HPV infection.

Hello and thankyou for approaching DoctorSpring with your query.
I have gone through your case and understand your concern.

It has been seen that women after menopause or women above the age of 50 may present with an HPV infection, which was actually acquired years ago. This happens due to reactivation of the virus. The exact cause of this happening is not known. The HPV virus may exist below the limits of detection for say one to two years or longer.
Hence you present infection is likely to be due to reactivation of the virus.

50% of men and women are exposed to HPV in their lifetime. Since the prevalence is so high, it is difficult to say when exactly you would have acquired it.
You need not worry since most HPV infections subside in 6-12 months.

I hope this has helped. Feel free to follow up.
Thankyou

But why was i positive for low risk types 4 months ago and negative for high risk types and now 4 months later positive for high risk types? I just dont understand why the high risk was negative then

Hello,
I understand your concern. It is difficulty to say if it is a new infection or a reactivation.
In your case it is likely to be a reactivation, since the low risk type was positive and high risk negative.
Like I said earlier the exact cause of this reactivation is not known, but tends to occur post menopause or above the age of 50. I know you will probably say then why not 4 months back. Time frames differ, which is why routine screening has been advised among women till the age of 65. In some cases HPV is detected immediately while in others it can take months to years before detection. Hence it is difficult to say when a person would have got the infection. Besides prevalence is high, and hence nearly everyone is exposed to HPV once in their lifetime even in committed relationships.
But most infections clear in 6-12 months.
I hope this has helped.
Take care
Thanyou