Can your immune system get rid of hpv

Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. If you or your partner have just been diagnosed with human papillomavirus HPV , you're certainly not alone. HPV infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection.

In fact, it is thought that just about anyone who has had sex has been exposed to HPV. The good news is that most HPV infections clear the body on their own. Regardless, there are a few things you can do to help cope, including understanding your diagnosis, taking care of your immune system, and more. Understanding what HPV infection is all about will really help you cope with your diagnosis.

There are typically two ways that you find out that you have HPV: You either are diagnosed with genital warts or you have abnormal changes on your Pap test and screen positive for HPV. If you have been diagnosed with genital warts, treatment can remove the visible warts.

However, you are still infectious to sexual partners. It can take anywhere from three weeks to eight months after you have been exposed to HPV before you develop genital warts. The good news is that the warts are typically caused by the common low-risk strains of HPV, which means that once they are treated and the virus clears, you don't have a high risk for any long-term complications.

You may have found out through your routine Pap smear that you have been exposed to HPV. What happens next depends on the abnormality detected. Your healthcare provider will recommend the appropriate treatment or follow-up.

Although it is still likely that your body will clear the infection on its own, more advanced changes on your cervix need to be followed closely to prevent progression to cervical cancer. Condom use does not necessarily prevent contracting HPV.

Get our printable guide for your next healthcare provider's appointment to help you ask the right questions. There are some things you can do to boost your immune system and help your body clear the virus.

If you are a current cigarette smoker and you have HPV you should do your best to quit smoking. The nicotine in cigarettes gets absorbed into the cervical mucus and it is thought that this decreases your body's ability to clear the virus from your cervix.

Retrieved November 10, from www. But bacteria They believe HPV may evade the immune system Two measures could reverse this trend: the ScienceDaily shares links with sites in the TrendMD network and earns revenue from third-party advertisers, where indicated. Print Email Share. Just a Game? Living Well. View all the latest top news in the environmental sciences, or browse the topics below:. Doctors monitor HPV with Pap tests that look for abnormal cervical cells called lesions. Low-grade lesions — where the changes are only mildly abnormal — often clear up on their own.

These are not considered precancerous. All cervical cancers arise from untreated, high-grade lesions, which do contain precancerous cells. If your immune system is healthy, it typically takes about 10 to 15 years for cervical cancer to develop from a high-grade lesion. While HPV does cause cervical cancer , the risk of developing cervical cancer from the virus is still quite low.

For 90 percent of women with HPV, the condition will clear up on its own within two years. Minus Related Pages. Cancers Associated with HPV. Cervical cancer is the most common HPV-associated cancer, and some cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and oropharynx back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils are also caused by HPV.

HPV and Oropharyngeal Cancer. HPV can infect the mouth and throat and cause cancers of the oropharynx. This is called oropharyngeal cancer. Vaccines protect against the types of HPV that most often cause cervical, vaginal, vulvar, and anal precancers and cancers. Cervical cancer also can be prevented or found early through regular screening and follow-up treatment.