Talking with your Doctor about HPV
Whether you believe that you have contracted HPV or not, it’s very important to talk about HPV, or the human papilloma virus, with your doctor. This is true even if you’re not sexually active, as HPV is not, strictly, a sexually transmitted disease.
If you’re concerned about HPV, read up on it on your own time, but don’t be afraid to ask your doctor to clarify things for you or to give you more specific advice for prevention. Getting over the embarrassment If you’re currently dealing with an HPV infection, don’t be reluctant to talk to your doctor about genital warts treatments and genital warts removal and how to discourage outbreaks, get all the genital warts info and information on HPV you can. |
Remember that this is the first and most important step to talking with your doctor about an HPV infection: Don’t be embarrassed.
There are some unfortunate misconceptions that plague HPV sufferers in certain circles. Most obvious of which is, of course, that anyone suffering from genital HPV must be a “person of poor moral fibre”, but there are just as many misconceptions regarding common hand warts, etcetera.
Such as that only unsanitary people get warts, that frogs are the main cause of hand warts, and all kinds of crazy things like that. Rest assured that this is not something to worry about when you’re talking to a trained medical professional. These ridiculous misconceptions occur thanks to ignorance of what really causes HPV. Your doctor should know the truth about the disease and its causes, and there’s no need to worry about being judged by medical professional when it comes to your health. |
Full Disclosure
Talk to your doctor about past HPV infections that have cleared up, as well. In some cases, HPV can lead to some unpleasant complications, including cancer. More often than not, fortunately, once a hand wart is gone or an infection clears up, there isn’t much to worry about unless you experience another breakout, but genital HPV, including some types which don’t even show signs on the surface, can lead to cervical and genital cancer.
For women, it is absolutely imperative that to have a regular pap smear conducted, as HPV can develop into cervical cancer without even showing any obvious signs.
Trust your Doctor’s Knowledge
The main thing is to put your trust in your doctor. To put it bluntly, in order to ensure you’re taking care of yourself, you need to be willing to tell your doctor things you would never even tell your closest friends. If you want effective advice and treatment, your doctor should know as much about your sex life and body as you can tell them.
Something that might surprise some people is that trouble with breathing might be a result of an internal HPV infection. It’s not common at all, luckily, and even in those rare cases, very few result in surgery, but if you’re having trouble breathing and can’t figure out why, don’t hesitate to ask your doctor what it might be.
For that matter, don’t ignore any abnormality in your bodily functions. Even beyond HPV, you never know when a minor annoyance might be the sign of a bigger problem. We’re not telling you to become a hypochondriac and run to the hospital every time you stub your toe or have to cough, but if you are experience a persistent or recurring problem, don’t ignore it.