HPV Testing for Men

One of the first things you need to know about HPV testing for men… is that you need to be tested before you can be certain.If you have any degree of sexual experience, getting tested is a good idea. You can’t just inspect yourself, trust that you don’t have anything, and forget about it. HPV can remain dormant for years, decades, even a lifetime without showing any symptoms, but can still be contagious. In women, it is the types of HPV that actually have no symptoms that can lead to cervical cancer.Luckily, most genital HPV types are harmless. In fact, it’s estimated that anywhere from one third to one half of all sexually active adults have contracted a benign form of HPV at one point or other. However, this isn’t the case with all HPV types, so it’s important to get tested.Should I get Tested?The first question would probably be… how would you know if you need to be tested?Well, if you’ve ever had sex before, you should get yourself tested, and get tested again after every encounter with a new sexual partner.This is sort of a blanket statement. What if you’ve only had one sexual partner in your entire life, and you can verify that your partner only had one partner before you?Genital HPV is generally only spread through actual sexual intercourse, and not say, toilet seats or what have you, so wouldn’t a clean sexual history make it a safe bet that you don’t have HPV?No. You’ve no doubt heard that when you have sex with a new partner, you are, in effect, having sex with everyone they’ve ever been with. This is how STDs spread, from one sex partner to another, to another, to another. Unless you have detailed test results from your partner, your partner’s previous partner or partners, and their previous partners, you can’t be one hundred percent sure.How do they do the Test?Getting tested for HPV as a man is easy. Women have to undergo the discomfort of a pap smear, so count yourself lucky and just go ahead and go through with it already.HPV testing in men is done with a simple visual check. Your physician may spot the Genital Warts on sight, or may use acetic acid to identify warts and HPV related lesions. The acid causes the abnormal tissue to become white.HPV testing for men can be a little tricky when the infection is in its early stages. You can have HPV and not know it, simply because the test didn’t prove anything. For this reason, you absolutely must practice safe sex. You might think you’re safe, when in fact, you are not. Always use a condom, and see your doctor at the first sign of anything that might, in fact, be the early stages of an HPV infection.More important than getting tested or treated is simply preventing HPV in the first place. Do not have sex without a condom unless you can be certain that you and your partner are both clear and free, simple as that.