Genital warts are one of the diseases transmitted through sex. In fact, this disease can be prevented by the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. However, many people just realize the importance of vaccines after being exposed to genital warts. So, do you need to do a vaccine if you have been exposed to genital warts? Here’s the review.
Need a vaccine if genital warts have appeared?
Provision of HPV vaccine aims to prevent someone infected with a disease caused by the HPV virus such as cervical cancer and genital warts. Because the purpose is to prevent, this vaccine is usually given before the disease appears and attacks the body. However, do you need a vaccine if you have been exposed to a disease such as genital warts?
The HPV vaccine is basically intended to prevent infection. However, in some cases this vaccine can actually function as a treatment that aims to help clear genital wart viruses in people who have already been infected.
So, doing a vaccine even though you have been infected is a wise choice that you can take. Because, there are around 30 to 40 types of HPV viruses that are sexually transmitted. That way, carrying out an HPV vaccine after being infected can also help protect you from other types of HPV that lurk the body.
Quoted from the old Harvard Health Edu, the HPV vaccine can provide quite promising protection. This vaccine helps reduce injuries and inflammation of genital warts by 35 percent. In addition, the vaccine also not only prevents infections from the four targeted HPV types but also reduces the risk of precancerous lesions caused by 10 other strains.
However, vaccines do not always protect
Again, keep in mind that this vaccine has the main purpose of preventing HPV infection. However, you also need to be aware that carrying out a vaccine when you have an infection does not mean totally eliminating the infection you have.
In addition, vaccines also do not protect you from all types of HPV. The experts did not know exactly how long the HPV vaccine could run effectively. However, based on a lot of research done so far it is known that the HPV vaccine can help protect you in about five years.
Therefore, even if you have vaccinated it is a good idea to have a Pap smear test and regular pelvic examination. The reason, people who have been infected with the HPV virus such as genital warts remain at risk of contracting other types of HPV virus, including those that cause cervical cancer.
Keep using condoms when having sex
Even though you have vaccinated, you still need to use a condom while having oral, anal and vaginal sex. This is done to help prevent the spread of disease. Especially if the couple also turns out to have genital warts.
In addition to creating safe sex, condoms help prevent the spread of HPV types that are not contained in vaccines. In addition, of course condoms help protect you and your partner from the risk of other venereal diseases. In addition, try not to change partners and maintain personal hygiene after having sex.
