How You Prepare
To ensure that your Pap smear is most effective, follow these tips prior to your test:.
1) Avoid intercourse, douching, or using any vaginal medicines or spermicidal foams, creams or jellies for two days before having a Pap smear, as these may wash away or obscure abnormal cells.
2) Try not to schedule a Pap smear during your menstrual period.
It's .
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Overview
A Pap smear, also called a Pap test, is a procedure to test for cervical cancer in women.
A Pap smear involves collecting cells from your cervix — the lower, narrow end of your uterus that's at the top of your vagina.
Detecting cervical cancer early with a Pap smear gives you a greater chance at a cure.
A Pap smear can also detect changes in your c.
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Risks
A Pap smear is a safe way to screen for cervical cancer.
However, a Pap smear isn't foolproof.
It's possible to receive false-negative results — meaning that the test indicates no abnormality, even though you do have abnormal cells.
A false-negative result doesn't mean that a mistake was made.
Factors that can cause a false-negative result include:.
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What does a Pap smear tell the Doctor?
A pap smear result will tell if the cells from the cervix are normal or abnormal.
When the test shows a normal result, patients may have nothing to worry about..
They should also inform the doctor know if they are pregnant or have had the test performed before and had abnormal results or are taking any kind of medication like birth control ..
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Why It's Done
A Pap smear is used to screen for cervical cancer.
The Pap smear is usually done in conjunction with a pelvic exam.
In women older than age 30, the Pap test may be combined with a test for human papillomavirus (HPV) — a common sexually transmitted infection that can cause cervical cancer.
In some cases, the HPV test may be done instead of a Pap sme.
