Can’t you explain what is happening? Is it possible that you or your partner have contracted a sexually transmitted disease without anything happening?
Although the sexual route is the most common to contract HPV in the intimate area, sexual transmission is not the only one that allows the spread of papilloma. Warts, the transmission from mother to child in the birth canal or through the placenta in pregnancy, are theories that some experts have raised.
In this FastlyHealarticle, we invite you to discover if you can have human papilloma without having had sex and everything you need to know about HPV.
Table of Contents
What is Human Papilloma or HPV
The human papillomavirus is better known as HPV, or HPV, for its acronym in English (Human Papilloma Virus). It is a microorganism with more than 100 different varieties and usually causes problems in other body areas.
It has been widely named in recent years because a vaccine was promoted in 11-year-old boys and girls to prevent them from contracting the virus at an older age and thus reduce the cases of cervical carcinoma.
What problems does HPV cause?
As I have told you, there are many varieties of this virus. When a person has low defenses, they can be affected in different ways:
- Problems in the cervix: it is one of the best-known forms of HPV affectation and one of the most serious. Depending on the state of health of the affected woman, it can be related to cases of cervical cancer.
- Other genital problems: less frequent in other genital areas such as the penis.
- Respiratory system: the pharynx and larynx can be severely affected in some cases. One of the most severe and challenging to manage presentations occurs in young children with laryngeal papillomatosis. These are multiple lesions such as warts that grow obstructing the airway. It is also associated with cases of mouth and throat cancer.
- Skin – Common warts are also caused by the human papillomavirus, although different. These are single or multiple lesions that spread due to their contagion. This dispersion is more excellent in those who have lower defenses.
Can you have papilloma without having had sex?
Although HPV is much more common in the genital area, it can affect other body areas. It is doubtful that the contagion occurred during a sexual encounter in those cases.
On the other hand, babies and young children can also manifest problems with this virus, so it is understood that the sexual route is not the only one. Due to these facts, different theories explain how HPV is spread.
Next, I will explain to you what are the different routes of infection of HPV :
Sexual transmission
It is believed that the human papillomavirus is transmitted mainly through the genital route, that is, during sexual intercourse. To get it, you must have unprotected sex (condom) between an infected person and another who is not.
This is the most common form of contagion for several diseases, such as HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and C, gonorrhea, among others.
During the delivery
It is believed that when a baby passes through the birth canal, they can contract the virus from their mother. This has not been confirmed, as there are children with HPV respiratory disease with mothers without genital lesions or confirmed HPV.
On the other hand, this virus can remain “asleep” for many years and only “wake up” if the defenses are lowered.
During pregnancy
Although this theory has not been confirmed, viral particles were found in the umbilical cord of children born to women with this virus. Therefore, the transplacental route could be another contagious option.
Starting warts
Warts can also be spread from one place to another on the skin, even from one person to another if you are in close contact. This is easier if there are areas of broken or irritated skin.
That is why special care is recommended in skin areas affected by warty lesions, such as:
- Avoid rubbing.
- Do not try to remove them by manipulating them.
- Avoid scratching.
- Avoid exfoliating and waxing the area.
So, we can conclude that yes, you can have human papilloma without having had intercourse. Still, if the human papilloma is settled in the genital area, it is most likely that it has been obtained from sexual intercourse. This is because the type of HPV that causes warts is not usually the same as the one spread genitally. The papillomavirus infection in the penis or cervix cannot be adduced in contact with warts.
This article is merely informative. At FastlyHeal .com, we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Can you have human papilloma without having had sex? We recommend that you enter our category of Female reproductive system.
I am a Surgeon with a diploma in comprehensive ultrasound and surgical care residency, an area I am specializing in. During the exercise of my profession, I have realized the need for patients to know the diseases they suffer, and I can tell you that a large part of their complications is due to a lack of information. Being a health web writer allows me to transmit my experience, without borders, to all those readers eager for knowledge, educate them in the prevention of diseases and promote a healthy lifestyle.