I asked my doc his opinion on getting the HPV vaccine later in life, even with unknown exposure. (Iām 59)
He agreed with the opinion that it could still help prevent/lessen cancer, even if one has already been exposed. He said if someone has throat cancer, they give them the hpv vaccine.
Iāll be getting it.
Iām in the healthcare field for over 40 years. Viruses are tricky sneaky critters: HPV may be transmitted sexually but may be transmitted by still unknown vectors. It causes oral, throat cancer but why not colon cancer as all GI cells are similar in origin. Get the vaccine! Even if you are over 45yo.
Maybe even over 70ā¦ā¦
Does HPV vaccine has to be prescribed by PCP or is available at a pharmacy?
Itās my impression most, if not all, states will require an perscription.
I do plan to call a CA pharmacy today to confirm this. Iāll be back here to let you know if the answer is no. (If CA requires one, I would guess most other states wouldā¦ just a hunch)
And thanks @RobK, that makes me feel that much better about getting one!! I asked another doc about it a couple years ago who simply said if not having new partners, it was of no use.
i had mine a few years ago
in some countries like australia they are routinely injecting this into teens i believe as a govt programme
in my country its not mandatory
HPV is pretty scary and can spread via skin contact no need sexual contact
just get ur shots IMO
for women, they can test for various high risk HPV via a pap smear/vaginal swab i believe, its pretty standard for women health.
for me, we have no tests for HPV. i believe you can get throat swabs and what not at some very specialised and expensive clinics i guess.
you can get HPV from anything. like literally, shaking hands, walking around a crowded swimming pool, drinking from random plates, walk around barefoot somewhere, etc
HPV does not spread from shaking hands, walking around a pool, drinking from plates, or walking barefoot. HPV requires direct skinātoāskin contact, usually involving genital or mucosal areas, and casual environmental exposure does not transmit highārisk HPV. If it were true 100% of population would have HPV.
From harvard health and personal experience of getting warts on my feet via walking barefoot on a contaminated surface.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/human-papilloma-virus-hpv-a-to-z
Human papillomaviruses usually are spread by direct skin contact, such as shaking the hand of someone who has a wart on their finger or having sexual intercourse with someone who has a genital HPV infection. Genital HPV infections can be spread by people with no symptoms.
Less often, the viruses are carried on surfaces touched by someone who has warts, especially inside shoes that have been worn by someone with plantar warts. Once a person has been infected with an HPV, symptoms usually take three to four months to develop. However, in some cases, warts have developed as long as two years after contact with an infected person or contaminated surface.
It requires some sort of abrasion - it you just shake hands itās innocent, donāt shake too hard 
And donāt wear other pplās shoes!
If the person ur shaking hands with has hpv warts on their hands, you could get it its really that simple.
I had warts on my feet once, the only possible way was i walked barefoot on contaminated surface and unluckily got it. I was v young then only around 20. I had to pluck the warts out but regrew. The GP diagnosed me and gave me some stuff to soak them in etc.
This hpv thingy is scary, so best to just get the vaccine asap.
We are surrounded by so many harmful little invisible things on a daily basis that theoretically we donāt even have a chance to survive. But it doesnāt mean that developing phobias will protect us. Just follow NORMAL hygiene rules, like wipe your cart 3 times when shopping, wash hands 100 times a day, wear double N95, donāt have unprotected sex (or even better - donāt have sex at all), donāt kiss and donāt touch other ppl, etc. 
While the graph shows good news, in fairness, I donāt think it is really showing that the HPV vaccine is doing this. The number of deaths is absolutely tiny - 10-50 deaths per 2 years. (No surprise, because dying of cervical cancer at less than 25 years old is insanely unlucky.) I also believe that younger people are having way less sex than previous generations, which would reduce virus transmission. I do strongly support the vaccine, but I think the biggest benefits are yet to come as those women get older. The graph even says āprobablyā and thus the description alongside is quite misleading.
But nobody has said that, have they? Whether you need abrasions on your skin or whatever is such a trivial point, because all of us will have some abrasions at some point, and we donāt know where and when we might catch HPV. And now thereās a highly effective vaccine on the market which prevents you being infected with a virus that causes like 10 different cancers. Seems common sense to me.
Vaccine is definitely a healthy option. Common sense to me too.