What is HPV

"There are several reasons. Firstly, the steady incline in the number of divorces means that women are more confident in looking for a new partner. It's also possible this could be due to the fact that erectile dysfunction drugs, such as Viagra, are now being sold over the counter, and HRT drugs are giving some women of menopausal age a new sex drive, consequently increasing sex amongst the 50+ age group." – Miss Adib  "The majority of sexual health campaigns still target a younger demographic, meaning older women are therefore less aware about their risks of getting an STI. During a medical consultation, older women are less likely to discuss STIs and sexual health with their GP, meaning they will assume incorrectly they are less sexually active and will avoid the topic as a result. A lot of it comes down to sex education, too. Compared to the current curriculum, there would have been less focus on sexual education when they were in school. Moreover, women ...

DoxyPEP has hit the news following a sexual health conference last weekend. Attendees at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle heard the results of several new studies into the treatment. DoxyPEP is short for Doxycycline Post-Exposure Prophylaxis. It means taking the antibiotic doxycycline after a sexual encounter to minimize the chances of acquiring an STI such as gonorrhea or syphilis. Doctors are exploring it as one way to tackle the soaring STI rates in the US. A study last year found that when used within three days after unprotected sex, doxycycline reduces STIs by more than 60% in gay men. The latest study took place in France and involved 500 gay and bisexual men. It found doxycycline lowered the rates of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis by 51% to 89% when taken within 72 hours of sex. That's the good news. On the flip side, scientists have been warning for decades not to overprescribe antibiotics. They fear it might lead to th...

How do you know you have cervical cancer before it's even cancer?  Rather than looking for symptoms, the best thing you can do is have a good relationship with your women's healthcare provider and stay on top of regular screenings. It also helps to protect yourself in your daily life. What causes cervical cancer? Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI) that causes most cervical cancers. There are more than 100 types of HPV, but they don't all cause cancer — some cause things like genital warts or no symptoms at all. "I usually tell patients that if you're sexually active, it's not a matter of if you'll be exposed to HPV but when you'll be exposed to HPV," says Scott C. Purinton, MD, PhD, chief of gynecologic oncology and director of robotic surgery at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. "For most people, your immune system typically takes care of the virus without you ever knowing...

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Cancer survivors refusing participation in an HPV vaccine trial do so mainly due to vaccine related concerns, according to a study published in Cancer. Brooke Cherven, PhD, MPH, and colleagues conducted a secondary analysis of data from an open-label clinical trial assessing the safety and immunogenicity of the HPV vaccine among vaccine-naïve cancer survivors aged 9-26. Survivors/parents who declined to participate were asked their reasons for declining. Most survivors (71.4%) who refused trial participation did so for reasons related to the HPV vaccine. Safety concerns, vaccine hesitancy/disinterest, external influences, vaccine-related information deficits, and health beliefs/family decisional processes were reasons for vaccine-related refusal. Females were more likely than males to refuse for reasons related to health beliefs/family decisional processes and were less likely to refuse due to external influences (ORs, 2.08 and 0.43, respectively). Survivors approached later in the tri...

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - One state lawmaker plans to file a proposal to pull the tax-exempt status of property owners who run non-profits but who lawmakers say are slumlords. The idea for the bill came after our FOX 8 Defenders investigations exposed what residents said were deplorable living conditions at apartments owned by a religious non-profit. Now, one group hits the pavement trying to help tenants who feel they have nowhere else to turn. 14-year-old Niyasia Clay says she's sick a lot. "I've missed a lot of days of school, I'm in danger of failing because of this. I'm too sick to go," Niyasia Clay said. Pointing to her walls and the back of the front door, her mom says this affects Niyasia and her younger siblings inside their Metairie apartment at The Bellemont. Niya Clay comments, "Look at that, that's mold. It be soaking wet everywhere, it's mold." When asked what symptoms she's experienced, Niyasia Clay comments, "My eyes, they...

