Can HPV be transmitted through oral sex?

July 9, 2008 7:39 AM

How common is it for the human papillomavirus to be transmitted through oral sex? I've seen conflicting information about this.

I'm a 20-something female. I've had four sexual partners in my lifetime, and until three months ago, had never engaged in vaginal intercourse - only oral sex/touching, with vague ideas of "saving myself for marriage." I went to my first-ever gyn exam a couple of weeks ago, and was told yesterday that I am HPV-positive and my pap test showed abnormal results. The doctor wants me to come in for a follow-up colposcopy, and I'm freaking out. Can cervical HPV be transmitted through oral sex?

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (6 comments total)

Yes, HPV can be transferred via oral sex. I recommend the NIH website for getting more information about HPV, there is a particularly decent page at the American Social Health Association about thinking about HPV within a relationship including how to talk to a partner about it.
posted by jessamyn at 7:49 AM on July 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

HPV can also be passed by touching, even touching yourself with HPV on your hands. While HPV is transmitted sexually, it's a mistake to view it as an STD in the same sense as, say, syphilis.
posted by OmieWise at 7:52 AM on July 9, 2008

And if it makes you feel any better, it's estimated that up to 80% of sexually active adults in the US have or have had HPV.
posted by tristeza at 8:15 AM on July 9, 2008

If you've only ever had vaginal intercourse with one person, and your pap test is abnormal, I have a suspicion that you got HPV from that one person. IANAD, but AFAIK direct contact is the usual way to transmit HPV, so HPV on your cervix means that's where the infection happened.

Your doctor is being prudent by scheduling a follow-up, but you need not freak out just yet. If you have any pre-cancerous lesions, they can be treated by freezing them off, cutting them out, or even zapping them with a laser. It normally takes ~10 years for pre-cancerous lesions to turn into cancer, so you need not worry about losing your reproductive organs.
posted by LightStruk at 10:46 AM on July 9, 2008

If you've only ever had vaginal intercourse with one person, and your pap test is abnormal, I have a suspicion that you got HPV from that one person.

Not true.
posted by OmieWise at 10:53 AM on July 9, 2008

Just as a side note, my sister tested positive for HPV under similar conditions. It was a false positive. In fact, it was nothing. Might you try another test, just to be sure? (I hate to give you false hope, but it's worth a shot).
posted by greta simone at 4:59 PM on July 9, 2008