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• October 3, 2009 12:23 p.m.

  I am 30 and dating a guy who has HPV (genital warts)--we have not had sex yet. I have never had them nor an irregular pap. Should I get the vaccine? Is it too late for me? Is oral sex safe when he is not experiencing an outbreak? Liz

  - Liz

• September 26, 2009 1:30 p.m.

  If someone has herpes, does the vaccination help? Also, why can't men take the vaccination?

  - Mo

• September 17, 2009 2:51 a.m.

  (continued from previous post) 2. The known cause of cervical cancer is the HPV, of which strains 6 and 11 16 18 are the most common and of which sexual intercourse is the most likely mode of transmission. BUT HPV is a wide group of viruses that can cause anything from the common wart to genital ulcers. Some strains are more common in genital ulcers and some are more common in normal warts. But really, if you walk around barefoot and get a common wart, I wouldnt be able to tell you that you dont have HPV 6 11 16 or 18 in your foot. So maybe you dont sleep around, but i cant promise you that a non promiscous man will NEVER give his wife HPV. 3. HPV vaccination reduces the risk of getting HPV infection and therefore reduces the risk of cervical cancer. By how much? see for yourself: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19586656?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum translated: HPV vaccination for women followed for 3 years had about 93% immunity against HPV 16 and 18. How safe is it? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19586656?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum translated: roughly about as dangerous as any other vaccine with reported increased incidences of blood clotting and fainting spells so no. I dont sleep around and I intend to get married. I also intend to ask my fiance to vaccinate. Cheers.

  - Alex

• September 17, 2009 2:30 a.m.

  @Ed. I think you misunderstand both the nature of the human papillomavirus and Ms. McGuire's statement with regard to vaccination and STD education. I quote: "Some people oppose HPV immunization for the same reason they oppose sex education: They view both as implied endorsements of promiscuity." I think inherent in her statement is her point, not that she endorses promsicuity but that she does not view HPV immunisation AS an endorsement of promiscuity. I'm 28 years old, an MD and both a pracitising physican and a practising christian who has NEVER been sexually active, and i believe fully in abstinence prior to marriage. Yet my personal practices are not my expectation for the world at large. Nobody is OBLIGED to live by my point of views on intercourse and a large number of those who do, are entirely entiteled to change their minds. I should know, I have delivered enough children born out of wedlock in my days of OBGYN internship and witnessed enough abortions carried out. So let's put it this way. The HPV vaccine was not meant to be and should never have been viewed as a moral issue. It is purely a scientific and factual one and should be viewed as such:(the facts) 1. Cervical cancer is one of the biggest killers of women in the world. These women are wives, daughters and mothers, perfectly normal people some of whom have been monogamous their entire lives(or not), some of whom have been absitent before marriage ( or not).

  - Alex

• July 23, 2009 6:07 p.m.

  Lois, you ask the question: "if fear of HPV & other STDs is such a deterrent to promiscuity, why are STD rates rising every year, especially among adolescent girls and young women." Give me a break! You are incorrectly assuming here that if something has a positive impact, then that impact will be seen in the entire population. But that is simply false. Something can be a positive influence on a population (or a subset population) but still not impact overall rates. The inconsequential nature of the positive factor could be due to it not being multiplied enough throughout that population and/or there were other more potent negative influences that counteracted any such gains from the positive influence. Empirically, I believe this is the case regarding fear as a deterrent to promiscuity and heightened STD rates. The factors increasing promiscuity in our society clearly are stronger than those encouraging celibacy. You don’t have to have a lot of letters after your name to know that. You should have been honest and admitted in your piece that you hold your own beliefs regarding sex education. You also should not have mischaracterized people like me as those who “oppose sex education.” You make it seem like proponents of abstinence education are anti-science, anti-intellectual, ignoramuses. I don’t oppose sex education per se; I just oppose YOUR type of sex education – that which promotes the pernicious idea that “sleeping around is OK as long as you’re

  - Ed

• July 14, 2009 11:23 a.m.

