Jezebel: Hpv

Oral Sex More Dangerous for Dudes

Erin Gloria Ryan — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:00:00 EST

One in ten men are orally infected with the human papillomavirus, the nasty microscopic villain that can cause cancer of the genitals or throat. Because it's tough to test for the virus without a tissue sample and most of the infected don't know they have it, many don't think they're at risk for HPV-caused throat cancers until it's too late. Cancer is such a jerk. More »

Is The HPV Vaccine Encouraging Girls To Abandon Safe Sex?

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:30:00 EST

According to some troubling new headlines out today, the HPV vaccine may make girls think they can forget about practicing safe sex because they're protected against all the nasty stuff lurking in other people's bodily fluids. Yet, just last week, parents were being assured that the vaccine doesn't turn little girls into sexpots. The public debate over whether the HPV vaccine is a safe, life-saving measure or a license to participate in a variety of risky sexual behaviors continues! (Hint: It's the former.) More »

HPV Vaccine Side Effects Do Not Include Sluttiness

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:05:00 EST

The HPV vaccine is pretty scary stuff. For starters, you probably heard from your aunt that this lady told Michele Bachman that it totally made her daughter "mentally retarded." And even if those who get the shots don't end up like that poor girl no one was ever able to locate, the vaccine is rumored to transform girls into little harlots. After all, everyone knows the only thing keeping 12-year-old from having sex is their deep-seated fear of cervical cancer. More »

Girls-Only Vaccine Could Be Best Weapon Against HPV

Anna North — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:00:00 EST

A new study argues that vaccinating boys against HPV isn't the best use of resources, since vaccinating more girls will actually lead to a greater reduction in overall infections. However, there are also political implications to consider. More »

Staying In School Could Protect You From Mouth Cancer

Anna North — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:30:00 EST

Mouth and throat cancer have been making news lately because of their link to HPV. Now there's evidence that patients' level of education could affect their risk of dying from these diseases. More »

What's The Protocol When It Comes To Telling Your Partner You Have HPV?

Katie J.M. Baker — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:20:00 EST

It seems like every day there's another article on HPV-most recently, we've learned that the Human Papillomavirus is linked to throat cancer, might cause heart disease, and that Michele Bachmann is an asshole (okay, and some good news, too: the CDC recently recommended that boys as well as girls be vaccinated against HPV). More »

CDC Panel Recommends HPV Vaccine For Boys

Anna North — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:10:00 EDT

In an important step in the right direction, a CDC panel has recommended that boys as well as girls be vaccinated against HPV. More »

Another Day, Another Awful Ailment Linked To HPV

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:10:00 EDT

HPV has already been found to cause cancer of the cervix, vulva, penis, anus and throat, but if the virus fails to take you out using any of those methods, it may just give you a heart attack. Though the research is still in its primary stages, scientists have found evidence that suggests HPV might give women heart disease too. More »

Women Can Effectively Test Themselves For HPV

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 23:11:00 EDT

A new study found that women can check themselves for HPV with a test that's about as effective as the method doctors use. It's unlikely that your gynecologist is going to encourage you to replace the Pap test with an at-home speculum-free procedure anytime soon, but the test could have a big impact for women in developing countries. More »

More Confusing Recommendations For Your Cervix

Margaret Hartmann — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:55:00 EDT

Get ready to update your gynecological scorecards, because now we have yet another recommendation on what should be happening to your lady business every year. While more and more doctors are using tests for HPV, an influential federal advisory panel has announced it won't endorse HPV screening and only recommends Pap smears every three years for most women. More »

California Minors Now Allowed To Get STD Vaccines Without Parents' Permission

Erin Gloria Ryan — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:45:00 EDT

California Governor Jerry Brown just signed legislature that allows minors in the state to receive anti-STD vaccines without parental consent. More »

Oral Sex Linked To Throat Cancer, Is Best Argument Yet For Giving Boys HPV Vaccine

Anna North — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 11:35:00 EDT

New research shows that throat cancers caused by HPV — usually contracted through oral sex — are on the rise. It's upsetting news, but there's something we can do: start testing the HPV vaccine for throat cancer prevention, and vaccinate boys. More »

Little Poundcake, The HPV Vaccine Doll

Whitney Jefferson — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:20:00 EDT

Little Poundcake smells like cookies, has hair that grows, owns a cell phone, and hidden inside of her arms, a needle filled with HPV vaccine that will inject your little girl three times at random over the next six months. More »

California Bill Would Allow Vaccines For All STDs Without Parental Consent

Anna North — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:05:00 EDT

A bill passed by the California legislature this month would allow clinicians to vaccinate kids against HPV without their parents consent — and it could apply to other STDs too. More »

