How Can a Pap Smear Test Be Helpful?

Cancer is a deadly disease, and there are various forms of it that impact different parts of the body. One of the prominent types of cancer impacting females is cervical cancer. The sad part is that you will only know about the diseases when the problem has aggravated. Hence, one has to be very careful about it. With timely testing, you can diagnose the problem (if any) at an early stage and overcome the issue without it affecting your health too much.  This blog highlights the details of the pap smear test.

What is Pap Smear Test?

Pap test helps in diagnosing cervical cancer. In this test, a sample of the cell is taken from the cervix and tested to check if there is any abnormal growth in the cervix. It is true that you can feel some pain during this test. But with regular and timely testing, you can save yourself from the severity of cervical cancer. 

• This test is highly recommended for women who are 30 plus years of age. It is usually recommended that women opt for this test once every three years from their puberty. In this regard, you can consult your doctor, and he or she can suggest you a pep smear test for getting confirmation of cancer.

• In case a woman has compromised immunity or is HIV positive, doctor can suggest her to go for this test frequently. If a woman is 40 years of age and has no abnormal growth, they can go for this test every five years, and after 60, they don’t require to go for this test. Like blood tests, a pap test is a must for every woman who has achieved puberty. For more information about this test, you must contact a good doctor. 

• The virus that is responsible for causing this cancer is HPV or Human Papilloma Virus. A person who has HPV has a higher probability of getting infected with this disease.

FAQs about pap smear test:

There are a few questions that haunt the mind of every woman, and here you can clear your doubts about this test:

1. Does sexual intimacy increase the prospects of getting affected by this disease?

HPV transmission is a disease caused by sexual activity. Hence, having sex without protection or pre-mature sex can be dangerous. But here, we would like to mention that cervical cancer is not solely because of this, and abnormal growth of tissues because of compromised immunity can also be one reason. Hence, it is recommended for better assessment to go for this test at least once in three years. 

2. What is a normal pap test?

A normal negative test shows that there is no abnormal growth in the cervix. This is a good sign, but you must ignore that a test after every three years is recommended to avoid any problem in the future. 

3. What does abnormal pap smear test mean?

Well, in simple words, oy means that there is an infection in the cervix. It indicates that there is an abnormal growth in the cervix. The doctor would study the reports and, based on them, understand the test's intensity. If required, they will also recommend going for a biopsy test to understand the severity of the abnormal growth. 

Many women question if it is important to go for this test. Well, we would highly recommend opting for pap smear test after every three years. Knowing about the problems in advance reduces the severity of infection. At the same time, it also reduces the chances of infection by up to 80%. Today, when the world is fighting against the deadly diseases, we can surely understand the importance of good health and immunity.