Cervical cancer is the most common oncological disease in women. Recent studies show that the main cause of this dangerous condition the human papillomavirus (HPV). You should know that HPV is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. The majority of infected people even don’t suspect that they are affected by HPV. In some cases, the virus eliminates without medical intervention while in others, human papillomavirus can cause serious consequences.

According to various sources, from 70 to 95 percent of adults are currently infected with the human papillomavirus. However, since HPV doesn’t cause obvious symptoms, most people unknowingly transmit the infection. In this article, we gatherers five debunked myths about human papillomavirus you should know.

1. Human papillomavirus is harmless

HPV is not a single virus, it has many types. Some of them are completely harmless, others can cause benign growths on the skin, and dangerous types can lead to cervical cancer. You should know that 16 and 18 types of HPV cause most cases of cervical cancer. Due to the fact that other types are not quite dangerous, the myth that HPV is harmless is so popular.

You should understand that HPV is not a disease, it is an infection. This means that when the virus enters the body, it doesn’t cause disease-like symptoms. However, it can provoke the development of diseases or structural changes in tissues. In the case of HPV, it can be cancer of the reproductive system and anogenital area.

2. You can get infected by HPV only through unprotected sexual intercourse

The reality is that you can get papillomavirus even with a condom. There is no contraception option that can provide 100% protection against HPV. However, you should understand that HPV infection can be transmitted through any type of sex and even through contact with the genital area of ​​an infected person.

3. Removing genital warts means that the person is no longer infected

If you have genital warts, it is recommended to remove them. However, HPV can still exist in a hidden form. Genital warts removal rather leads to physiological and psychological comfort that improves the quality of sexual life. You should understand that even if you remove warts, this doesn’t completely eliminate the risk of HPV transmission.

4. If your relationships are monogamous, you are out of risk

This myth destroyed many families and led to sad consequences, but it is a complete misconception. As we mentioned before, HPV can exist in hidden form for years and even decades. At the same time, people infected with this virus may not know anything about it for a long time. Moreover, HPV can be in a person even from birth. 

Due to the fact that the infection is asymptomatic, the patient can be diagnosed with HPV only in case of special testing. However, there is still no way to determine how long a person has been infected with HPV. This means that if you have a monogamous relationship with your partner and one of you has papillomavirus, it can mean that one of you had a hidden form of HPV for a long time.

5. Negative STI test means that a person is not infected with HPV

Despite the fact that that human papillomavirus is considered a sexually transmitted infection, regular STI testing doesn’t include HPV testing. The only way to diagnose papillomavirus is to perform a free pap smear that will show abnormal changes. This means that even if you regularly undergo gynecological check-ups, you may not know that you are infected. 

If a pap smear shows certain abnormalities, you can find out the exact type of HPV you have. In the case of cancerous types, you should be more careful with your health and regularly perform testing to be aware of any changes. Cervical cancer usually needs time to develop and it’s much easier to treat it on the early stages.