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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Does the HPV test only detect certain strains or can it find all HPV?

    Related Topics
    HPV & Pap tests Sexual Health Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
    Is there only one HPV test?
    I found out there are over 100 types of HPV. Can the HPV test detect all of these types or only some? If there is any HPV present at all of any type will this test definitively find it?

    Weird things have happened & I desperately need advice! In childhood had warts on feet which spread to hand. Didn't have hand wart removed till late teens. In this time developed tiny lumps on vulva, mildly itchy/sore which spread & itch/soreness increased. Vagina started feeling more lumpy/sore over yrs. All happened yrs before sexually active. After mutual oral sex partner & I got sore lumps in mouth. Has happened with others & my current partner got similar lumps on penis after sex with me. Have seen many Dr's, all said different things but mostly dismissive. Have had to resort to numbing cream as lubricant with sex! Felt tiny lump near cervix which was dismissed. Now just found out low grade abnormality on pap smear. I have been chronically immuno-suppressed. Any advice?
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  • Prof Brian Morris

    HealthShare Member

    Warts on hands and feet are not the same as those that infect genitals and mouth. Tests for HPV detect most of the types that cause abnormalities and cancer. These types cause flat warts that are not easily seen, although do appear after application of vinegar to the skin area affected. They should not be confused with the types of HPV that cause visible warts such as you describe. While visible warts are unsightly, they are generlaly harmless. Risk factors for genital and oral warts include having sexual contact with an uncircumcised man, as established by large studies worldwide and randmized controlled trials. Women are at risk of other genital infections transmitted more commonly by uncircumcised men. These include genital herpes, chlamydia, genital ulcer disease and bacterial vaginosis (formerly termed Garnerella).

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  • Anonymous

    Thanks for your answer. While I do really appreciate and value your opinion I think some of it may be a little bit wrong. A relative of mine is a very experienced and thorough doctor. They have told me that this has happened in their practice. Warts were spread from someone's hand to their genitals. Have read plenty of other stories of it happening as well. Was also thinking, why would types of warts not be able to spread to genitals? What is it specifically that would prevent this? And there are so many different types of warts maybe some types spread there and some do not. I've heard that it's not common but can happen, similar in the way that the oral herpes virus is a different type to genital herpes virus, but yet oral herpes can spread to the genitals and pretty much anywhere else on the body. Genitals are a damp warm environment, the perfect environment for warts to grow. Also, when i first had oral sex & developed the mouth lumps, this was when I was 16 yrs old without any previous sexual experience, with a 16 yr old boy, also without any previous sexual experience (and yes I am completely sure of this). A few months after lumps spread to my vagina, I got similar lumps around my anus which then became sore/itchy, which it never was before. I think that the main types of HPV that detailed info is known about are probably the main types that cause cancer/abnormalies & not much is known about types that cause warts elsewhere on the body. Since there are over 100 types, I don't think everything is known about each of these types. New research is also emerging these days of HPV causing some oral cancers & also gastrointestinal cancers, new scientific/medical discoveries in this field happen all the time. I think more research is needed into warts elsewhere on body spreading to genitals & pray that someday someone looks into it more. Visible warts are also more than unsightly. I'm sure many others can attest to the fact that they can cause pain & or itch. All i know is, I wish i had my hand wart removed before any of this happened. I now have tiny sore/itchy lumps on my vulva, anus, in vagina, mouth, throat, on face, in nose & on ears. It wasn't that bad in the beginning, but as numbers of the lumps increased so did the pain. I am now in constant pain & have to apply local anaesthetic Haemorrhoid cream to vulva everyday. Had to buy huge underwear that hang down away from skin. Can't wear pants like jeans anymore or anything tight fitted. This means I can't wear swimmers & go to the beach on my summer holiday. Can't sit down for any length of time without more pain. I have scratched the itchy lumps on ears & now have chronic infected skin on them. It is extremely hard to be constantly itchy 24 hrs a day & not scratch. It causes me pain to eat now, or just to swallow. Have to constantly spray my throat with anaesthetic spray meant for tonsilitis & constanly use xylocaine gel in my mouth. Have gotten so desperate over this have actually considered trying to burn or cut all the lumps off myself. Am so uncomfortable these days life isn't much worth living. Have attempted suicide 5 or 6 times now because of this. Am trying to find the strength to see one more dr about it. I hope that I finally get some help for this, as I fear that if I have to live like this much longer, I might not be around anymore. Thanks for answering anyway.

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  • Prof Brian Morris

    HealthShare Member

    Different HPV types infect different skin. The ones that infect the genital area and inside the mouth are called mucosotrophic types. So there may e over 100 types, but all don't infect everywhere, and only some cause cancer. HPV tests detect most of those that cause genital or oropharyngealncancers,

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