  It is my wish that there be an ultimate vaccine, injected into the spine, to cure the Genetal Herpes virus altogether. This virus, I was unfortunate enough, to have caught off of a toilet seat without intercourse with the infected person. Now I have to suffer the rest of my life?

  - Karen Smith

• July 8, 2009 9:44 p.m.

  I have a question that I hope can be answered directly. the blog states: "The risks, however, are exceedingly small. The vaccination is made from viruslike particles, not from fully formed, infection-causing HPV. It can't give you the disease." What does exceedingly small mean? Exactly what are the risks and how large are they? I remember my doctors trying to talk me into live polio vaccine. It turned out that the risk of contracting polio was greater from the vaccine than from the general population. Luckily, we selected the dead vaccine. So, what are we talking about, exactly?

  - ed.c

• July 7, 2009 3:47 a.m.

  Our bodies are designed to protect us from infections. When you are exposed to a virus or bacteria, your immune system actually learns from the experience. The next time your body is exposed to the same infection, your immune system often recognizes it and sets out to destroy it.

  - Rocky

• June 26, 2009 8:58 a.m.

  Jen, There is a very good reason why the idea of immunizing all girls between 9 and 12 is being discussed. The immune response of a girl between 9 and 12 is markedly better. In plain language, they are the most resistant to the HPV virus when it is given between the age of 9 and 12. After age 12, the immunization looses some of it's effectiveness. It is not about taking rights away from girls, it is about protecting them.

  - Lois McGuire

• June 18, 2009 10:30 p.m.

  There are other options besides more vaccines. I think HPV vaccine is not very useful at this moment. 2/3 of the HPV people I met on a HPV community" HPVmatch.net" said they had this vaccine, but the result is also positive later.

  - No name given

• June 2, 2009 12:12 a.m.

  I am in college and got all 3 shots over a year ago, and like most people that get the vaccine, I had no adverse side effects like those that have been reported in other comments. My only complaint is that it was a very hefty shot (you could really feel it going in), and it nearly made me pass out each time, even though I have no history of trouble with shots. My nurse the first time told me after that she had seen more girls pass out with the Gardasil than most other vaccines. I do not have multiple sexual partners. I do not ever intend to. I got the vaccine on principal. I hope others will follow.

  - No One Notices When Things Go Well

• May 21, 2009 6:36 p.m.

  I understand and support the decision of women to opt not to be vaccinated against HPV, as it is also my personal choice not to do so. However, I do believe that there are some advantages to the vaccine, especially for women who have many sexual partners (since it lowers the probability of contracting STDs). Nevertheless, I think it should be administered to women who are old enough to make the decision on their own, rather than force young girls to have the vaccine before they are physically and psychologically ready. There is a lot of talk about making this vaccine mandatory for girls who have not yet even reached puberty, and I think that we do not have the right to make this decision for them. I understand parents want to protect their children; yet, at a certain age, it is up to your daughter to make her own decisions. Keep in mind that this drug's long-term effects are not known, and you may be doing more harm then good for your daughter by vaccinating her. Also, I disagree when it states that "the risks, are exceedingly small." These statements are unfounded. Was this stated by a profit-driven pharmaceutical worker? The fact that the other people in this blog have expressed their concerns over its adverse effects only proves my point. They have no motive; they are simply expressing worry, unlike large companies. Lastly, the vaccine is supposed to "sav[e] many women ... from needless premature death." How do you know this vaccine will not kill women

  - Jen

• May 19, 2009 8:21 p.m.

  Within 30 days after the second Gardasil, my 12-year old developed a disabling fatigue, along with abdominal pain, throat swelling, headache, difficulty concentrating, and sensitivity to light. She missed 2 wks of school, followed by several more two day absences, for a total of 17 days this school year. Before Gardasil she had no health problems whatsoever, rarely missing a day of school. If you're reading this to try and determine whether to give your child the Gardasil, please wait until further research is done.

