Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom (61 page)

Let’s put the whole discussion of risks and benefits into perspective by looking not just at percentages but at absolute numbers. There are on average 9,710 new diagnoses of cervical cancer and 3,700 deaths from the disease in the United States each year, according to the CDC. Of these, 70 percent are related to HPV. That’s about 6,790 cases. More than fourteen types of HPV are associated with cervical cancer. Gardasil is thought to protect against the four most common ones that are implicated in about 90 percent of HPV-associated cases—which means the number of cervical cancer cases that it might potentially prevent against is fewer than 6,000. Recall that 75 percent of all people have been exposed to HPV, but very few get cervical cancer. Those who develop cervical cancer typically have a weakened immune system. Even then, the vast majority of cervical cancer cases could be prevented with routine screening, safe-sex practices, and early treat ment measures that are already in place.

As Thomas Nolan, M.D., chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Louisiana State University Health Science Center, a renowned expert on HPV, and a critic of the HPV vaccine, writes in
The Female Patient,
“I have seen billions of dollars spent on HPV research over the last 25 years. . . . The statistics show that we have done an excellent job. The number of new cervical cancer cases and the mortality from this disease have declined by 4 percent annually over the past 20 years, with the death rate falling by 74 percent between 1955 and 1992.”
²⁶

Though some women might benefit from this vaccine, you have to ask yourself: Who really benefits by vaccinating millions of girls and women with a vaccine that costs about $360 per dose, isn’t always safe, may not always work, and doesn’t guarantee immunity for longer than five years? As Katharine Hikel, M.D., and author of Medscape’s Green Mountain Doc blog, put it, “It is shameful that this has happened largely at the unopposed instigation of Big Pharma. Perhaps what we really need is a vaccine to protect doctors from the adverse effects of marketing.”
²⁷

H
ELP FOR
S
IDE
E
FFECTS FROM
G
ARDASIL

If you (or someone you know) experiences side effects after receiving a Gardasil immunization, report them to a health care professional immediately. In addition, here are some steps that may minimize the damage:

Maintain a diet that includes optimal nutrition (see
chapter 17
).

Take pharmaceutical-grade multivitamin-mineral and anti-oxidant supplements.

Consider seeing a health care practitioner who is familiar with oral chelation, a detoxification regimen that can be very effective for ridding the body of toxic heavy metals often included in vaccines, such as aluminum and mercury. (I particularly recommend Zeolite, although be sure to choose a brand that has been proved effective by third-party labs. I have found Waiora to be the most reliable brand so far. To find a health care practitioner who is familiar with such detoxification regimens, visit the website for the Institute for Functional Medicine at
www.functionalmedicine.org
.)

Use vibrational healing, such as following the protocol for applying Divine Love as outlined by the World Service Institute (see
www.worldserviceinstitute.org
) or working with a vibrational healer (such as Deena Spear; see
www.singingwoods.org
).

HPV Prevention

Condoms

Although condoms can’t prevent all cases of HPV because the virus can live in cells not covered by the condom, they do greatly reduce the chances of infection—even more than previously believed. A University of Washington study done in 2006 showed that women whose partners
always
used condoms were 70 percent less likely to be infected with the HPV virus, while those whose partners used condoms half the time reduced their risk by 50 percent.
²⁸

Additional Means of Prevention

Any and all modalities that shore up your immunity will help prevent HPV infection and transmission. These include making sure your vitamin D level is optimal (see page 356). Following the program in the Master Program for Optimal Hormonal Balance and Pelvic Health (See
chapter 5
) is prevention at its finest. And the suggestions in nutritional and energy medicine approaches to HPV can also be used for prevention.

HERPES

Herpes is a kind of virus that can cause small, painful ulcers on the vulva, in the vagina, or on the cervix. Herpes viruses can also cause cold sores. Herpes viruses are divided into several types. Type 1 (HSV-1), the kind that causes cold sores, tends to live “above the belt,” but it can also cause genital herpes. In fact, herpes simplex type 1 has now emerged as a major cause of genital herpes, particularly among college-age popula tions, in which oralgenital contact is the biggest risk factor in up to 80 percent of new cases of genital HSV infections.

Type 2 tends to live “below the belt” and up until very recently has been the most common herpes virus associated with genital herpes. Type 2 can occasionally live “above the belt,” too, and cause oral infections. Once a person has herpes, he or she has it for life. A herpes virus that is dormant (or latent) resides in the infected tissue around the lips (either genital or oral) or in the spinal nerves.

At least 45 million people (one out of five adolescents and adults) in the United States have had a genital HSV infection.
²⁹
While the percentage of those infected rose about 30 percent from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, that number has decreased some over the past decade. Even so, as many as 1 million new cases of genital herpes occur annually. Genital HSV-2 infection is more common in women. The CDC reports that about one out of four women have HSV-2, while in men, the figure is closer to one out of eight.

This may be because male-to-female transmission is more likely than female-to-male transmission.

Both HSV-1 and HSV-2 have the same symptoms. But the frequency of genital reactivation is much less with HSV-1, which rarely recurs after the first year of infection.
³⁰
In contrast, type 2 (HSV-2) can continue to recur for many years.
³¹
This difference in prognosis is a good reason to have a blood test if you suspect you have been infected.

Symptoms

As with HPV, most women who have been exposed to herpes never get sores and therefore have no reason to suspect that they have the virus. In a 1997 survey, fewer than 10 percent of people who tested positive for herpes knew that they were infected.
³²
Many women attribute their mild genital symptoms to something else, such as a yeast infection or irritation from panty hose. In fact, in one study of women at high risk for sexually transmitted diseases, 47 percent had evidence of the virus on testing, though only one-half of these had ever had any symptoms.
³³
When the virus becomes active, however, it causes very characteristic small ulcers on the genital organs. The first episode of herpes outbreak that a person has (known as a primary herpes infection) can be extremely painful, resulting in a fever, systemic illness, swollen lymph nodes in the groin, genital pain, and even an inability to urinate secondary to pain and herpes infection in the bladder or urethra. Herpes virus can also cause urinary retention by temporarily paralyzing the motor nerves to the bladder. This is rare and also self-limiting. After a primary herpes outbreak, a person will almost never have symptoms this severe again, since the body produces antibodies to the herpes.

Subsequent outbreaks are known as secondary herpes. These usually start with a sensation of tingling in the affected area, prior to the outbreak of an actual sore. Some women will feel pain down their legs as well, because the herpes virus lives in the portion of the spinal nerves that innervate both the genitals and the inner thighs. Emotional factors, such as depression, anxiety, or hostility, may allow increased production of the herpes virus and subsequent chronic vaginal irritation.
³⁴

However, herpes tends to “burn itself out” after a number of years. That means that a person may get outbreaks frequently for a year or two, but they usually don’t continue. One of my patients had only one outbreak. At the time of this outbreak she had found out her husband was having an affair. She eventually divorced him, is now in another relationship, and has
never
had a recurrence. Her immune system has kept the herpes virus inactive, even though her lifestyle includes behav iors that are often associated with immune system depression, such as heavy smoking and the stress of constant dieting. In this woman’s case, her immune system in the genital area is keeping her herpes in remission—further evidence that the immunity of our entry points is enhanced when our one-on-one relationships are going well.

Diagnosis

Given the high number of women (and men) who don’t know they have herpes, the most accurate way to diagnose it is through blood testing. Serologic testing is available that detects the specific glycoproteins in the two different herpes strains, HSV-1 and HSV-2. It is important to make sure you get a test that is glycoprotein-based because older, less accurate tests that are nonglycoprotein-based provide inaccurate results. A finger stick test known as a biokit HSV-2 can be done in a doctor’s office. Other glycoprotein-specific assays can be drawn and sent to a reference lab. (For more information on herpes tests, visit
www.herpesdiagnosis.com/blood.html
.
www.herpesdiagnosis.com/blood.html
.)

If you have an active herpes sore, or have developed herpes for the first time, cultures can be taken by a health care practitioner. Cultures can also be taken even when you are asymptomatic to determine whether or not you are shedding virus. But one negative test on a given day doesn’t guarantee that you won’t be shedding virus at another time.