Teen Boys and the HPV Vaccine
The FDA recently approved the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccine for boys ages 9-26 years. It has already been approved for girls ages 9-26 years. The vaccine includes the HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18 which are major contributors to the development of vulvar, vaginal, cervical, anal, penal cancers and genital warts.
Although it is approved for the prevention of cervical cancer and genital warts in girls, its approval in boys is just for the prevention of genital warts. These warts are the second most common sexually transmitted disease (STD) in teens present in seventy percent of sexually active teens; however, it does not have to be spread sexually. It is spread through skin-to-skin contact and so can be passed from mother to daughter as the baby is delivered through the vaginal canal as easily as it can be spread through non –intercourse sexual behavior like dry humping and mutual masturbation.
Genital warts are bumps or warts on the genital skin that can cause pain, itching, bleeding or no symptoms at all. The practical problems though are nothing compared to the blow your teen’s self-esteem must withstand after receiving the diagnosis of genital warts.
Having genital warts can influence a teen’s identity development such that they believe that “No one can love them” since they have warts. They may “settle” in relationships and keep themselves in a violent relationship or a position to be taken advantage of because of this belief. The ripple effect of this diagnosis is significant. Prevention is significantly better than cure, which genital warts cannot be.
Whether you are vaccinating your daughter or your son, get your questions answered about the vaccine that prevents the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the entire world and prevents the second most common STD among sexually active teens (present in seventy percent of sexually active teens), the HPV vaccine.
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