How I Dealt with HPV

I don't feel embarrassed to say publicly that I suffer from HPV, because the Human Papilloma Virus is a condition sadly very common between women. The CDC, Centers for Disease control and Prevention, estimates that between 8 and ten women over 50 will have HPV.

HPV is a viral infection that is transmitted by sexual contact, but also by skin to skin contact. Seven of ten of those viral infections will go away without treatment. But some will develop in more serious problems.

When I was forty, two years ago, my pop smear (cytology, a test that analyzes the tissue inside the vagina), came abnormal. The test found abnormal cells in my cervix. My doctor said that an infection from HPV developed to dysplasia. Dysplasia is the grown of abnormal cells on the cervix, and if this condition is not treated, can develop in cervical cancer.

My first reaction was, logically, to be scared. The word cancer sounded pretty bad. The HPV infection that produced the dysplasia was a high risk one, and women who suffer from this condition are 200% more at risk to develop cervical cancer.

The only symptom we can have when we suffer from a HPV infection or even dysplasia is the growth of abnormal cells in the cervix. That is the reason we have be very regular in the pop smears. Doctors recommend doing HPV tests also, because the pops often can't reveal HPV. Sometimes people with HPV infections developed in cervical diseases can suffer from unusual vaginal discharge, bleeding, pain during sex, pain in the abdomen and lower back or pain during urination.

My doctor decided to do more tests. The most common one is the colposcopy. The doctor used a microscope to see inside my vagina and the cervix. First, she used a liquid like vinegar, when applied, the abnormal cells changed color. That was a little irritating, but no painful at all. She also took a sample to do a biopsy. The total procedure took around twenty minutes, including preparation, and it is completely harmless.