Abormal pap now normal?!?!
Question: I have hpv low grade. I have went to the doctor every six months for pap smears the past 3 years. I just went to my last appoitment and my pap smear results came back normal? Does this mean I'm cured or something?!? I am so confused. How can this happen?
Answers: I have hpv low grade. I have went to the doctor every six months for pap smears the past 3 years. I just went to my last appoitment and my pap smear results came back normal? Does this mean I'm cured or something?!? I am so confused. How can this happen?
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is never cured, unfortunately. Once a person is infected with HPV, the virus persists throughout life. There are about seventy types of HPV virus, and a subset of six or seven of those types is carries a significantly increased risk of cervical cancer.
The fact that you have had a pap smear that was read as "normal" does not mean that future pap smears will also be normal, so you should continue to get pap smears more frequently than women who do not have HPV.
For young women who do not have HPV, there is now a vaccine that should offer real protection against infection and the associated risk of cervical cancer. This protection is of such great importance that at least one U.S. state has considered making it mandatory for young women to be given the vaccine!
"HPV usually goes away on its own after a year or two as your body develops immunity to the virus. There are some strains of the virus that are thought to be more aggressive and if left for a long time, may promote more severe changes called dysplasia and even cancer. That is why the Pap changes need to keep being checked, to make sure they don't get worse over time."
-- http://www.wdxcyber.com/mcervix.htm
Ask your doctor how often you need to have Pap smears in the future.