How it happened, and how you can prevent it.
People contract HPV through any type of genital-to-genital contact, anal or even oral sex with an infected person - no intercourse required. It is also a nondiscriminatory virus; anyone has the potential to contract it. However, there are preventative measures to take, such as practicing abstinence, monogamy, limiting your number of sexual partners and always using a condom.

“I had only slept with two people in my entire life, and both times we had practiced safe sex,” says Julie who, to this day, doesn’t know how she contracted her HPV. “I did try to go after the culprit, only to find out that guys can’t be tested.”

To prevent an infection from persisting, women should avoid smoking, which weakens the immune system, and take a folic acid supplement along with a multivitamin. “Whether it recurs or not relates to a person’s sexual practices,” says retired gynecologist Dr. Harmon Michelson, in practice for over thirty years in Daly City, California. “If a person continues to have unprotected sex after the virus subsides, they have an increased chance of contracting it again. If they use protection, they have less of a chance.”

Gardasil: Guard yourself.
A few years ago, HPV wasn’t as publicly known as it is today. “This is probably because now, there is a new vaccination guarding against some strains of the virus,” says Michelson. The HPV vaccination, whose market name is Gardasil, consists of three shots over the course of six months, and studies indicate that it completely prevents people from contracting four cancer-causing strains of the virus. It’s recommended for girls before they start becoming sexually active (as young as 9 years old) or before the suggested age limit of 26. “The older the woman is, the more likely her sexual practices have subsided, or she is in a monogamous relationship,” says Michelson. But remember, it’s just a suggested age. Older women who are sexually active and not in monogamous relationships should still speak with their gynecologists about protecting themselves.