Smear results normal

[missbish]

I got mine on the nhs app, has anyone else received them this way ? Just wanted to ask what “high risk hpv not detected” actually means ? Do they only look for this and not actual cancer cells ?

Correct. They test first for HPV. If you don’t have HPV, no further testing is done on the sample.

Interesting, thanks ! So is this because only hpv causes cervical cancer ?

https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/cervical-screening/why-its-done/

Yes over 99% of cervical cancers are caused by high risk HPV (HR-HPV). If your sample shows no evidence of HR-HPV the chance of abnormalities is negligible. It’s a normal result 🙂

This is reassuring to know ! So can we randomly get hpv even if we have the same sexual partner ? Or otherwise why bother to do screenings every three years ? I was actually told if results are normal they’re going to five year tests now

https://www.nursinginpractice.com/clinical/womens-health/period-blood-test-could-offer-less-invasive-cervical-screening-approach/
Just found this online ! This could be amazing for plenty of women who can’t cope with the actual invasive nature of a smear test !

When does the 5 year change kick in?

I had one done recently, the nurse said it can lay dormant in you for years and be triggered by low immune system/stress. Most people’s bodies clear it out themselves within two years. She said 8 out of 10 women carry it. If someone gets a positive result they could have had it for years.

HPV can remain dormant for years - that's why it can pop up suddenly after testing.

I know everyone is different but even if there was self testing I'd prefer for a nurse to have a look at my cervix and vulva in case she sees anything amiss.

But yes for those who can't bear smear tests, home testing would be great. My next smear is on Friday - I'm on five year intervals.

Its been 5 yearly in Scotland for a few years now. I had high risk hpv detected 2 years ago and had to go 1 year later for a follow up smear by which time the hpv had cleared so I was back to every 5 years

Kicked in on July 1st last year. Anyone screened since that date with a normal result will be called in 5 years in England.

Ahhh, so hpv can pop up like shingles ?! When you’re run down ? And I take it it doesn’t always turn into cancer ? I’m 36 years old and only just learning all this stuff, wth!

My niece had high risk hpv detected with cell changes and had to go for a colposcopy. In the end she got the all clear but still has to attend in 1 year to check if the hpv is still present as it can come and go.

I’m glad she had the all clear ! Can I ask how old she is ?

You can get HPV even if you have the same partner, if (a) your partner has HPV but hasn’t had any active disease but then suddenly gets some genital warts pop up, then the HPV can be transmitted via skin to skin contact (even if you use condoms). Most of the high risk HPV strains aren’t the ones that cause warts though, so they can go undetected and be spread from a long term partner,

or (b) just because you are only having sex with your partner obviously doesn’t mean your partner is only having sex with you. Where HPV pops up after many years it can often mean there has been sex outside the relationship with someone who had HPV. Different infection entirely but a huge amount of HIV infection (not HPV) for heterosexual women is picked up during antenatal screening. These are generally women who thought they were in a monogamous, low risk relationship, but the screening is done because realistically, sometimes they’re not.

And yes, your results are exactly what you want. No HPV infection detected so you are not deemed high risk for further screening.

She was only 25 - came up on her first smear test

This has actually been a thing for a few years now in poorer and less developed countries like Africa and India. I'm guessing because they might not have the infrastructure or facilities to process the regular "smear test" and maybe the women wouldn't accept the speculum exam anyway

The science of dormant HPV and reappearance is a field quite a few scientists have been looking at…

An example, a study of middle-aged women found that women who were not having sex at all and women in long term relationships with one existing sexual partner had very similar rates of new HPV detections after a previous negative test. Whilst those women with new partners had higher rates, researchers in this field acknowledge in it that risk from “new sexual partners alone may actually be an overestimate because women with new sexual partners would still be at risk for HPV reactivation and redetection”

A new positive HPV test does not “often”mean infidelity, even if you tested HPV negative before.
The NHS is also clear that you can get a new positive result with no new exposures, stating “You can have it even if you have not been sexually active or had a new partner for many years.” This is because the body of evidence in this area supports it, not just from the study I have mentioned but others too.

So it’s really important if you’ve always had negative cell checks or negative HPV before that you still go when you’re called, even if you’ve not had sex at all since your last exam or haven’t changed partner.

Link to study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8064050/
Link to NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/human-papilloma-virus-hpv/

Yes all the research is so interesting. Well I'm off for mine tomorrow 😁 legs akimbo

I don't agree with the new hpv only testing.

Women over 35 did not receive the hpv vaccines as a teenager so are actually still a high risk of non hpv cancers.

The rates of non hpv cancers in this age bracket are actually rising.

But us old ones don't matter to the NHS. It's all about saving money instead of saving lives.

I now pay privately for an 'old style' smear every two years due to having CIN3 cells in my twenties, despite never having a positive HPV test. I basically have half a cervix as they had to remove so much with the laser. It sucks to be deemed unworthy of treatment or preventatives.

Hi can you elaborate on this further as I’m confused how women over 35 are at risk for more non hpv cervical cancers ? What are other causes of it ?
I left school in 2006 and it wasn’t long until they started giving the vaccine so I literally just missed it, which is annoying !

https://www.obermair.info/latest-news/blog/how-common-is-non-hpv-cervical-cancer/

From what I've read, the non HPV cervical cancers aren't easily detected by smears and that they can form up in the cervix where the brush doesn't collect cells. This article suggests that some might have been HPV positive initially and then become HPV negative when the cancer progressed.

Non-HPV related cancer is more common in older women (50+) than younger ones, but still pretty rare overall. These types of cancer are also symptomatic, hence why we investigate carefully any reports of unusual bleeding, postcoital bleeding and pelvic pain and discharge.

Remember a smear is a screening tool and not a diagnostic one, so older women should always report unusual vaginal bleeding and concerns.

It's 5 years in Ireland now , during covid I had a smear , it must have changed without me knowing because when she said see you in 5 years I asked why . I prefer the old way as uncomfortable as smears are .I got my recent one early because they were trying to clear backlog .my results came after about 2 weeks which stunned me because it usually takes longer.

I think it's evidence based to switch to five years. Though I'm Irish and given the Cervical smear controversy there where women weren't given the correct results and some sadly died, it's understandable that women are a bit wary.