You might be able pick up HPV by coming into contact with an infected surface at the doctor’s office or in public places like the gym. The second possibility makes us even more squeamish.

Even if you and your partner aren’t having full-blown P-in-V sex, you can still get it from other types of fooling around-like by touching your guy or gal’s stuff (several of the studies showed evidence of hand-to-genital HPV transmittance) or playing with sex toys (researchers say that among samples of HPV-positive women they examined, HPV DNA was found on vibrators that had used 24 hours after they had been cleaned). The first is through other types of genital contact. Sign up for Women's Health's new newsletter, So This Happened, to get the day’s trending stories and health studies. This left them asking: If not through sex, how are people contracting it? Researchers analyzed 51 studies on HPV transmission, and they noticed that the virus was found in the genital tracts of 51 percent of female virgins. But according to new research published in the journal Sexual Health, HPV can be transmitted not only from non-penetrative sexual behaviors but also from seemingly safe spaces like your doctor’s office. Not something you want to gamble on.įor a long time, docs thought that practicing safe sex and keeping up with regular trips to the gyno (which you should always be doing anyway) were enough to ward off the STD.

Most of the time, HPV is pretty harmless (there are tons of strains and most of them are on the innocuous side), but in some cases, it can have serious consequences like genital warts and cervical cancer. As the most common sexually transmitted disease, checkups and conversations with your gyno about HPV are important.

Whether you’re sexually active or not, you’re probably familiar with human papillomavirus (HPV).

Can you get hpv from touching hands