Is an HPV Home Test Kit Right For You?

Have you considered taking an HPV home test kit?

It’s time to face facts: Human Papillomavirus, or HPV, is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) there is. If you watch the news, you’ve probably noticed that HPV has been the source of much political controversy. That said, it is a sexually transmitted infection that affects a surprisingly high number of people. In fact, most sexually active men and women in the United States have contracted HPV at some point in his or her life. To make matters worse, the infection usually has no symptoms.

When it comes down to it, the only way to know your status for sure is by testing. For maximum convenience, you should consider testing from home. After all, myLAB Box offers two HPV test kits for women 30 years of age or older that can provide results without you ever needing to set foot in a doctor’s office or clinic.

How Does HPV Work?

First things first, HPV is easily transmittable through intimate skin-to-skin contact with someone who has HPV. Fortunately, all is not lost. Most of the time, an HPV infection is relatively harmless and can clear up on its own, especially if you are a woman under 30 years of age. Overall, there are more than 100 types of HPV. Of these, there are 14 high-risk HPV types.

One scary aspect of HPV is its connection to cancer. For some women, HPV can develop abnormal cells that could lead to cervical cancer when left untreated. Fortunately, the HPV vaccine is very effective against high-risk types.  

Who is at Risk?

With such a high rate of infection, you’d think that almost everyone is at risk for HPV… and you’d be right. Most of the time, HPV is transferred during sexual activity. This means skin-to-skin contact, including vaginal, anal, or oral sex.

That said, some people are at greater risk than others. Age also plays a factor since teens and young adults are more susceptible to genital warts. Other risk factors that increase your chance of infection include a weak immune system.

One of the largest issues with HPV is that it is downright difficult to detect the virus without a proper screening. Many infected folks never exhibit any visible symptoms. This happens in a lot of cases.  

As you may have guessed, using an HPV home test kit or visiting a clinic is the only way to truly know your status.

Does myLAB Box Offer an HPV Home Test Kit for Everyone?

Sadly, the answer here is “no.” As of today, there is not a reliable HPV test available for men. For women under 30 years old, HPV will likely clear on its own and testing is not recommended for women under 30 years old.  myLAB Box offers two HPV test kits for women over the age of 30. The HPV for Women 30+ and the Cervical Cancer Screening using HPV kits both use the same laboratory test to detect high risk-HPV types. Both of these kits are listed separately on the myLAB Box website because some women are looking for a cervical cancer screening test and others are looking for an STD test kit that detects high risk-HPV types.

Please do not order these two kits at the same time because they are the same test. However, in cases where high-risk HPV is detected, your doctor will provide a special treatment plan. In the meantime, when additional tests become available for more customers, we’ll let you know!

Reviewed by Luis Ferdinand M. Papa, MD, MHA