Diagnosis
How do I know if I have got HPV?
Unfortunately, there is no swab or blood test to test for HPV.
A sexual health check at the doctors/clinic (routine check up) is not able to detect skin viruses, HPV or HSV (genital herpes).
HPV can be diagnosed only if a person has visible warts on genital skin or if they have an abnormal cervical smear result.
If a person has no symptoms, there is no test to determine if HPV is present or has 'gone'.
Cervical screening is not a test for HPV. HPV DNA tests are used as part of cervical screening and cannot be used to answer the questions "Have I got HPV?" and "Has the HPV gone?".
As most HPV infections clear spontaneously, it is impossible to know whether in some cases the immune system has completely cleared the HPV virus from the body, or whether the virus remains at undetectable levels, capable of re-emerging if the immune system weakens. New tests may in the future be able to clarify this.
HPV is thought to be the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the world, and most people are infected with HPV at some time in their…
HPV infection - key information – Vaccination against HPV has been available for many years. 80% of unvaccinated adults will pick up HPV at some point…
Papilloma is a word that means a small wart-like growth on the skin or mucous membrane. There are many types of papilloma infections - even some that…
While HPV is an extremely common infection, and there is a link between HPV and cervical, anal, penile, some vulval and throat cancers, it is…
HPV is transmitted to your mouth by oral sex. It may also be possible to get oral HPV in other ways. An increased number of oral sex partners…
Some types of HPV are linked to abnormal cell changes on the cervix which place women at higher risk of abnormal cervical smears and developing…
HPV and penile cancer – HPV-related penile cancers most often affect the ‘head’ of the penis and are rare.
HPV and anal cancer – HPV-associated anal…
The emotional impact of finding out that you or your partner has an STI can sometimes be worse than the actual infection.
It’s really important to…