Just Freaking Give Boys The HPV Vaccine Already

Irin Carmon — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:40:00 EDT

The facts: Roughly half of adult males in the US are infected with HPV. Some strains, passed along to women through sexual contact, can cause cervical cancer. HPV can also increase the likelihood of penile or anal cancer in men, and can cause genital warts. The FDA has already approved the vaccine for boys. But the CDC is still deliberating over whether boys should get it. A significant decision in the process is expected at a meeting next month. More »

Shocker: Bachmann Never Accepted Bioethicist's HPV Vaccine Bet

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 09:50:00 EDT

Yesterday was the deadline for Michele Bachmann to accept University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Arthur Caplan's challenge to produce a single person who's developed "mental retardation" from Gardasil. Caplan offered to donate $10,000 to a charity of her choice if she could just locate the mystery woman whose daughter became disabled after being vaccinated for HPV. Bachmann never responded, probably because she's been plugging her ears and humming to herself to prevent scientific facts from seeping in. Caplan says he's still glad he made bet because, "Politicians shouldn't get away with hearsay. We need to hold candidates responsible for their sources." More »

Bachmann's HPV Nonsense May Have Very Real Impact

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 11:20:00 EDT

Michele Bachmann's repeated suggestions last week that the HPV vaccine might be some kind of evil "government injection" that makes little girls promiscuous and possibly "mentally retarded" may go down as one of the stupidest things ever uttered by a politician, and perhaps that's why she's totally backtracked on that statement — she was just repeating what she heard, she didn't mean it. Well, too late. Scientists say that the misinformation she's spread could set back use of the vaccine, even after Bachmann has dropped out of the race and become nothing more than a Trivial Pursuit answer (please, God). More »

Jay Leno, Of All People, Grills Michele Bachmann On HPV And Gay Marriage

Whitney Jefferson — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:15:00 EDT

Well this was unexpected: Jay Leno issued a bit of a smackdown when Michele Bachmann sat down on his couch Friday night. In the above clip, he argued with her about gay marriage, saying, "If two gay people want to get married, ... why is that even an issue?" He also brought up her husband's clinic: "That whole 'Pray Away The Gay' thing — I don't get that." She pointed to her hair and responded, "I thought it was "Pray The Gray Away!'" Oh, har har. More »

Bioethicist Bets Michele Bachmann $10,000 She's Wrong About HPV

Irin Carmon — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 19:15:00 EDT

Michele Bachmann is continuing to all-out make up stuff about the HPV vaccine, but she never said she's a scientist. As it happens, one of them just bet her $10,000 to prove that there is a real person who developed "mental retardation" from Gardasil. More »

You Can Talk About Your Vagina Anywhere

Irin Carmon — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:45:24 EDT

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"The vagina is becoming big business." This is not a story about sex work — it's about marketers talking honestly about female genitalia, and the fact that the AP is getting away with using it high up in their stories is basically case in point. More »

IUDs Might Be Even More Awesome Than We Thought

Irin Carmon — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:20:00 EDT

In addition to the other benefits for many women, including very high effectiveness rates, a new analysis suggests that the IUD might protect against cervical cancer. Researchers found looked at studies of a combined 20,000 women and "found that the risk of cervical cancer in women who used IUDs was nearly half that of women who never used them." The link wasn't with HPV — there was no correlation there — but with the likelihood of developing the cancer caused by some strains of the virus. The hypothesis is that the IUD triggers an immune response. The studies don't establish causation, though. More »

The Sex-Hating Hysteria Behind Republicans' HPV Vaccine Debate

Irin Carmon — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:50:49 EDT

Michele Bachmann seems to have struck gold at yesterday's Republican debate. She went after Rick "I Hate Cancer" Perry, again for mandating an HPV vaccine, and she hasn't stopped pushing it since. But as anyone who's followed this debate already knows, this is not about vaccine side effects, government mandates, or even lobbyist links. It's about sex. More »

Taking Three Doses Of HPV Vaccine May Be Overkill

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:42:00 EDT

A study found that taking just two doses of the HPV vaccine may be as effective at preventing cervical cancer as taking the recommended three doses. It's great news, since plenty of people aren't getting all three shots anyway. More »

Rick Perry Hates Cervical Cancer

Irin Carmon — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:15:36 EDT

There was lots of punching up at Rick Perry at last night's Republican debate, the first time the candidates had a chance to confront him. And they were all pretty peeved about his executive order to have girls vaccinated against HPV. More »

Teens Still Aren't Getting The HPV Vaccine

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:40:00 EDT

The HPV vaccine has been on the market since 2006, but as of last year, only 49% of girls have had their shots. Health officials are disappointed by the response, but they say there are several reasons the cervical cancer vaccine isn't catching on — including parents' refusal to acknowledge that one day their precious little girl will be having sex. More »

