Early Stages of HPV on the Upper or Lower Lips of the Mouth

Did something unusual appear on your lips and you want to know if it’s HPV? Then stay with me, I’ll tell you how HPV starts in the mouth and everything you need to know about this condition.

Índice

1 What appears in your mouth when you have HPV? Symptoms
2 How do you get HPV on your lips?
3 How long does it take for HPV to appear in the mouth?
4 Types of HPV and their oncological risk
5 Treatment of HPV in the mouth
6 Prevention of HPV and warts on the lips
7 Lastly… what should you do if you have HPV?

What appears in your mouth when you have HPV? Symptoms

HPV, or human papillomavirus, is a DNA virus that has a strong affinity for skin cells and mucous membranes.

When this virus enters your body, it begins to infect skin and/or mucous membrane cells, causing their death and subsequent accumulation.

In the mouth, HPV could infect the oral mucosa cells, that is, the inner part of your mouth, cheeks, or palate. On the other hand, it could also infect the skin cells around the lips.

Specifically speaking, when it invades the skin cells of the lips, the virus causes the death of many cells, and these accumulate in the stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the epidermis.

This accumulation of dead cells manifests as warts. Warts are small bumps; they can appear on either lip, at the lip corners, or in areas near the lips.

Warts caused by HPV on the lips can be mistaken for canker sores. For this reason, if you’ve noticed an unusual bump on either of your lips, it’s advisable to see a doctor for an examination and diagnosis.

How do you get HPV on your lips?

You might be wondering, “How did that wart get on my lips?” Well, the human papillomavirus is mainly transmitted through sexual contact.

For this reason, it’s very likely that you contracted the virus by having sexual relations with someone infected with HPV. Given the location, it was almost certainly during oral sex…

Another less common route of transmission is through deep kissing and significant saliva exchange with someone who had HPV warts inside their mouth or on their lips.

These were some tips to help you know how to deal with HPV. However, there is much more you need to do if you really want to get rid of HPV and warts forever.

What you need to do is GET RID OF THE ROOT of the problem.

For that reason, I recommend you to look into Dr. Kirkland's story and how he was able to cure HPV and get rid of warts for good.

Click here to see what he did

How long does it take for HPV to appear in the mouth?

Young woman covering her mouth with her hand.

You might be trying to figure out who infected you, but I’ll tell you right away, it’s better not to…

First, because the time it takes for HPV to show in the mouth is highly variable. It can appear a few months to years after the contact that led to the infection. Therefore, determining exactly who and when you were infected is challenging.

And the second reason you shouldn’t is that the person who infected you probably didn’t know they had HPV and didn’t intend to…

HPV infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide. Every sexually active person is at risk, and a significant percentage of us will contract it at least once in our lives.

This is why taking preventive measures is crucial to reduce this risk. Later, we’ll discuss some of these steps you can take to prevent infection and transmission. But for now, let’s continue discussing HPV in the mouth and lips.

Types of HPV and their oncological risk

If you’ve done some research on HPV, you’ve likely found information stating that this virus can cause cancer.

And it’s true, but not in all cases… The thing is, HPV isn’t a single virus; it’s a large family consisting of over 200 variants.

Of these 200 variants, only a small group can cause cancer when the infection is prolonged. And an even smaller group can cause cancer in the mouth or, more precisely, the oropharynx.

To be specific, the serotype associated with oropharyngeal cancer is HPV-16. Fortunately, it doesn’t typically cause warts on the lips; HPV-16 warts appear inside your mouth, in the back area known as the throat.

Treatment of HPV in the mouth

The human papillomavirus has no cure. It heals on its own or, more accurately, thanks to your immune system, without any drug intervention.

Since your immune system is responsible for healing, it’s vital to keep it strong during the infection.

To do this, you should start taking actions to boost your immune system, like improving your diet and habits, avoiding stress, and engaging in physical activities.

If everything goes well, your immune system will cause the warts on the lips to disappear on their own, and it should take about two years to completely eliminate the virus from your body.

When the warts on the lips are very noticeable or embarrassing, a doctor might recommend treating them with an over-the-counter wart cream, such as salicylic acid, imiquimod, or trichloroacetic acid.

Similarly, there are some home remedies for HPV on the lips that you can try to remove warts.

However, it’s essential to clarify that even if you manage to make the warts disappear, the virus might still be in your body, and you could transmit it to others.

Prevention of HPV and warts on the lips

To prevent HPV, warts, and the potential complications that some HPV types can bring, like cancer, you have two options:

Always use latex barriers when having sexual relations, including oral sex.
Get the HPV vaccine if you’re under 26 years old.

Additionally, if you have warts on your lips and/or mouth, avoid deep or passionate kisses that might infect the other person.

Lastly… what should you do if you have HPV?