Guarding Against HPV
I was having a conversation with one of my friends the other day over lunch and we happened to touch on a recent article on this blog. We were nearing the end of our discussion, and she asked if I had any plans to write a post about the human papillomavirus, or HPV. I hadn’t had reason to at the time, mainly because all the children in the family are far too young to need any vaccination against such a disease and no one had brought it up to me as a possible topic before. It was more relevant to her, however, because she has a teenage daughter that is of age to receive the shot. It also, it seems, was a more touchy subject to talk about with her daughter, not so much because it was prevention method for cervical cancer, but more because of the assured question that would be asked by her daughter regarding its transmission. The answer? Sexual activity, though not necessarily limited to intercourse.
I don’t blame her for her hesitation in broaching this subject with her 12-year-old. Though I don’t have any daughters myself yet, it’s a conversation I dread having with any of my children. A parent’s head wages an internal battle with moral implications providing this knowledge versus the practical reasons one might expose their children to the truth. There are pros and cons to either side, and growing up in a traditional Italian family meant whichever side didn’t involve talking to the kids about sex was the best side. However, in today’s teenage environment, the choice is not so clear.
To take a step back, human papillomavirus (HPV) is actually a pretty common virus in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 20 million people are infected here today, and by the age of 50, nearly 80% of women will have acquired at least one of the 100 different strains of the disease. Most people wouldn’t even know that they’ve been infected because the disease often has no easily visible symptoms, and 90% of those women who have been infected with a persistent strain of the disease will be undetectable within the first two years of having the cervical form of the virus. In most cases, however, HPV is detected through regular Pap tests for women, and treatment is directed at the abnormalities the disease causes in the test. For more information about the virus, see the frequently asked questions page for HPV on the CDC web site.
Gardasil, a vaccine developed by Merck to prevent incidents of HPV, is the first to offer some sort of protection against this virus. Recommended by the CDC for young women aged 11 or 12, the product is given in 3 doses over a 6-month period, and side effects are not unlike most other vaccines, ranging from soreness in the injection area to a slight fever and pain, and most will go away on their own. Obviously, any kind of adverse reaction should be reported to your doctor if you are concerned.
The virus has been found effective in other age groups as well, including women up to age 45, according to a recent study by Merk. This is encouraging because even though the virus is suggested as a preventative measure as early as possible in a woman’s life, the vaccine is effective even for those who have already missed the 11 or 12 target age for it.
There are plenty of resources on the web for the vaccine and the CDC provides some excellent, unbiased information on the subject. However, the moral implications of explaining the need for such a vaccine to a young woman remain, even after the value of such a vaccination is revealed. It reminds me a lot of the debate in my high school as to whether condoms should be distributed to high school students by the school nurse if they were requested. The purpose was to prevent the transmission of AIDS, which had become a prevalent topic at that time in my life. But by arming students with the knowledge of what parents were trying to prevent, were they giving the wrong message about when having intercourse was truly okay? Were parents being encouraged to show their kids the proverbial “forbidden fruit”?
My own opinion is that too often, kids are thrust into sexual situations that they don’t necessarily intend to be in, and they are not armed with the knowledge they need in order to make the right decision for themselves. If a vaccine is the impetus to have “the talk” with your kids, then it might be a good opportunity to allow them to ask questions of you. Sure, you have to get over the embarrassment of opening the discussion, but the communication is important and truly, as a parent, you can empower your kids with knowledge. Certainly, not all parents will feel the way I do, and many will disagree with making this kind of information available at 11 or 12 years old. But what is the right age? At what point do you have to worry that your children will find out their information elsewhere? Wouldn’t you want the control in your court, in letting your child find out about these things on your terms?
What are your thoughts?
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