| People who have sexually transmitted infections do live happy and normal lives. For example, HPV — the human papilloma virus — is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the U.S. At some point in their lives, up to 75 percent of sexually active people become infected with one or more of the 100 different types of HPV. Up to 20 million Americans are infected at any given time. For most sexually active people, HPV infection is just a part of normal life.
Most people with HPV will never have symptoms and never know they are infected. This is because, for most people, HPV infections resolve and go away by themselves. Some people, however, will develop symptoms, which will vary depending on the type of HPV that is present. Certain types of HPV cause genital warts that often resolve themselves, but sometimes need to be removed with various medical treatments. A few types of HPV can cause changes in the cervix that can lead to cervical cancer. But periodic Pap tests can detect these changes early enough for women to avoid developing cervical cancer.
Although there are treatments for certain signs of HPV infection, such as warts, there are no treatments for HPV infections themselves. Women who have or have had HPV can have vaginal intercourse and can have successful pregnancies. Some women who have had to have large amounts of cervical tissue removed to prevent the development of cervical cancer may be more likely than other women to have pre-term delivery and low birth weight babies. But with careful pregnancy management, women who have had large amounts of cervical tissue removed can still plan to have healthy and happy families in the future.
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