I recently took my daughter Kat in for her pre high school physical and was rather surprised that she would be required to undergo the new vaccine for HPV, otherwise known as the Human Papilloma Virus. Of course I had heard of the term before while skimming through a womens fitness magazine, and reading articles on womens reproductive health but still was not clear on why the vaccine was necessary. Kat's pediatrician explained to me that there has been much focus over the last few years on womens reproductive health and that HPV can have a devastating effect on the reproduction system. HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that can cause genital warts that although typically are pre cancerous, a small percentage of them will lead to cervical cancer. HPV can be spread amongst sexual partners and often has no symptoms at all. HPV can also cause severe damage to a womens reproductive health, at times causing infertility if left untreated. Although Kat was not too happy about having to endure one more shot that day, and two more over the next year, since the HPV vaccination is a series of three shots, I for one am glad that strides are being made in the womens reproductive health field.
