HPV Vaccine (guardasil) - Have you vaccinated your children?

[rubor]

I know that there are some people with concerns that is for an STD, and to them I would say there are other ways of getting the virus. Not as common, but possible are situations like gentleman 1 uses urinal/toilet and after touching wart infected penis flushes toilet and touches other surfaces before leaving the bathroom without washing hands, gentleman 2 comes along and prior to touching penis comes in contact with hpv virus on surfaces which is then spread to his penis, and then to all sexual partners. It's not as common, but possible. It is after all a virus, and common disinfectants(like alcohol) don't kill it.

Nope, doesn't work that way.

1. HPV transmission (for the types prevented by the vaccine) requires sexual contact. Flush toilets with no fear whatsoever.
2. Alcohol kills loads of viruses. HPV is more resistant to commercial disinfectants but alcohol will kill it given a high enough concentration and time. 90% isopropanol for a minute should do just fine.

If I remember correctly that's not in line with the latest research (it was the state of information when Gardasil entered the market) which found very young girls not sexually active and to the best knowledge of the researchers not sexually abused either having the same HPV strain as their mothers, most likely contracted via shared towels. Not very common but it does happen.

Nope, this is not true either. You can google the NY department of health info sheet  (https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/3837/  "How is HPV spread?") or the CDC info sheets that specifically say that shared towels do not spread these HPV strains.

Or, you can just think through this argument. If the "latest research" showed that very young girls had contracted HPV from towels with no sexual contact, then the recommendations would have been to give the vaccine even earlier, maybe in infancy like lots of other vaccines. My toddler has started sharing towels with us, and she's not even 2.

Again, these HPV strains are sexually transmitted. They are not transmitted by toilets or shared towels. The reason they were recommended at age 9-12 is because 3-4% of kids start having sex before 13. Use your towels and public toilets with reckless abandon!

[Gin1984]

I know that there are some people with concerns that is for an STD, and to them I would say there are other ways of getting the virus. Not as common, but possible are situations like gentleman 1 uses urinal/toilet and after touching wart infected penis flushes toilet and touches other surfaces before leaving the bathroom without washing hands, gentleman 2 comes along and prior to touching penis comes in contact with hpv virus on surfaces which is then spread to his penis, and then to all sexual partners. It's not as common, but possible. It is after all a virus, and common disinfectants(like alcohol) don't kill it.

Nope, doesn't work that way.

1. HPV transmission (for the types prevented by the vaccine) requires sexual contact. Flush toilets with no fear whatsoever.
2. Alcohol kills loads of viruses. HPV is more resistant to commercial disinfectants but alcohol will kill it given a high enough concentration and time. 90% isopropanol for a minute should do just fine.

If I remember correctly that's not in line with the latest research (it was the state of information when Gardasil entered the market) which found very young girls not sexually active and to the best knowledge of the researchers not sexually abused either having the same HPV strain as their mothers, most likely contracted via shared towels. Not very common but it does happen.

Nope, this is not true either. You can google the NY department of health info sheet  (https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/3837/  "How is HPV spread?") or the CDC info sheets that specifically say that shared towels do not spread these HPV strains.

Or, you can just think through this argument. If the "latest research" showed that very young girls had contracted HPV from towels with no sexual contact, then the recommendations would have been to give the vaccine even earlier, maybe in infancy like lots of other vaccines. My toddler has started sharing towels with us, and she's not even 2.

Again, these HPV strains are sexually transmitted. They are not transmitted by toilets or shared towels. The reason they were recommended at age 9-12 is because 3-4% of kids start having sex before 13. Use your towels and public toilets with reckless abandon!

Do NOT use 90%.  In lab, we use 70% because 90% dries too fast. Also do NOT wipe up the alcohol, let it dry.

[tofuchampion]

My kids are too young (9yo boy and newborn girl) but they'll definitely be getting it when they're old enough.

[civil]

Even for the uber-conservative parent who thinks their kiddo won't ever have pre-marital sex (and that somehow a shot will negate that kid's entire upbringing, versus...say... the more likely culprit of teenage hormones), there's always the worst case scenario of rape and I think the vaccine should be given.  Shoot...say you make it to marriage without having sex, people do cheat and you might not know who else your spouse has been with during your marriage.  What a horrible double whammy to have a cheating spouse and get an STD that could cause cancer.

I was raised "right."

Guess what? I didn't even know what HPV was or that a gynecologist is the doc who can test for it. My public school preached abstinence (sex will kill you dead, every time). When I was a teenager, my doc refused to prescribe various things for religious reasons. Doctors can do that in Virginia. If you're going to raise your kids this way, please protect them from their upbringing by vaccinating them.

After my first ever gyn appointment, I found out I had HPV. I had a benign strain of the virus. No clue when I got it. In college, I had an STD test every couple of years - without insurance, STD testing at the county clinic was far cheaper than a doc appointment. (And I wasn't about to ask my parents for money, especially related to sex). But it didn't include HPV testing. Or HIV, because Virginia. So even if someone was tested - far more than you can say about most college kids - you still have no clue if they have these viruses. And if you raise your kid "right," they won't know enough about this stuff to ask their partner the appropriate questions!

I got the vaccines to protect against the not-so-nice strains. No side effects.

[Bracken_Joy]

Even for the uber-conservative parent who thinks their kiddo won't ever have pre-marital sex (and that somehow a shot will negate that kid's entire upbringing, versus...say... the more likely culprit of teenage hormones), there's always the worst case scenario of rape and I think the vaccine should be given.  Shoot...say you make it to marriage without having sex, people do cheat and you might not know who else your spouse has been with during your marriage.  What a horrible double whammy to have a cheating spouse and get an STD that could cause cancer.

I was raised "right."

Guess what? I didn't even know what HPV was or that a gynecologist is the doc who can test for it. My public school preached abstinence (sex will kill you dead, every time). When I was a teenager, my doc refused to prescribe various things for religious reasons. Doctors can do that in Virginia. If you're going to raise your kids this way, please protect them from their upbringing by vaccinating them.

After my first ever gyn appointment, I found out I had HPV. I had a benign strain of the virus. No clue when I got it. In college, I had an STD test every couple of years - without insurance, STD testing at the county clinic was far cheaper than a doc appointment. (And I wasn't about to ask my parents for money, especially related to sex). But it didn't include HPV testing. Or HIV, because Virginia. So even if someone was tested - far more than you can say about most college kids - you still have no clue if they have these viruses. And if you raise your kid "right," they won't know enough about this stuff to ask their partner the appropriate questions!

I got the vaccines to protect against the not-so-nice strains. No side effects.

My college clinic didn't ever test for HPV. I guess it is so common now, there isn't any point, since the majority of people are positive and there's no treatment.

Not testing for HIV is insane though.

[Louisville]

I dunno.  Would you rather your child catch HPV or catch autism?  Plus vaccines are full of chemical toxins while HPV is all-natural and organic.  [/sarcasm]

I love you.

[Torgo]

Was a little old for it when it came out but got the series at college-age in the hopes of decreasing my odds of being a disease vector.

[EngineerMum]

I heard on the radio recently that they are finding a 95% reduction in the relevant cancers that this protects against, for the generation who have had the vaccine. My daughter will be getting it when she's old enough, especially as her Aunt is currently fighting a losing battle with one such cancer.