Determining the difference between Herpes and HPV can be confusing if you aren’t familiar with the two viruses. They are both viral infections and can be spread by sexual activity.
Both of these sexually contagious diseases can have some major consequences. HPV stands for Human Papilloma Virus and has many similarities with the Herpes Virus. Some people actually get these two different contagious diseases mixed up. They are kind of similar but there are some major differences between these two sexually transmitted diseases.
How They Spread
With both of these viruses they can be spread through sexual activity. That means that you can pass the virus along to other sexual partners. Both of these diseases really have no cure for them. Even though there is no cure for them there are still lots of treatments that can help with the symptoms.
Symptoms
One of the major differences between the two diseases is the rate or time of decreased symptoms and outright elimination from the whole physiological system. HPV is suspected of clearing up in some time period. Ninety percent of HPV cases can clear up without treatment within two years. There is some debate by scientists over whether or not HPV leaves the human body at all. For the most part the HPV can be eliminated at some point without any treatment at all.
With the Herpes Virus infection it is a permanent fixture in the human body for as long as the person is alive. The Herpes Virus is known to have periodic outbreaks from the first point of infection. Herpes Virus is known to show an outbreak of white blister sores within a week or so of contracting the disease. From that initial outbreak the symptoms are known to occur almost randomly like in weeks, months and even years after the initial one.
Although the Herpes virus is known to stay in the human body permanently it does decrease the rate of symptoms over time. Herpes Simplex is known to stay in the body permanently while HPV is known to clear up and out of the system on its own.
Prevention and Spread
The Herpes Virus also has less strains of the virus than HPV. The herpes Virus has about 10 strains of this disease. The HPV can have up to one hundred strains of the virus! The two basic strains of the Herpes Simplex virus include Herpes Simplex 1 and Herpes Simplex 2.
Herpes Simplex 1 is described as those symptoms affecting the oral area of the mouth. Herpes Simplex 2 is the virus that affects the area below the waist including the genitals. Type one herpes usually is associated with cold sores around the mouth. It is estimated that half the population has the strain of Type 1 Oral Herpes. A more alarming fact of Oral Herpes is that ninety percent of the population will have been exposed to this strain by age fifty. If the person becomes infected he will have this disease over their lifetime.
In contrast the HPV infection is not a permanent fixture in the human body. The two viruses also have differences in how the breakouts occur and what kind of sores that occur. Both viruses create different kinds of sores in the genital areas. The Herpes Simplex 2 can have sores or blisters in the genital areas. Unlike the HPV infection Herpes 2 can be very sore and painful. The Herpes virus creates a bundle of white blister like sores.
The Herpes virus is not dangerous unless spread to a new born baby. This is why it is important to keep the child away from these sores. The Herpes virus can be very painful and it will heal within a couple of weeks then it could come back after a few weeks, months or even years. If having sexual relations with your partner who doesn’t have Herpes it is important to wear a condom.
HPV
HPV in comparison to the Herpes virus has less severe rash or sore. HPV creates a symptom that is called Genital Warts. These Genital Warts are not as painful as the sores caused by Herpes Simplex. These various sized genital warts of the HPV disease are not as painful but they can be much more serious than the sores of Herpes.
Symptoms and Effects
HPV Genital Warts can be small or large bumps located throughout the vaginal, anal and even oral areas. It is possible in many case to not even be able to see these warts. Often times they are located in areas of the mouth, vagina and anus that cannot even be seen by the naked eye. The HPV disease often goes undiagnosed because of the hidden nature of these warts. The treatment for these Genital Warts is a topical cream that can be applied to them. They can also be surgically removed.
Complications
HPV disease is something that can leave the body on its own or can develop into a lot more dangerous complications involving the growth of cancers. Although it takes years to develop into these cancers HPV is more dangerous in the long run than Herpes Simplex virus. Some of the cancers that can develop are cervical and cancers of other organs and body parts.
Cancers Cause
Some of these other cancers that can develop are cancer of the vagina and penis along with cancer of the throat and tongue. The good news is that there is HPV vaccines that can be given before all this can take place. Sometimes HPV goes undetected. It is estimated that 10,000 women a year get cervical cancer from this virus. So you can see many similarities between these viruses and that the threat of HPV can lead to cancer. One last note about Herpes as far as complications. It is documented that having Herpes can lead to a bigger chance of getting the AIDS virus under the right exposure.