Rick Perry's "Pro-Life" Cervical Cancer Position Shifts

Irin Carmon — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:50:00 EDT

Rick Perry has been backing away from his controversial move to mandate the vaccination of middle school girls against HPV, which can cause cervical cancer. There's really only one question here: Was it "pro-life" or "pro-sex"? More »

You're Getting Tested For HPV Too Often, Apparently

Irin Carmon — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 19:15:00 EDT

A new study says women are getting tested for HPV too often. You'd be forgiven for being confused. More »

The Possibility Of Relief From Your Annual Pap Smear Hell

Irin Carmon — Thu, 19 May 2011 13:25:00 EDT

Some news for the health of your nether regions: one study suggests it's safe for women to get a pap smear and HPV test every three years if your last test was normal, and another says men should also get the HPV vaccine. Let's discuss. More »

FDA Lambastes Phony HIV, Herpes Cures

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Tue, 03 May 2011 15:20:00 EDT

The Food and Drug Administration announced this week that it's going after over a dozen companies selling non-prescription pills and supplements—like Medavir, Herpaflor and C-Cure—that purport to cure STDs like HIV, Herpes and HPV. Federal health officials say that none of these products have been proven to be effective treatment for such diseases and are in fact a public health hazard, since patients could put off seeking proper medical care by taking the phony pills, allowing their conditions to worsen. More »

FDA Approves New HPV Test

Irin Carmon — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 10:20:10 EDT

The FDA has approved a new test for HPV, which detects risk of cervical cancer even when a pap smear comes out normal. More »

Probably Half Of All Men Have HPV

Irin Carmon — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 12:56:54 EST

A new study of 1,100 men in the U.S., Brazil, and Mexico found that half were infected with HPV, which is quickly being seen as evidence that boys should be vaccinated with Gardasil. More »

My Brush With Cervical Cancer

Andrea Grimes — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 13:55:00 EST

Last September, I was trying to drink on my lunch hour when the doctor's office called. I hate when the doctor's office calls when I am trying to drink on my lunch hour. But the phone call wasn't a surprise. I'd had my first abnormal pap smear results in 2009, and I didn't have much faith in my cervix to have gotten its shit together over the course of the year. More »

Blow Jobs Can Cause Cancer

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 15:30:00 EST

Scientists warn that HPV spread through oral sex can lead to deadly throat cancer, and more throat cancer cases are caused by unsafe sexual practices than by tobacco products. More »

A Gardasil Horror Story?

Sadie Stein — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:29:00 EDT

On the one hand, most young women have not reported adverse affects to the widely-recommended HPV vaccine. On the other, when it goes bad, it's really bad. More »

Sexual Politics Help Thwart The HPV Vaccine

Irin Carmon — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:53:00 EDT

The HPV vaccine, Gardasil, was expected to be a slam-dunk for pharmaceutical giant Merck. Instead, it's considered a business failure. Among the many reasons: The politicization of inoculating little girls against future STDs. More »

Baby Formula Causes Breast Tissue Growth In Infants

Katy Kelleher — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:56:00 EDT

In case you thought it wasn't enough that seven-year-olds are entering puberty: female infants in China are growing breasts, thanks to the high levels of estrogen found in a certain brand of formula.

Why Aren't Men Vaccinated For HPV?

Katy Kelleher — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:40:00 EDT

Though it mainly affects women, HPV can cause cancer and genital warts in men. Why, then, wouldn't we wan to vaccinate as many men as possible? Because it's not terribly cost effective. Cancer talks, but money talks more loudly. [Forbes] More »

Teen Girls Feel The Need For Speed • Hot Balloon Treatment Reduces Period Woes

Katy Kelleher — Wed, 05 May 2010 17:20:00 EDT

• In a recent survey of teenage drivers, 48% of girls admitted to routinely driving 10 miles or more over the speed limit, while only 36% of boys said the same. Furthermore, only 23% said teens make good drivers. More »

Russian Model Is Modern Mata Hari • Palin: Obama "Promoting Shameful Myth"

Katy Kelleher — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 17:20:00 EDT

• Ekaterina Gerasimova is supposedly a latter day Russian Mata Hari. Political figures claim that she has been trusted with the mission of ruining their reputations by luring them into compromising situations with sex and drugs. More »

New HPV Vaccine Approved • North Carolina Set To Release Child Rapists

Katy Kelleher — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:40:00 EDT

Today the FDA voted to approve the vaccine Cervarix, an HPV vaccine created by British drug company GlaxoSmithKline. The vaccine is expected to become available later this year, but Glaxo has not released any information about pricing.• More »