Should teens get the HPV vaccine

HPV is an acronym for the human papillomaviruses. This is a group of more than 200 related viruses with over 40 of them easily spread through direct sexual contact. It can also be spread from the skin and mucous membranes of the infected people to the skins and membranes of their partners during intercourse. It can be spread through vaginal, anal and oral sex. There are other types of HPV that are responsible for warts that do not appear in the genital area.

HPV infections are the most commonly transmitted in the united states, with approximately 14 million new genital HPV infections occurring every year. The centers for disease control have estimated that more than 90pcof men and 80pc of women who are sexually active will be infected by HPV, and shockingly half of these infections are the high-risk type of HPV.

Some HPV infections can resolve themselves within 1 or 2 years without any symptoms. However, some do cause infections and can persist for many years. These persistent infections can lead to cell changes that lead to cancer if they are left untreated.

Today, a lot of young teens are having unprotected casual sex. This has become part of modern culture, so much that teenagers opt to lose their virginity to fit in. It is no longer a moral or emotional issue when it comes to sexual intimacy, it is regarded as a social norm to ‘sleep around’. Unfortunately, a lot of young people engage in sexual behavior before they understand the consequences of not protecting themselves during sex.

For the majority of teenagers today, sex is regarded casually and the risks associated with unprotected sex are discovered after the damage has already been done. Needless to say, teenagers are exposed to sex while still very young through pornographic videos. Today, the internet serves as an all-access pass for teenagers who are curious about intercourse, without having to ask their older siblings, parents or guardians for advice, to save them the embarrassment of discussing it.

Parents also neglect the topic, finding it awkward to bring u the subject and give advise, if they do not live by the advice they give. Instead, teenagers explore through being sexually active and often asking the wrong people for advice. This usually leads to emotionally unstable teens who do not know how to handle the consequences of having casual sexual relationships with friends.

In some cases, students tease one another after having a sexual encounter or use social media to expose secrets and intimacies between sexual partners, either due to peer pressure or their own sexual gain. It is not unusual for misguided teenagers to use sex to body shame, bully or even ‘slut shame’ each other. This applies mostly to girls. The pressure to have a perfect life, and figure and please friends is very high among teenagers.

This makes them highly sensitive and vulnerable to peer attacks through bullying online and in person. While this is one consequence of engaging in sex with people whom you do not trust, sexually transmitted diseases such as HPV, Herpes, AIDS, Syphilis among other dangerous diseases, are easily passed around because of irresponsible sexual behavior.

Knowing the high risk of getting HPV infection from having sexual partners, it is inevitable that many young teenagers get infected. The high-risk HPV type 16 and 18 are the causes of cervical cancer. HPV is responsible for at least 70pc of all cancer cases. When it comes to anal cancer, the risks are higher with 95pc cases recorded being caused by HPV type 16, among other HPV causing cancers Is oropharyngeal cancer. It affects the base of the tongue, soft palate, and the tonsils.

HPV is a high-risk infection and girls should receive the vaccination before they become sexually active.