Safety 101: HPV Vaccine

HPV is an etremely common STI (sexually transmitted infection) which about half of all sexually active men and women will be exposed to in their life.  HPV is the leading cause of oral cancer.  One of the same strains that is responsible for causing cervical cancer is also the most common strain that is associated with oral cancer.  It is suspected that this strain is being transmitted through oral sex.  HPV is no longer just a girl thing.  Boys are not just carriers of this disease anymore, they are contracting it as well. It may show up as a persistant sore in their mouth, but for the most part the signs do not appear until long after the disease has been contracted.  Therefore, this disease can spread like wildfire without a person even knowing it.  Dentist are doing a lot of the screening for this, and it is as simple as getting a saliva test.

Simple fix to keep your child safe from contracting HPV:  The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that boys and girls as young as eleven should recieve the HPV vaccine.

Should You Get the HPV Vaccine for Your Children?

The HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) Vaccine is a shot that was previously recommended for girls 11 to 13 years old in order to prevent a sexually transmitted disease and is now also being recommended for young boys. Some parents view this vaccines series of three shots as giving their children permission to have sex. In reality the original purpose of this vaccine was to reduce the number of incidences of cervical cancer in women. A link had been found between women who had contracted this virus and increase in the incidence of cervical cancer. Males were thought only to be carriers for this disease. New research supports a link between this virus and other forms of cancer in males as well. The Center for Disease Control is recommending that all tweeners receive this vaccine as a preventitive for certain forms of cancer. I think we, as parents, should look at this vaccine as a cancer preventative rather than a vaccine to prevent a form of STD.

Getting this vaccine for our children may just wipe out this particular STD and in addition reduce the number of certain forms of cancer. From where I am standing I see that as a win-win. My daughter has already gotten this vaccine, and I will be checking into whether my son should get it as well. I think it is important to note that the only reason that I hesitate in getting my son this series of vaccines is that he has Crohn's Disease and his medications compromise his immune system. If your child has health issues, check with their doctor to see if this vaccine is right for them.