Can your body clear high risk HPV?
William Taylor
Published Apr 23, 2026
Common high-risk HPV types include HPV 16 and 18. Infection with HPV is very common. In most people, the body is able to clear the infection on its own. But sometimes, the infection doesn't go away.
Can your body get rid of high-risk HPV?
High-Risk and Low-Risk HPV TypesMost people who become infected with HPV do not know they have it. Usually, the body's immune system gets rid of the HPV infection naturally within two years.
Can high-risk HPV go away and come back?
There's no guarantee that genital warts won't grow back again because HPV changes the cells of your body in a way that makes them likely to grow. If you have high-risk HPV that sticks around or goes dormant and keeps coming back, that's when it becomes cancer causing (or what doctors call oncogenic).How do you get rid of high-risk HPV?
Treatment
- Salicylic acid. Over-the-counter treatments that contain salicylic acid work by removing layers of a wart a little at a time. ...
- Imiquimod. This prescription cream might enhance your immune system's ability to fight HPV . ...
- Podofilox. ...
- Trichloroacetic acid.
How often does high-risk HPV go away?
HPV Very Rarely Becomes Cervical CancerFor 90 percent of women with HPV, the condition will clear up on its own within two years. Only a small number of women who have one of the HPV strains that cause cervical cancer will ever actually develop the disease.