How do I prepare for Pap smear?

Have you booked an appointment for this crucial test? DR MONDA explains all the basics about it

Pap Smear is a screening test for cancer of the cervix. It ranks among the top success stories of modern medicine because it has saved many women’s lives. It is an early detection tool for cervical cancer, which is 100 per cent curable, caught in its early stages.

Here are a few basics on this crucial test:

When should one start doing Pap Smears?

Your first Pap smear should be done within three years of first sexual encounter. It is then done yearly for the first two years and if these two are normal, then it can be done every two to three years thereafter.

But this also varies because the general guidelines vary after the two first Pap Smears. A woman can still have a Pap smear done yearly if she chooses to or if she has a higher risk of developing cervical cancer. Women who are HIV-positive have to have a Pap smear done every six months because the disease progresses much faster in them.

When is the best time to have a Pap smear done?

Any time between the eighth to the 20th day after the start of your last period. You can’t have a Pap smear done during or too soon after your periods because the blood makes the smear difficult to ‘read’ accurately.

How do you prepare for it?

The general rule of thumb is not to have anything in the vagina for at least 48 hours before having a Pap smear. This means no sex, douching or using any vaginal medicines or spermicidal foams, creams or jellies.

Why should one start having a Pap smear within the first three years of their first sexual encounter?

The cause of most cervical cancers is the sexually transmitted Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and any sexually active woman is at risk of getting infected.

This is because HPV is the commonest sexually transmitted disease, is highly contagious, spreading easily through skin-to-skin genital contact. Penetrative sex is not necessary for one to become infected. Condoms are not completely protective of this highly contagious virus.

What about Pap Smear for young women below 18 years?

The test is important for women who start having sex in their early teens or below the age of 18 because their cervical cells are still immature and are rapidly dividing. This makes them more susceptible to abnormal changes caused by the HPV virus.

Regular Pap Smears are also important for women with multiple sexual partners, commercial sex workers and those in polygamous marriages because their spouse may transmit to her the cancer-causing agents from any of the other wives.

Cervical cancer is rare in celibate women like nuns.

Are there some women who do not need to have the test done?

Yes, virgins. This is because cervical cancer is caused by HPV, which is sexually transmitted and if you’ve never had sexual intercourse, you’re unlikely to get infected with the virus.

You can also stop doing Pap Smear if you are over the age of 70 or older and have had normal Pap tests over the past ten years or if you have had your whole uterus, including the cervix, removed for a non-cancerous condition such as fibroids.

Where can one have the test done?

At many government hospitals (where it is done for free or at a small fee), family planning clinics, big private hospitals, well-equipped laboratories and in private doctors’ clinics.