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Any way to test for previous exposure? I'd be pretty surprised if I didn't already have antibodies. I suppose it doesn't matter though.


HPV tests are of low value (as an adult, if ever sexually active, you likely have it but can do nothing about it); a new biomarker test that can detect the cancers is being developed [1]. Ongoing cancer surveillance is all you can do once exposed without having been vaccinated (and if cancer occurs, immunotherapy).

As pm90 wrote, I strongly recommend getting vaccinated [2] unless a doctor tells you otherwise, even if you already have HPV or have had previous potential exposure.

[1] Circulating tumor human papillomavirus DNA whole genome sequencing enables human papillomavirus-associated oropharynx cancer early detection - https://academic.oup.com/jnci/advance-article-abstract/doi/1... | https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djaf249

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HPV_vaccine

(had three doses in my 30s via Planned Parenthood)


> previous potential exposure.

Isn't that basically everyone who's had sex with someone who had sex before the vaccine was common? I was denied when I asked my last doctor, on that logic. I'll ask my current doctor.


Yes.


Doctor recommended it to me when I was almost 30. So yeah, I'd say still go for it.


Note that the modern vaccine covers 9 different strains.


Right. And a few years ago my doctor's office had orders for both the the quadvalent vaccine and the nonavalent vaccine in the system and almost ordered only the quad for me.

Definitely ensure you're requesting the 9 strain version.


Not sure but theres zero downside to getting it


Information from the CDC [1], indicates Adverse Reactions are similar to administration of a placebo, which is not zero. Any vaccine administration has potential for negative adverse reactions, it's reasonable not to get a vaccine if you judge the upside is not worth the downside, even if the downside is small.

The CDC says:

> Like all medical interventions, vaccines can have some side effects.

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/hpv/hcp/recommendations.htm...


If it's similar to placebo, doesn't that imply that it's pretty much non-existent?


No, the CDC says (at my previous link):

> A temperature of 100°F during the 15 days after vaccination was reported in 10% to 13% of HPV vaccine recipients. A similar proportion of placebo recipients reported an elevated temperature.

If you take some research subjects, do nothing to them, and then ask how they did 15 days after, I would be surprised if 10-13% reported a 100F fever during that time. But, that's a reasonable result from a saline or hpv injection.


there's no zero downside (risk) of anything that makes a permanent state change in your immune system.




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