What is HPV screening?

What is HPV screening?

The HPV test is a screening test for cervical cancer, but the test doesn't tell you whether you have cancer. Instead, the test detects the presence of HPV , the virus that causes cervical cancer, in your system. Certain types of HPV — including types 16 and 18 — increase your cervical cancer risk.

Is a Pap smear the same as a HPV test?

The Pap test (or Pap smear) looks for precancers, cell changes on the cervix that might become cervical cancer if they are not treated appropriately. The HPV test looks for the virus (human papillomavirus) that can cause these cell changes.

Should I worry if I tested positive for HPV?

If you get a positive HPV test, your physician has detected one or more high risk strains of the virus on the Pap test of your cervix. If the virus stays with you for a long time, it can cause cell changes that can lead to several types of cancer.

What age should you get HPV screening?

Cervical cancer testing (screening) should begin at age 25. Those aged 25 to 65 should have a primary HPV test* every 5 years. If primary HPV testing is not available, screening may be done with either a co-test that combines an HPV test with a Papanicolaou (Pap) test every 5 years or a Pap test alone every 3 years.

Is HPV a STI or STD?

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). HPV is a different virus than HIV and HSV (herpes). There were about 43 million HPV infections in 2018, many among people in their late teens and early 20s.

Can you get rid of HPV?

There is currently no cure for an existing HPV infection, but for most people it would be cleared by their own immune system and there are treatments available for the symptoms it can cause. You can also get the HPV vaccine to protect yourself against new infections of HPV which can cause genital warts or cancer.

Is HPV contagious for life?

Most cases of HPV clear within 1 to 2 years as the immune system fights off and eliminates the virus from the body. After that, the virus disappears and it can't be transmitted to other people.

Can a man give a woman HPV?

Both men and women can contract HPV from having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has an infection. Most people who have an HPV infection unknowingly transmit it to their partner because they're unaware of their own HPV status.

How is HPV detected in females?

He or she will be able to diagnose it with an examination. For women, diagnosis of HPV often starts with abnormal results from a routine Pap test. When you have a Pap test (or “smear”), the doctor will take a sample of cells from your cervix. The sample is sent to a lab and looked at under a microscope.

Does HPV go away?

In most cases, HPV goes away on its own and does not cause any health problems. But when HPV does not go away, it can cause health problems like genital warts and cancer. Genital warts usually appear as a small bump or group of bumps in the genital area.