Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

I would most likely have her vaccinated. Protecting her against it is not giving her a green light , more like a yellow one, it may instill a sense of caution rather than a sense of freedom to have sex. If you are uneasy about her having discuss it with her daddy and see what he thinks and look up more info on the vaccination. Good luck!

I am going to go with the flow here, and advise that you have your daughter get the vaccination. I have an 11 year old and she will be getting it as soon as our pediatrician offers it. I will explain it is a vaccine just like all the others she has had until she is old enough to handle the rest of the pertinent information. She has already had the basic talk about sex and about it being a special act of love between two married people and that is all she needs to know for now. I will give her the rest as she needs it. I think this new vaccine is an important breakthrough. When I was fourteen my beloved stepmother died of complications from cervical cancer, two days before her 36th birthday. Nine years ago I had to have a cervical cone biopsy myself and I have been with my husband since I was 15. You never know what might happen to your daughter in her future, but there is nothing wrong with safeguarding that future as much as possible. God gave us brains to use, lets live up to that.

My daughter is now 27 but if it had been available when she was 7 I would definately have had her get it. She has HPP and must have a pap smear every 6 mos or perhaps it's a year as a result. She's had at least 2 biopsies because they found suspicious cells.

I agree with Marissa. The shot has nothing to do with whether or not she has sex. Whether you tell her about the shot is your decision. I certainly wouldn't discuss it now because it's not an appropriate topic at age 9. What is appropriate is to begin, if you haven't consciously already done so, at an appropriate level, instilling in her your values regarding sex. I do think the a child's parents have the first and most important influence on what their child does with sex.

I have a 3 year old daughter and I am definitely going to get her vaccinated. It doesn't give the green light to sex. But it can help protect them if they make a bad judgement. Not everyone can make good decisions all the time. Everyone makes mistakes and sometimes they are very costly. I am going to raise my daughter to wait until marriage but we all know the chances of that are slim, even with the best parenting.
Hope that helps!
S.

I don't have a daughter, but if i did I would definitley get her that shot! My Mom had cervical cancer which is caused, in most cases, by HPV. Thankfully she made it, but if not caught early enough, this is a very deadly cancer. I also have HPV and have had to have cells removed that could've become cancerous if not caught in time! The issue of sex need not even come up! Did she get hepatitis vaccines? That can be transmitted sexuallly, did you have to talk about the birds and bees then? She's going to "do it" when she wants, whether you like it or not. HPV is very, very common (I've read that 85% of sexually active people have it) and even if she waits until whenever, she could still get it if her parnter has had sex before with somoeone else, etc, etc. You could be saving her from cancer and that is more important than when she decides she's ready for sex. Just teach her to be smart and safe.

As an HPV sufferer myself, my fiance and I have decided to vaccinate his daughter when she's old enough. The pap smears/biopsies every 6 months are painful and expensive. No one should have to go through this if its preventable. I don't believe its a green light for sex, I feel its a potentially life saving vaccine. It's so common, and it has nothing to do with promiscuity. My fiance picked it up from his ex-wife, the only person he was ever with unprotected, and I picked it up from him, and I wasn't promiscuous in the least either.

L., this is T. L. Get her the shot! I found out about the shot after I found out I had HPV. Do not get HPV mixed up with sex. There are at least a 100 strains of HPV and like 20% are STD related. Some woman just get it.Like me. I have to go get a pap every 6 months for the rest of my life. And each time I have to worry if its turned into cancer. You don't want your daughter to go through this. Look HPV up on WebMD. It explains that only some HPV are STD related like gential warts. Even if your daughter doesn't has sex ever, she has a chance of getting HPV. Get the shot. Best Wishes, T.

Your pediatrician should tell you that the gardisill vaccine doesnt protect against all strains of HPV. It protects against the 4 the most commonly cause cellular changes associated with cervical cancer. It is still possible for your daughter to get HPV (which causes genital warts also) when she becomes sexually active. Over 85% of all sexually active persons have at least 1 strain of HPV and most do not know it because they have no symptoms - especially men.

Do your homework - make your own decision and educate your daughter as well.

L.,
It is in the works to start giving this vaccination as part of a childs well child visit, when they are under the age of 3. HPV has become an epidemic, and we need to do everything that we can do to prevent it from spreading. I wish I could get it myself, but currently, they are not offering it to anyone suffering from HPV, despite the multiple strains out there. Giving it to your daughter is responsible and smart. It is the right choice.
Good luck,
J.

I'd never even heard of HPV when I went in for my OB visit when I was pregnant with my 2nd child, and had my pap come back abnormal...and my doctor told me I had HPV. I'd never heard of HPV and all my doc told me was that it was related to cervical cancer. I was scared out of my mind & went to the net to get more info, but there wasn't much out there at this time.
They spoke about this same contervsary on The View yesterday, about whether or not this gives the okay for your child to have sex.
I don't think it does...if you are teaching your daughter right from wrong...and also reminding our kids that this does not prevent Aids, or any other STD, as well as pregnancy.
The other thing we need to keep in mind is that this vaccine hasn't been tested very long? How often do we see on T.V. that a medication has caused major illnesses (i.e. Vioxx & heart conditions.)
I think it is definitely something to consider, but also something that needs major investigating before having your child take the vaccine. There could be long term side effects that we don't even know about.

Hi L.,

You know, the first time I saw those TV ads on a disease I have never heard of before made me suspicous.

Please do not let your daughter get that vaccination. You really do not know what the "true" ingredients are that make up this vaccine.

Plus, what really is this HPV and what "cancer" is it supposed to be "protecting us from? I know cervical cancer, they say.

Follow the money: our Government>lobbyist>drug companies>doctors. There is your answer.

I think we, as women and young ladies, are being manipulated and deceived here.

Please do some more research on this and do not give your precious daughter this vaccine.

It could be a death wish. Really.

I do not think this vaccine has nothing to do with "protecting our young girls from having recreational sex."

Vaccine Controversy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccine_controversy

http://www.bloggernews.net/2006/07/cervical-cancer-vaccin...

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=...

Maybe these websites will give you the knowledge you seek.
God Bless,
M.

This is as close as I could get to what ingredients are in this vaccine: http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/Uses/0,3915,8883%7CGarda...

It shows me nothing!

Take for instance in the MMR and DpT vaccines, there is mercury, formaldyde, human fetuses,etc. Do you really think these ingredients are good for our bodies?

Please, please do more research. Pray and do more research on this vaccine that "we all of a sudden need or must have."

Oh,and you can always reschedule your appt. I did for my twins and their next round of DpT shots. My hubby and I are going to read a book about what is so wrong with today's vaccines. Having my twins become zombi-like is not high on my list right now.

Fact is that one day she will have sex. One day, when she is ready and hopefully, to make all of our dreams come true, when she is married and 50! ;o) But being as HPV can cause cancer, I say better safe than really sorry!