SMEAR TESTS ARE TOO UNCOMFORTABLE FOR ME

After the menopause, smear tests may be more difficult than before

QIam58andIam overdue for my smear test by about 3 years! I know I am supposed to go but I hate it, as it was always so uncomfortable, but since my menopause (I was 46) it has become more and more painful and so I keep putting it off. Is there anything else I could do instead?

I am sorry that you have found your cer vical screening tests so difficult. It is commoner for women to find cer vical screening more uncomfor table or painful after the menopause as the tissues of the vagina and vulva become dr yer due to the ef fects of the

Alack of oestrogen. There are other reasons why a smear test may be uncomfor table, ranging from vulva skin conditions or previous sexual trauma. Cer vical screening is offered every 3 years between the ages of 25 and 49 and ever y five years from the ages of 50 to 64. It aims to pick up pre cancerous changes in the cells of the cer vix which can then be treated before they become cancerous. The current cervical screening test is a primar y HPV test, where the sample is tested for the present of high risk Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which can cause cer vical cancer. If HPV is found then the cells from the sample will be examined under the microscope. Trials are currently being carried out for self sampling for HPV.

This is where you would take a swab yourself and inser t it into the vagina, just like a tampon, before sending it of f to the lab.

The swab looks like a cotton wool bud and you simply inser t it yourself. If it is positive you would then be called for a screening test by your practice nurse or GP. This may help people who find the test uncomfor table or difficult to attend, but currently is not available ever ywhere, though it may be in the future!