If you or your child develops a firm bump on the skin, it could be a wart. You may find it unsightly and hard to get rid of, but warts usually aren't anything to worry about. Below, Sarah Lonowski, MD, Nebraska Medicine dermatologist, explains what causes warts and how to treat them. What causes warts? Warts are small, skin-colored bumps. They can be scaly and contain little black dots, which are broken blood vessels. All warts are caused by the human papillomavirus, also known as HPV, but different strains of HPV can cause different types of warts. Interestingly, not everyone who encounters HPV will get a wart since each person's immune system responds differently to the virus. The most common locations for warts are the fingers, hands and feet, but they can also occur on other parts of the body. Cells infected by the virus grow and multiply, making the outer layer of skin thick and hard. Types of warts: • Common warts – Usually have the classic appearance ...

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A new study has shown that taking a single dose of a widely used, cheap antibiotic within 3 days after condomless sex can help prevent chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea, three sexually transmitted infections (STIs, also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases or STDs ) that have soared in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere over the past 2 decades. The study, mainly in men who have sex with men (MSM) in San Francisco and Seattle, was halted in May after an independent data monitoring board found that the strategy, known as doxycycline postexposure prophylaxis (doxyPEP), reduced the risk of chlamydia and gonorrhea by more than 60%—a result so convincing there was no need to continue the study. DoxyPEP also appeared to protect against syphilis, but too few cases occurred during the trial to reach statistical significance. The data were scheduled to be presented this week at the 24th International AIDS Conference in Montreal. "This is very encouraging," says Carlo...

A clinician tests a sample Sept. 13, 2019, in the lab at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Iowa City. (The Gazette) CEDAR RAPIDS — A public health group is reconvening to combat an alarming increase in sexually transmitted infections in Linn and Johnson counties and in Iowa. With a rise in chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis infections, the Sexual Health Alliance of Linn & Johnson Counties met this week with public health officials and advocates to brainstorm ways to blunt the increase. The alliance suspended meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic to focus on restructuring and reorganization, while public health agencies and health care professionals focused on combating the virus. Advertisement The group, founded in 2010, has worked on a variety of sexual health initiatives, including research on public school sexual health education, screenings, condom distribution and pan...

Sexually transmitted infections are on the rise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , "Reported cases of gonorrhea and primary & secondary (P&S) syphilis were up 10% and 7%, respectively, compared to 2019." But that's not the only troubling trend. Gonorrhea has always been a public health concern, but in recent years has become an urgent threat because the STI is resistant to multiple standard antibiotics. While this has been the case in multiple countries like Japan, Australia, France, Japan, Slovenia, Sweden, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, for the first time in the United States, a  highly drug-resistant strain of gonorrhea has been detected in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said two separate cases were discovered and issued a warning for health officials.  "The discovery of this strain of gonorrhea is a serious public health concern which DPH, the ...

DoxyPEP has hit the news this week following a sexual health conference last weekend. Attendees at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle heard about the results of several new studies into the treatment. DoxyPEP is short for Doxycycline Post-Exposure Prophylaxis. It means taking the antibiotic doxycycline after a sexual encounter to minimize the chances of acquiring an STI such as gonorrhea or syphilis. Doctors are exploring it as one way to tackle the soaring STI rates in the US. A study last year found that when used within three days after unprotected sex, doxycycline reduces STIs by more than 60% in gay men. The latest study took place in France and involved 500 gay and bisexual men. It found doxycycline lowered the rates of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis by 51% to 89% when taken within 72 hours of sex. That's the good news. On the flip side, scientists have been warning for decades not to overprescribe antibiotics. They fear it ...

Skin tags as well as the treatment for them: Skin tags are tiny soft, skin-colored bumps that appear on the skin. They can differ in size and color. The size could range from a few millimeters to up to 5cm in width. Skin tags are generally located around armspits, the neck and around the groin or under the breasts. They may also appear on the eyelids or underneath those folds in the back of your buttocks. They might look similar to warts but there's only a few differences between warts and tags. Best Skin Tag Removal 1#. Skincell Advanced: Click Here To Buy (Official Website) 2#. Amarose Skin Tag Remover: Click Here To Buy (Official Website) 3#. DermaCorrect : Click Here To Buy (Official Website) 1. Skin tags are soft and smooth, However, warts tend to be more rough with an uneven surface 2. Skin tags are squishy and hang from the skin. Warts tend to be slightly elevated or flat. 3. Skin tags aren't infectious however warts can spread quickly, therefore the sudden emergence or ...