Hi,I just joined this forum nice to meet you all.Now here is my question. I gave Oral Sex to my husband and I am worried I might have Oral HPV.A month after that I had Tonsilitis(allergy) and I went to see an ENT and he said I dont have Oral HPV but I still worry because my husband before me had a relationship with a woman who was sexually abused as a child.I am worried that I might have high risk strain Oral HPV in my mouth.I should also note that I went to see a gynecologist and my PAP test showed no HPV.But I am still very worried because I read on the internet that a high risk Oral HPV can cause Throat cancer as well as head,neck and HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer.I didnt get the HPV vaccine which also worries me.Is there a way for me to find out if I have a high risk HPV infection type 16 in my mouth?Also If I have high risk Oral HPV will it go away on its own or will I forever have it?I dont want to sound paranoid I just want to get some answers regarding this.
Thank you

Hi a11111,
I am not a doctor so please take everything I say with a grain of salt. From reading I have learned the following:
1. There is no officially approved medical test to see if one has oral HPV. There is talk about some methods, research as well, but nothing you can go to the doctor and ask for.
2. HPV virus infects locally, that is one can have the oral one and not on the cervix and vice versa. So your negative PAP/HPV test means it wasn't detected on the cervix, but that gives no information about oral cavity.
3. From what I have read, our body clears any type of HPV within a year or two in most people, over 90% of the cases.

So please try and relax. It is good to have regular checkups with an ENT, but overall chances of getting oral cancer are not that high in most people.

Most healthy people will develop HPV at some point in their lives. Most will clear the virus without any consequences or even knowing it was there. Only a very small percentage will go on to develop other problems from one of strains of HPV such as genital warts, cervical cancer, throat cancer, anal or penile cancer. There are hundreds of strains but so far most of them are not related to the previously mentioned health conditions. There is more unknown about HPV than is known which is why research (which OCF helps to fund) is so important.

Also very important is vaccinating everyone (both male and female) ages 12-26. Getting to young adults before they begin having sexual encounters can help to protect them from ever getting HPV initiated serious health problems as they would be protected against the cancer causing strains.

You probably have very little to be concerned about. Ambra did a good job of explaining things.

My cancer was HPV+. Who knows when and where I acquired the little bugger and frankly I don't care and hindsight is 20/20. I know I enjoyed whatever I was doing when it happened! ~lol~ And now? I'm not going to refrain from oral sex at this point. The way I see it... Life is too short anyway and what a way to go! ;)~~

Positive thoughts and prayers

Thks fishman true story I'm thinking I'll be a little more reserved though at least until we know more about HPV don't want to have to get rads again doesn't sound like as much fun second time around

After a month I went to Ent and apparently I have Chronic Tonsilitis and now I have to remove my Tonsils.I asked about Oral HPV and he just laughed at me.I keep thinking this all has to do somehow with HPV(Type 16) but again I feel like I am on dead end since no doctor takes me seriously.Again I have to drink the same medicine as last time for Tonsilitis but they dont help me at all.I should also note that I dont smoke and that I dont drink.

The reasons that you give for thinking you have HPV orally is what throws the doctors off. They all know that while that is a transfer mechanism for oral HPV, the mathematical odds of getting a PERSISTENT HIGH RISK HPV ORALLY THAT DEVELOPS INTO A CANCER is really very low. But because of all the news stories, people are coming into their office like cray with stories about their spouses and the people they slept with in the past.

Having said all that, if you are going to have a tonsillectomy, I would be sure that the tonsillar tissue that tis removed goes to a pathology laboratory for complete analysis. If you have a cancer starting from HPV, the pathologist will know. It might save you from this developing further in other lymph tissues in your mouth as you will have caught it early, and it might teach the ENT's not to take this stuff so flippantly, as a small percentage of the people they see DO ACTUALLY HAVE A CANCER DEVELOPING.

You are paying the doctor make sure a pathologist looks at your tonsils. I was also told it was unlikely I had cancer and you can see my signature block below. I have also read that HPV has passed smoking and alcohol as the main cause of oral cancer. Everyone that I have talked to who has had oral cancer also has HPV. I just wish doctors would get on board and take HPV serious. I hope your doctor is correct and it is nothing but insist on getting it checked.