HPV Vaccine
HPV, or human papillomavirus, came to public light in 2006, when the first vaccine against it became available to doctors. As with most new medical treatments, and especially with those that have some relation to sex, there was a lot of initial contention about giving it to children. Even now, over ten years later, there are still rumors of odd reactions, and people who think it will make their child have sex. So let’s talk about it.
What is HPV?
HPV is a virus that is sexually transmitted. In fact it’s the most common sexually transmitted infection in the US. As with other viruses, there are many different variations of HPV, that are distinguished by numbers. Some of these variations don’t cause any trouble at all, and some can cause cancer.
Wait, it can cause cancer?
Yes. Much of the time a person gets HPV, but the infection is healed without any problems or even any signs it was there. Other times, it can cause genital warts, which are ugly, but not harmful.
The reason we don’t like HPV is because it can cause cancer, even several years after contracting it the virus. In both sexes it can cause anal and throat cancer. In women it can also cause cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers, as well as precancerous lesions (which often need to be removed). In men it can also cause penile cancer.
Okay, but not that many people even get HPV, so it’s not a big deal.
Not true. Even if you only ever have sex with one or two other people, you’re still at risk. 80% of people who are sexually active will get HPV. And HPV causes almost 35,000 cases of cancer in men and women every year.
Does the HPV vaccine really work?
Yes. Among teen girls, infections with the HPV types that cause most HPV cancers and genital warts have decreased by 86%. In young adult women it’s decreased 71%. There has been a 40% decrease of precancers caused by the HPV types most often linked to cervical cancer in vaccinated women. It is estimated that 32,000 of the 35,000 cancers caused by HPV could be eliminated with the vaccine.
Is the vaccine safe?
Yes. Many rumors have gone around about all sorts of scary things HPV vaccine can do to your child, including encouraging them to have sex. None of these are true. There are several mechanisms in place to monitor the safety of vaccines and determine if reported events are truly related to a vaccine or not, and these have not found any significant issues with the vaccine. Studies have also shown that giving kids the HPV vaccine does not make them more likely to start having sex.
As with most vaccines, there can be pain and swelling at the site of the injection. There can rarely also be some mild nausea or headache. The biggest risk is that of dizziness and fainting within the first few minutes after the shot. To prevent this we have the child sit in the room for about 15 minutes before they leave.
How do I get my child this vaccination?
Easy. You should be able to get it at your pediatrician’s office. We tend to start the series with the Tdap and the first meningitis given at the 11 year old well check. If the first shot is given before the child is 15 years old, then they only need one more in 6mo-12mo. If the first shot is held until after the child is 15 years old, then they will need a total of three shots.
Bottom line.
Cancer sucks. You can stop your child from getting cancer with this.
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