice Manager<\/span><\/p>\n Main Blog Photo By: IStock whyframestudio<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
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