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Smear tests
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
We were having a talk about them at work and this woman told me that I should really get one. I am 19 and have been sexually active for 3 years and don't really know what happens when you get one? Can you also just phone up your doctors and book one?
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You lie up on the doctors table thing, ankles together and let your knees flop to the side, then the doctor or nurse will insert a speculum inside you and take a scraping of your cells using a little brush or spatula and then that gets wiped onto a slide and sent away to be analysed. That's it, at my surgery you can either have it done by your doctor or in an appointment with the practice nurse, give your Doctors a phone and ask who you should see
:yes: Couldn't have put it better myself. You may also like to take a peek at TheSite's article on smear tests
Also I didn't think a smear test was anything to do with STI's and only screened for cervical cancer. I might be wrong but I'm sure I read that the results in women younger than 25 can be questionable due to the changing of the cervix.
Either way tho, the test isnt that bad at all and in my case the worry was much worse than the test itself.
x
Edit: Just found this, might be of some use
http://www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/cervical/
According to the NHS direct site, the age is 25 for your first smear...
Ilora x
i went for my first one about a year and a half ago and have been about 5 times since due to the results of the 1st one and there not that bad.
Its hardly a bad trip. 5 minutes wasn't hell at all. Plus its best being safe.
imagine finding out that you have cancer or something like that and it could have been treated so easily if found during a routine smear but you didnt go....
its really worth it. im sure 5 min of your time and being a bit uncomfortable whilst it happens is worth it, it could save your life
i agree.
i got my 'happy 20th birthday! now come for a smear test!' letter and ignored it for 2 years cause i was so worried about what they would do to me.
eventually my doctor bullied me into having one, and afterwards i was just all 'is that it??'
no, it's not the most comfortable or dignified 5 minutes of your life, as everyone's said. but if you close your eyes and think about something else, it's soon over, and then you've got peace of mind for another 3 years.
apart from one of my friends had a nurse who said 'try to relax and just imagine it's a penis' which she was mortified by, but i thought was hilarious.
BUT there is a correlation between numbers of women with cervical cancer and the age at which they started being sexually active. That is all I was referring to.
Ilora x
I'd like to see that study. So is it the younger you fuck the more or less likely you are to get it :yeees:
more.
linky
most cervical cancers are caused by the HPV virus, which is sexually transmitted. the more you've had sex, the more likely you are to have it.
Ilora x
i remember reading that you should have them reguarly after youve become sexually active but it looks like its changed. I don't have to worry for another 9 years hopefully *phew*
i'm a bit concerned now. i want a smear done but apparently you really cant have them unless you are 25+ (unless you have symptoms). my friend asked for one and she was refused. i might try with my doctor at home (different councils etc).
Ilora x
They used to be horrible cold metal things but they're made of plastic now (well at least in my nhs area) and that makes a difference, believe me, I had enough of them shoved up my hoochie coochie when I was pregnant :yeees:
Your normal doctor does the tests? A GP or whichever?
I think it would be ackward to have the same person testing me for strep thats looking into my vagina