Abnormal Papsmear?!
Question:
Abnormal Papsmear?
How common is it?
What are the risks?
What could be wrong?
What is the next step?
My sister-in-law just had an abnormal papsmear. My mother-in-law let my husband know and now he wants more answers. She has a way of making things out to be 100 times worse then they actually are. So, most of the time we never really know how bad something is. My mom has had many abnormal paps before and nothing was ever wrong with her. Please let me know so I can find a way to put my husband's mind at ease. He's really concerned about her! Thanks!
Answers:
Abnormal Pap smear results are often explained by an infection or an inflammation. Yeast infections, herpes, trichomonas, recent sexual activity, or use of vaginal preparations, are often things which cause an abnormal Pap smear result.
Many times the culprit is HPV or human papilloma virus, sometimes referred to as genital warts. HPV is a common infection in women and has been detected in women in their seventies; up to 60% of sexually- active women may carry this virus on their cervix, genital area, or skin and are completely unaware of it.
Being alarmed or worried is a completely normal reaction when told your Pap smear is abnormal but, it's important to remember that most cases of abnormal Pap smear results do not indicate cancer.
What an abnormal Pap smear does mean is further diagnostic procedures must be discussed with your physician; abnormal Pap smear results will usually require re- testing in three to six months or Colposcopy.