HPV vaccination – small jab, big impact!

Your shield against infection!

The HPV vaccination offers effective and reliable protection against HPV infection for most people.

For optimal protection, the vaccination should be administered before the first sexual contact. However, the vaccination can also be useful for people who have already had sexual contact.

Currently, a vaccine is used that covers the two HPV types that most frequently cause genital warts and the seven high-risk types that are most frequently responsible for the development of precancerous lesions and cancer in the anogenital region.

The vaccination recommendations in the Swiss vaccination schedule issued by the Federal Office of Public Health are as follows:

  • 11 – 14 year old girls and boys (i.e. 1 dose before 15th birthday): 2 dose schedule (0 and 6 months).
  • > 15 year old girls and boys (i.e. 1 dose after 15th birthday): 3 dose schedule (0, 1-2 months and 6 months).
  • Follow-up vaccination of young women and men (up to 26 years, i.e. 1st dose before 27th birthday): 3 dose schedule.

Vaccination is paid for up to the age of 26 as part of the cantonal vaccination programmes. After the age of 26, cost coverage depends on your health insurance, supplementary insurances often cover part of the vaccination costs.

The HPV vaccination offers effective and reliable protection against HPV infection for most people.

For optimal protection, the vaccination should be administered before the first sexual contact. However, the vaccination can also be useful for people who have already had sexual contact.

Currently, a vaccine is used that covers the two HPV types that most frequently cause genital warts and the seven high-risk types that are most frequently responsible for the development of precancerous lesions and cancer in the anogenital region.

The vaccination recommendations in the Swiss vaccination schedule issued by the Federal Office of Public Health are as follows:

  • 11 – 14 year old girls and boys (i.e. 1 dose before 15th birthday): 2 dose schedule (0 and 6 months).
  • > 15 year old girls and boys (i.e. 1 dose after 15th birthday): 3 dose schedule (0, 1-2 months and 6 months).
  • Follow-up vaccination of young women and men (up to 26 years, i.e. 1st dose before 27th birthday): 3 dose schedule.

Vaccination is paid for up to the age of 26 as part of the cantonal vaccination programmes. After the age of 26, cost coverage depends on your health insurance, supplementary insurances often cover part of the vaccination costs.

The vaccination covers the most important, but not all cancer-causing HPV types!

Regular check-ups with your gynaecologist for early detection of precancerous lesions are therefore necessary and indispensable despite the vaccination.

Termin

An examination by a gynaecologist carried out regularly is the best prevention.

No other cancer can be prevented as effectively by screening as cervical cancer. Since the introduction of screening and treatment of precancerous lesions, the incidence rate has been reduced by more than 60%.

In Switzerland, it is recommended to start cervical cancer screening from the age of 21, regardless of the start of sexual activity or other risk factors. Under certain conditions, screening can be suspended at age 70.

During the screening, your doctor will take a cytological smear (called a Pap smear) from the cervix. The cells taken will be sent to the cytology laboratory where they will be assessed under the microscope.

Cells can be found in cytological smears that may indicate a precancerous stage or an already existing cancer. Precancerous lesions can thus be treated in time to prevent cervical cancer from developing. If detected early, cervical cancer is usually treatable and often even curable.

Condoms protect

But not always.

Condoms do not fully protect against HPV.

Human papilloma viruses are so highly contagious that even consistent safe sex does not guarantee complete protection against HPV infections.

This is because the virus is also present on the skin or mucous membrane that is not covered by the condom and can thus be transmitted, for example, before sexual intercourse or during oral sex.

But condoms still offer the best and safest protection against other sexually transmitted infections. Therefore, the condom should still not be dispensed with.

Can I do anything to help my HPV infection be eliminated from my body more quickly?

Infektion schneller vom Körper eliminiert wird?

There are various risk factors that you can influence to help reduce your individual risk of HPV infection and/or to help an existing HPV infection to heal more quickly.

These include:

  • Your personal sexual behaviour: Early first sexual contact or many different sexual partners in your life increase your risk of contracting HPV over the course of your life.
  • Immunosuppression: An intact immune system is the prerequisite for a rapid healing of an HPV infection.
  • Nicotine consumption: Smokers are more likely to have persistent HPV infections and to develop precancerous lesions.
  • Other sexually transmitted infections, such as chlamydia, increase the risk of a simultaneous HPV infection and favour the persistence of the HPV viruses… a good reason to get vaccinated.

My Pap smear is abnormal

What now?

Abnormalities in the cytological smear are often detected and are not always a cause for concern.

In the case of slight changes, a repeat Pap smear is usually recommended after 6 and 12 months. In these cases, the smear result often normalises spontaneously.

In addition, an HPV test is sometimes carried out to determine whether there is an infection with an HPV high-risk type that can possibly cause cancer.

If there are certain smear test results, your gynaecologist will recommend a colposcopy.

During this examination, the cervix is looked at with a colposcope (similar to a microscope). The cervix is dabbed with special solutions that make small changes visible and can thus indicate a precancerous condition. Such an abnormality can be specifically biopsied in the same examination.

In the case of more severe changes in the cervix, it is sometimes necessary to perform a conization. This is a small surgical procedure in which a small piece of tissue is removed from the cervix and tested for sexually transmitted diseases ( STD check).