There are three couples in my immediate family that have hpv...coincidence? toilet? pool? sharing drinks?

it has been said over and over that it is a SEXUALLY transmitted disease, but what do i think about that? how am i supposed to protect my four innocent kids from getting it when i don't believe that? what are the odds that three couples in one family can have hpv? (and no, there are no questions of sexual lifestyle here). are we passing it through drinks, or swimming together, or sharing the toilet or what??There are three couples in my immediate family that have hpv...coincidence? toilet? pool? sharing drinks?
Well, if you have daughters, you protect them by taking them to the doctor and having them vaccinated with Gardasil. It's available to them (and covered by insurance) if they're between 9 and 26.





HPV is sexually transmitted, but it's extremely common. About 70 to 80% of ALL adults have it. Most never show symptoms. Most clear the infection wihtin 2 years of picking it up (it's usually picked up in their teen years or in their early 20s), and they will never know they had it. But it is out there and everywhere, so it's extremely unfair to judge people who have it.





I got the HPV vaccine when it came out. I am an infectious disease researcher, and I study clinical trials a LOT. The trials for Gardasil went exceptionally well -- so well that I went out and got Gardasil as soon as it was available to me.There are three couples in my immediate family that have hpv...coincidence? toilet? pool? sharing drinks?
It's just as likely to have an example of 3 couples in one family having hpv as 3 couples in another family who don't have it. In most cases, people have hpv and don't know it and pass it on. They didn't actually KNOW about hpv that much until fairly recently and it was never tested for. You don't know the complete sexual history of your 3 couples. Who would have thought herpes was as widespread as it is now (news report just yesterday 1 in 4 adults in NY have genital herpes) and that is one you know you are infected with.
Genital HPV is passed on through genital contact, most often during vaginal and anal sex. A person can have HPV even if years have passed since he or she had sex. Most infected persons do not realize they are infected or that they are passing the virus to a sex partner.





Very rarely, a pregnant woman with genital HPV can pass HPV to her baby during vaginal delivery. In these cases, the child may develop warts in the throat or voice box 鈥?a condition called recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP).