Did you get infected with HPV virus while getting a manicure?
Many people know that the main transmission route of HPV virus (human papillomavirus) is through sexual activity. However, why can a regular manicure also lead to HPV infection?
Doctors say that the level of nail salons on the market varies greatly, and many nail tools are difficult to achieve “one person, one change” and lack strict disinfection. It is recommended that when choosing nail services, choose nail salons with better hygiene conditions. For people who have skin diseases or are prone to eczema, dermatitis and other diseases, it is recommended to avoid nail enhancement and nail polish.
After nail art, if there are adverse reactions such as redness, swelling, blistering, peeling, exudation, etc., you should seek medical attention at a dermatologist as soon as possible.
These behaviors are also prone to HPV virus infection
- Take a sauna, swim, or soak in hot springs
A female patient was diagnosed with HPV type 16 in the hospital, and she was very surprised. She had no problems during the previous year’s physical examination at her workplace and had not had sexual intercourse in the past year. However, she often went swimming and even soaked in a hot spring once during this year.
Can swimming or soaking in hot springs also lead to HPV infection? Liu Yanchun stated that female HPV infection cannot be ruled out as a factor of environmental pollution.
Although sexual activity is an important route of HPV infection, due to the fact that the HPV virus tends to exist on the skin and mucous membranes, coupled with the fact that many people now go to public places such as saunas, swimming, hot springs, etc., if the environment in these places is not thoroughly disinfected, they may be infected, especially when using some public goods that are more prone to infection.
- Frequently barefoot and prone to foot sweating
According to a report by Urban Express in 2022, a 10-year-old patient named Xiao Jun (pseudonym) was admitted to Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. His sole was covered with dense small bumps, each about the size of a soybean, with a few blackened on the surface and over ten on each sole.
After diagnosis, the small bumps on Xiao Jun’s feet are called plantar warts, commonly known as prickly bumps or bumps. This is a common foot disease, often caused by HPV infection, which can be transmitted through small skin abrasions and self inoculation, leading to an increasing number of cases.
Doctors say that small patients like Xiao Jun are not uncommon. Most of them are in their teens, and some of them got plantar warts because they went to taekwondo or dance classes during the summer vacation, practicing taekwondo or dancing barefoot. There are also teenagers who enjoy playing basketball and tend to sweat on their feet. Later, they developed dense plantar warts on the soles of their feet.
Most patients with plantar warts have a common characteristic: they like to go barefoot and sweat profusely on their feet. So in summer, there will be a significant increase in such patients, mainly young people.
- Infection caused by contact between family members’ belongings
In the family, if the infected person does not handle their underwear, towels, etc. correctly, it can also cause contact infections.
The doctor said that there have been cases of mothers being infected with HPV in outpatient clinics, causing three – and four year old children to be infected with HPV. Some infected individuals have no symptoms and do not seek treatment after being infected, leading to environmental pollution.