HPV Vaccination for Men


Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is an extremely common sexually transmitted infection. It is mostly linked with causing cervical cancer in women as certain strains of the infection can cause cells in the cervix to grow abnormally which in some cases can lead to cervical cancer. HPV can also cause mouth cancer and genital warts in both men and women; and can cause penile and anal cancers in men. 

However, only young women are readily and freely vaccinated through a school based programme implemented in 2008. Young men are not vaccinated freely so they are not protected against HPV related diseases even though they are still at risk. The vaccination of young women does offer ‘herd protection’ to some men as men who have sexual contact with vaccinated women will not be infected with high risk HPV. However, men who have sexual contact with men (MSM) are more at risk as neither party has received the vaccine.
 
The reason the vaccine is not readily available to young men is because it is a relatively recent vaccine that was introduced mainly due to the clear link between HPV and cervical cancer. Research linking HPV to men was not considered till much later. Recently, NHS Wales, Scotland and England have announced that men who are MSM can now access the vaccine at sexual health clinics if they are aged 16-45.

Many health care professionals have been supporting the vaccine. A recent poll by HPV Action found that 97% of dentists and 94% of GPs believe the vaccine should cover all genders. Mick Horton, Dean of the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) said “oral cancer has increased dramatically over the last decade, and over two-thirds of diagnoses are in men”. Oral cancers have a huge impact on quality of life and are very hard to treat. So many lives could be saved by gender-neutral vaccination.

Overall, young women will continue to be vaccinated, MSM men will now be vaccinated but men who have sexual contact with women will not be vaccinated. Thanks for reading I hope you found this informative.

Written by Lizzie Nash

Sources
https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/adult-hpv-vaccine-guidelines#1
https://www.dentalhealth.org/news/decision-to-finally-offer-boys-hpv-vaccine-will-save-many-lives-declares-charity
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19625320/hpv-vaccine-for-men-sti-cancer-risk/
https://bda.org/news-centre/press-releases/overwhelming-support-from-dentists-for-gender-neutral-hpv-vaccinations

Comments

  1. Robert Carol17 March 2022 at 08:15

    I got diagnosed with HPV, i have be dealing with this mess for the past 8yrs. On till i got review online about natural cure people testifies how they got curevd with natural treatment. And i order the treatment, after taking it for two weeks i totally got cured with herbal treatment. I'm recommending you diagnosis with HPV should get this treatment via: Dronokunherbalcure@gmail.com or Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/naturaltreatmentcenter1

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PTSD - A Psychodynamic Explanation

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a type of anxiety disorder which you may develop after being involved in, or witnessing, traumatic events. The condition was first recognised in war veterans and has been known by a variety of names, such as 'shell shock'. PTSD can develop immediately after someone experiences a disturbing event, or it can occur weeks, months or even years later. Its estimated to affect about 1 in every 3 people who have a traumatic experience, but it's not clear exactly why some people develop the condition and others do not. There are many theories that could be used to explain this condition. Psychodynamic approaches to PTSD focus on a number of different factors that may influence or cause PTSD symptoms, such as early childhood experiences, current relationships and the things people do to protect themselves from upsetting thoughts and feelings that are the result of experiencing a traumatic event. The psychodynamic approach focuses mainly...
Read more

Disparities in Global Eye Care

Vision is one of our most precious possessions. Multiple polls globally show that most people are more fearful of becoming blind than losing any other sense. (1,2) With sight being such a valuable asset, one would assume that eyecare is at the forefront of medical services across the world. Living in the developed world, we perhaps take for granted the simple and yet crucial services available to us such as regular eye tests, glasses, contact lenses and high-quality ophthalmic care - most of which can be accessed for free or at a subsidised price. However, in many parts of the world this is not the case. 285 million people worldwide are visually impaired, with 90% being from developing countries. (3) In China, for example, levels of blindness are increasing each year, however critically, rates of blindness have been reported at up to 4 times higher in the developing world as compared to more economically developed countries (4, 5). This is particularly worrying given that around 80% of...
Read more

Do Contact Lenses Really “Support Your Vision”?

Image
Contact lenses have been frequently used as an alternative to glasses. Compared to the heavy-framed glasses in front of one’s eyes (optic glasses), thin plastic discs on the eye (contact lenses) help correct refractive errors in both myopic and hypermetropic users. The lens’ shape and power can be tailored to the user’s sight. A concave lens can be used to decrease myopia by reducing light refraction and increasing focal length so that the image is formed on the retina (1)  (Figure 1). Alternatively, a convex lens can be used to limit hypermetropia in an opposing mechanism to concave lenses (1) (Figure 1). Figure 1, An illustration of myopia and hyperopia and how adding lens of different shapes in front of the eye can be used to alter the refraction of light and correct each impairment in vision (10) Besides supporting sight, which both types of lenses can do, contact lenses confer some advantages that make them preferable to glasses. Unlike glasses, contact lenses are less li...
Read more