  - Melissa

• May 18, 2009 4:14 a.m.

  Absolutly no vaccination in any form for anything. It is all about the money .They vaccinate you,you get sick ,you have to go to the doctor to get medications,which everything cost money.You suffer,they laugh,because they get your money. Human has no value for them.

  - janka

• May 15, 2009 1:49 p.m.

  People who oppose the vaccine on moral grounds forget that girls and women can be exposed to STDs if they are raped.

  - Peter

• May 13, 2009 11:28 p.m.

  Please read the VAERS & NVIC reports before making the decision to vaccinate your daughter.joint & muscle pain was not listed as a side effect.My girl complained every single day with it after her first shot.I did not know and took her for the other 2 shots.It got worse, MUCH worse.She started having nonepileptic seizures.She was a cheerleader,NHS,STUCO and now cannot even attend school.She also has SEVERE low back pain and her knees HURT all the time. Please do your homework and read all the adverse effects normal girls are having and are NO longer NORMAL. DRS. say it's stress. All tests come back normal. YET, nothing is now normal with our child. Someone needs to check into the adverse effects!! Merck> please read the many cases listed online with girls who only wanted to be "one less" Now they are "one less" girl living their lives.

  - A Mad Mom

• May 13, 2009 10:50 a.m.

  I would not have had my daughter take this vaccine because one of the risks is Guillain Barre Syndrome, which I had in 1963 following a "normal" flu shot. I spent 2 weeks in the hospital and more time at home with my left side paralyzed. I still have residual effects 46 years later. In 1976 when there was a swine flu scare, many people were paralyzed by GBS from those flu shots. I expect if the company had had its way and the HPV vaccine were made mandatory, as they tried to do in my home state, the same thing would have happened.

  - Deb

• May 13, 2009 8:55 a.m.

  My daughter is too young to consider the vacine yet. But I would not allow my teenage daughter to take such a new vaccine. How do these doctor's know if there aren't any long term effects to this? How would we feel if 10 years from now we find out it causes some other illness or that there are infertility problems? Also, I do not think it promotes sexual behavior but I think it's too early to encourage all teenage girls to take it before some years have passed. I have another thought. If there are some girls out there who are sexually active with different men. Unfortunately, some grown women and teen girls do this. So what if they take this vaccine! They expose themselves to HIV, herpes etc. Should we soon have vaccines for every single disease? And what health issues could this cause? I think talking to women young and old about protecting themselves and what self worth is, would be better. And maybe abstinence at some periods in your life, when they have no significant other. I did many times in my 20's. Was it easy no. But it's possible. When I was sexually active with someone, I used protection always. Before I was sexually active with my now husband, we both took HIV tests. There are other options besides more vaccines. As you can see I disagree with the doctor.

  - Rhonda

• May 12, 2009 3:00 p.m.

  Also... Has anyone tried acupuncture to treat any of their pain? Since conventional medicine had very little effect on my symptoms, I turned to alternative treatments. I found that acupuncture over time really helped to relieve the muscle/joint pain I was experiencing. I also practiced therapeutic yoga - I believe both has really helped in my healing process. My heart goes out to you all - it truly does. This is a total nightmare but hopefully we will all wake up soon.

  - Suffered Severe Adverse Reaction at 24yrs old

• May 12, 2009 2:40 p.m.

  "no serious side effects have been reported" - I suggest you do further research. This is coming from someone who suffered severe neurological and rheumatological side effects for over a year after only receiving one of the three shots. Both my neurologist and internist attributed my symptoms to the Gardasil vaccine as prior to receiving the vaccine I has always been in excellent health. There are other forms of protection against HPV that are not only less costly but do not have the side effects associated with Gardasil.

  - Suffered Severe Adverse Reaction at 24yrs old