Fredo, et al,

First I'd like to say that I have found this forum to be an
excellent source of information, and I have gone back and
read almost every post since 2007. I have seen some posts
with similar questions to the ones that I have, but none
that have been quite exactly the same, and some of the
information that I've read is 2-3 years old. I'm hoping
some of you can give me some advice.

Background: I am a male in my 30's. I have never had hpv,
as far as I know. I have had only one previous partner,
for a very long-term monogamous relationship, and she never
has had any hpv issues either. I have now been dating someone
new, for approx 6 months. We have had pro-tected sex a handful
of times, and have performed un-protected oral sex on each
other. Approximately 2.5 years ago she had an abnormal pap
test and it was determined that she had hpv. She did not
have any GW's (as far as I know), just the abnormal cells,
and no procedures were done to remove any cells. All of her
pap tests since then have been normal. Like me,
she is in her 30's and has only had 1 previous partner.

My specific questions are as follows:

1) Is it likely that she can still pass along hpv to me even
though her pap tests have been normal for 2 years and she
does not seem to have any other 'symptoms'?

2) Is it likely that I am now carrying hpv?

3) Based on what I have read, it appears that there is no test
for males and hpv is fairly irrelevant for males - because
one's immune system normally fights it off and males don't
get any symptoms, unless they have the strain that causes
GW's. Is that true? Is there anything I should be worried
about, other than passing it on to another female?

4) Given the above scenario, are there any practices that I/we
should refrain from? (ie kissing, unprotected sex,
protected sex, M-F oral, F-M oral)

5) Given that she had an abnormal pap in the past, and tested
positive for hpv, but has had no abnormal paps in the last
2 years, what does that mean for her likelihood of future
abnormal paps and/or cervical cancer?

Thank you very much for any advice that any of you can provide
about any or all of those 5 questions!

-Adam

Hallo Adam, and welcome! Let's take a look at your inquiries:

1. It is possible that your partner has passed to your her particular strain of HPV. Then again, she might not have....I keep posting this: HPV is annoying and really damn frustrating because no one knows when you've stopped being infective. Because she's been normal recently, that probably means that the virus isn't active and she may not have given it to you. Even if she did, the kind of HPV that shows up on pap smears is the oncogenic type/cancer causing type that causes CERVICAL cancer. As you have an output and not an input, you're ok on this RARELY, it may cause penile cancer, but this is reaaallly uncommon.

2. As said in #1: you may have it because you two have been together for a while. For example, I think my current boyfriend is my HPV source and I think he contracted it YEARS ago (he's 31 now and was sexually active at 16, and NEVER SHOWED ANY SYMPTOMS) and I was only with him for about 7-8 months before I showed signs....admittedly I think it was because I got pregnant (this is an immunosuppressive time for women) but yeah. They don't test for HPV in men, though, and it seems like she doesn't have the wart causing kind so you may not know for sure.

3. From #1 and 2: I think your partner has a cancer causing HPV type, which for men doesn't usually cause any problems. This is why vaccination and treatment usually has centered on women so much as it is a potential cancer burden that they face. HOWEVER, in another year or so, they may begin vaccinating young boys as well (thank goodness). So your main concern is passing it to another female should you have another partner in the future.

4. HPV ano-genital strains are generally picky; they don't like anything except the ano-genital mucosa. It CAN possibly be transmitted to the head-neck region (mainly thinking oral mucosa) but it's pretty rare. I think you guys are safe as far as sexual practices go---I would just say that, on chance that you are now carrying HPV, to use condoms during the times that your partner has abnormal cell changes going on, so that if you are carrying it she has less exposure to the virus.

5. It's hard to say how your partner will be in the future; since she's been good for the last 2 years that's good news---just make sure she keeps going to see her gyn every year, though. Once you have any kind of HPV I think it's advisable to go yearly to make sure you're absolutely on top of your personal health care.

Best wishes and health to you; keep us updated!