Why should I bother w/ a pap smear? It seems gross to me. Am I immature?!
Question: Why should I bother w/ a pap smear? It seems gross to me. Am I immature?
Answers:
It is uncomfortable, but they exist for a reason. You should be getting them after 18 regardless of whether or not you're a virgin. The doctor doesn't see you completely naked. You wear a sheet/paper covering dress thing and just lift it up when its time to get checked. Even when you're getting checked the upper half of you is still totally covered. You're mom isn't doubting you! She just cares about your health and knows that women need to get checked because you could have an infection/cancer and not even know about it. It literally takes 5 minutes and then you're done. I was terrified to get it done and still DREAD them but I know i'd rather be safe than sorry! I had my mom come in the room and hold my hand. She couldn't see what the doctor was doing cause the sheet covered everything cause me knees were propped up. It's really not that bad.
Good luck =]
Since you're still a virgin, you should definitely get the HPV vaccine. Then you may not need the pap smear. However, at 22 you probably do need a base line examination by a gynecologist. Modesty is good, but that much modesty can endanger your life.