Thanks to the development of network technology, HPV is gradually becoming a big player among gynecological diseases. Although it is a “big player”, it is not hopeless, but many people seem to have gone to the other extreme, that is, when it comes to “HPV” infection is like a big enemy, think that they have cervical cancer, thus creating a psychological pressure on themselves, thinking that they are hopeless, let alone pregnant. This creates a psychological pressure to feel as if you are hopeless, not to mention pregnant. So, can women infected with HPV actually get pregnant? Here’s a look at what kind of a big player HPV really is!
1. What is HPV?
HPV is an abbreviation for human papillomavirus, which is a genus of papillomavirus A belonging to the family of papillomaviridae, a spherical DNA virus that can cause the proliferation of squamous epithelium of human skin mucosa.
2.What are the ways of HPV transmission?
(1) Sexual transmission route;
(2) Close contact;
(3) indirect contact: through contact with the infected person’s clothing, household items, utensils, etc.;
(4) medical source of infection: medical personnel in the treatment and care of poor protection, resulting in their own infection or through medical personnel to patients;
(5) Mother-to-child transmission: close contact from infants through the birth canal of pregnant women.
3.How to detect HPV?
In clinical practice, DNA or mRNA testing based on PCR using vaginal secretions is generally used. However, because this test is too sensitive, a large global survey found that about 20-40% of normal people tested by this technique are positive. Therefore, current clinical methods for HPV detection usually require a threshold.
Once the threshold is too low, it will lead to an increase in the false positive rate, which means that “normal” people will be misjudged as “positive”. Therefore, the threshold value must be set through a large-scale clinicopathological control, usually after a global survey of hundreds of thousands or millions of points to set.
There are four internationally accepted HPV tests approved for marketing by the FDA, including HC2, Cervista, Cobas, and Aptima.
So, how do you know what test was used in the report at hand? In fact, it is actually quite simple to distinguish them. In the internationally accepted test method, HC2 test results are one value, Cervista is grouped, cobas and aptima can only be divided into HPV16 and HPV18 subtypes, the other 12 subtypes are not divided.
If this is not the result, then you have to weigh it yourself! This test report is not tested with the international common method.
4, even if really HPV positive, the sky is not falling
The first thing you need to know is that HPV infection is self-limiting. What do you mean by self-limiting? For example, like a cold, it can recover on its own. Therefore, HPV infections often appear as “transient” infections. There is at least a 1 in 3 chance that the HPV virus is cleared by itself at each age, and most ages have a clearance rate of 50% or more.
This means that there is a 30% to 50% chance that the HPV infection will clear on its own. About 50% may turn negative within 6 months, 70%-80% may turn negative within 1 year, and the remaining 20%-30% may take 2-3 years to become normal. Therefore, there is no need to repeatedly go for HPV testing in a short period of time because it will not disappear in a short period of time.
5. Be highly alert for persistent infection
Persistent infection with high-risk HPV is the most dangerous factor leading to lesions. Generally, when the virus remains positive for 2 years, it is necessary to be examined. However, it should be reminded that there are many different types of HPV viruses, and the term “persistent infection” here refers to persistent infection with the same type of HPV virus. For example, if you were found to be infected with HPV type 16 2 years ago, and now you are found to be infected with another HPV type, this means that there is a new infection, not a persistent one! Under normal circumstances, the body can clear the virus through the local immune system.
However, when our local immune function is impaired, such as in combination with other inflammatory conditions, especially other viral infections such as herpes virus, cytomegalovirus, etc., the infection tends to persist. And when the whole organism is in an immunosuppressed state, such as combined with lupus erythematosus, kidney transplantation and other use of immunosuppressive drugs, and use of anti-tumor drugs, it also tends to become a persistent infection. In case of co-infection with HIV (AIDS), it is definitely prone to cervical cancer.
Therefore, to remove the virus from the body, maintain a healthy lifestyle, keep the body’s immune function in normal condition, keep local cleanliness and hygiene, and prevent other infections, these can be much more effective than various so-called antiviral drugs! Simply put, when the cervical cytology is negative and the cervical biopsy is negative for pathology, a positive HPV test alone does not indicate the presence of a lesion, but is often only a viral carrier state.
The HPV typing is meaningful, if it is only a low risk virus (HPV6/11) infection, there is no need for treatment, wait for natural recovery, but if it is HPV16 and 18 infection at the same time, it is necessary to go to the hospital for further examination.
6.HPV infection is not equal to cervical cancer
First of all, for those women who are found to be infected with HPV virus, calm down, you are still far from having cervical cancer! Don’t scare yourself! The most common mode of transmission is sexual transmission. Some data show that more than 70% of women who have had sex have had HPV infection in their lifetime.
HPV is divided into low-risk subtypes and high-risk subtypes. Low-risk subtype HPV infection mainly leads to the growth of skin and mucous membrane warts, such as condyloma acuminata; high-risk subtype HPV infection mainly leads to the occurrence of cervical cancer and vulvar cancer. The majority of women with high-risk HPV infection have the virus cleared by the body’s immune system on its own within 2 years. Only a very small percentage of women will have persistent HPV infection. Only a very small percentage of women with persistent HPV infection have the possibility of getting cervical, vaginal or vulvar cancer in the future.
7. Can I get pregnant after HPV infection?
Women who are persistently infected with HPV have to go through a slow process if they are likely to develop cervical lesions in the future. That is, precancerous lesions of the cervix first, and then develop into cervical cancer. The shortest time required for this is 7 to 10 years. Therefore, if there are women infected with high-risk HPV virus, especially those infected with HPV16 or HPV18, and if they are already married, then get pregnant and have children as soon as possible!
In fact, among pregnant women, there are also many who are HPV-DNA positive. Annual gynecological checkups cannot be skipped! Gynecological checkups are a matter of life and health, so you should not take the attitude that you can skip them. Annual gynecological checkups are recommended for women of age to detect and treat early cervical cancer in time! In particular, a cervical cancer screening such as HPV and liquid-based cytology such as TCT or LCT should be done before pregnancy, so that if precancerous cervical lesions are found, they can be treated before pregnancy.
If there is a problem with the cervical cancer test, a colposcopy can be done to rule out cervical lesions. If the examination excludes the lesion and the state is only with the virus, then it is completely possible to get pregnant and have a baby first!
8. Maternal HPV infection does not affect fetal development
HPV infection does not enter the human blood circulation and will not affect the development of the fetus during pregnancy, nor will it cause malformations. So what about, please feel free to get pregnant. While it is possible for a baby to be infected with HPV at birth, many babies clear up on their own within two years or so of birth. HPV infection is mainly due to exposure to HPV-contaminated amniotic fluid. We recommend that pre-pregnancy check-ups should pay attention to screening for HPV infection by examining the condition of the cervix, and that a cervical cancer smear can be done at an early pregnancy check-up if a cervical cancer test was not performed before pregnancy.
Interestingly, although studies have shown that the probability of transmitting HPV by cesarean delivery is half that of a normal delivery, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists still recommends that the benefits of a normal delivery be weighed against the high rate of newborns getting rid of HPV, and that a cesarean delivery not be deliberately requested for fear of HPV.