Hi Anon - Yes, this can be very confusing. Because HPV is a virus you will always have it, it isn't possible to eradicate a virus from the body. Our immune systems are our best and only defense against viruses and work to keep the virus in check. When someone says HPV will go away on its own, they are referring to the expression of the virus in tissue. That can be cleared and "go away" and often does. There is currently no treatment available for the virus itself. However, good treatments do exist for the diseases HPV can cause, such as cervical cell changes in women or genital warts in both women and men.
Most sexually active couples share HPV until the immune response eliminates the infection. Partners who are sexually intimate only with each other are not likely to pass the same virus back and forth. When the HPV tissue infection is cleared up the immune system will remember that HPV type and keep a new infection of the same HPV type from occurring again. However, because there are many different types of HPV, becoming immune to one HPV type may not protect you from getting HPV again if exposed to another HPV type.
The American Social Health Association has a lot of helpful information including this information specifically for men: http://www.ashastd.org/learn/learn_hpv_men.cfm
Their HPV Prevention Resource Center is also helpful:
http://www.ashastd.org/hpv/hpv_overview.cfm
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Hi Anon - Yes, this can be very confusing. Because HPV is a virus you will always have it, it isn't possible to eradicate a virus from the body. Our immune systems are our best and only defense against viruses and work to keep the virus in check. When someone says HPV will go away on its own, they are referring to the expression of the virus in tissue. That can be cleared and "go away" and often does. There is currently no treatment available for the virus itself. However, good treatments do exist for the diseases HPV can cause, such as cervical cell changes in women or genital warts in both women and men.
Most sexually active couples share HPV until the immune response eliminates the infection. Partners who are sexually intimate only with each other are not likely to pass the same virus back and forth. When the HPV tissue infection is cleared up the immune system will remember that HPV type and keep a new infection of the same HPV type from occurring again. However, because there are many different types of HPV, becoming immune to one HPV type may not protect you from getting HPV again if exposed to another HPV type.
The American Social Health Association has a lot of helpful information including this information specifically for men: http://www.ashastd.org/learn/learn_hpv_men.cfm
Their HPV Prevention Resource Center is also helpful:
April 2, 2010 - 8:40amhttp://www.ashastd.org/hpv/hpv_overview.cfm
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