HPV, the vaccine and your teens/tweens

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Did you know that HPV (Human Papillomavirus) is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) and is also the leading cause for cervical cancer.  99.9% of cervical cancers are due to complications from HPV. 

"There are more than 40 types of HPV than can infect the genital areas of males and females.  These HPV types can also infect the mouth and throat [due to oral sex]." (source, CDC.)

Unfortunately, like many other STIs/STDs, many people who are infected with HPV may not even know they have it.  This is a huge problem! Many adolescents are having unprotected sex and DO NOT KNOW that their parter has HPV because the partner MAY NOT EVEN KNOW that they have it.


Sometimes the infection goes away on it's own, but other times it can lead to various health problems such as genital warts and cancers.  Screening tests are only recommended for women over age 30 (not for adolescents, men or women under age 30).  In addition, there are no approved tests that check for HPV in the mouth or throat.  

In recent years, vaccines have been developed with intention to "help prevent" HPV.  Two vaccines (Cervarix and Gardasil) are recommended for 11-12 year old boys and girls and can be given to girls beginning at the age of 9.  Gardasil has been made available and recommended for boys as young as 11 and 12 years old.  

In various new reports, the lead researcher in the development of the HPV vaccines is ironically "pressing the red alert button on the devastating consequences and irrelevancy of these vaccines," (source FEELguide).

This same report cites an excerpt from a story by Sara Cain:

"So far, 15,037 girls have reported adverse side effects from Gardasil™ alone to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), and this number only reflects parents who underwent the hurdles required for reporting adverse reactions.  At the time of writing, 44 girls are officially known to have died from these vaccines."

The developer of the vaccine, Dr. Harper, stated that she finally spoke out so that she could sleep at night. 

What does this lead us, as parents, to do?

* Do our own research to protect our kids and don't always just take the 
   "expert's" word for it. 
* Understand the risks and prevalence of STIs and STDs.
* Help educate and encourage our kids regarding healthy life choices.