All women and people with a cervix every five years now smear test

[justasking111]

Five years in Wales is this the norm in England, Scotland, Ireland?

Our surgery put it up on their FB page this week.

It was three years here last time I checked.

Yabu it's fine no reason to be concerned

Yanbu it's too big a gap.

Only tested now for hpv, cells no longer need to be checked. Most young women have had hpv vax so rusk of cervical cancer extremely low. Hpv checks will be swabs done at home in very near future. This could be as frequent as yearly. No hov, no need for a smear. Any symptoms, bleeding etc you should have a smear anyway. No need to wait to the 3 or 5 year one. If you're worried, ask for an extra smear. All the evidence shows its the people that don't go for smears that are the people most at risk. Imminent use of home swabs should reach this cohort.

That's irrelevant there's a vaccine for young girls now

Yes, but... they are checking for a cancer which affects one body part, the cervix. Medical stuff is prone to being reductive in that way.

It used to be 3 years, but I had some borderline cells at one point, so had to go annually for a while. I'm now early 50s, so it would be 5 years for me anyway, though half the medics in Hampshire have inspected my gynaecological area in the last year (all clear now, though.).

It is still worth attending. They spotted a cervical polyp at my last smear. I suppose at some point, it would have presented more symptoms as it grew, such as bleeding, but at the size it was, I hadn't noticed anything. However, if you really can't face it, I guess a home HPV swab test will do, too. You'll just miss the extra visual checks.

A smear got my cancer. I can’t recommend getting one enough. Five years is too long a gap.

I'm 39 and have never been offered the vaccine. Isn't it just offered to teenagers?

Pretty sure I had the HPV vaccine at school (and I’m in my 40s) but it doesn’t affect the need for smear tests as adults, surely.

TBH, the change to 5 years doesn’t bother me as my circumstances haven’t changed (if you’re only sexually active with one man for many years, not sure why you would suddenly get HPV which is all they seem to test for).

Question.

Okay if I get a kit how do I know I've hit my cervix. I can see a lot of women missing the crucial spot for the check

I agree! What’s the point of responding the same thing over and over again - especially without actually answering the question

I was told this is the case in Scotland, yes.

Was just about to write the same. Wasn't the push a while ago to just lump us all in together as "people with a cervix"? Ugh.

Why do they stop at 64?

The vaccine came into being in September 2008. Apparently for young girls

So no you haven't had ite

The science has imp so there is no need for every three years in most cases. I would worry more about the women who choose not to have the test.

No they don't check the cells anymore just HPV so they discard the cells now.

Nonsense.

It's not anti trans it's pro women and girls. Protecting our spaces and our rights. With this new government we have to do it loud and clear because the Labour government don't quite get it. But they will.

I went for one at the beginning of July. I’ve just got my, thankfully clear, results and it’s says I’ll be due another in July 2027. I’m in England.

But those without still try and buy period products and claim they suffer from "pmt" so I don't see any harm in the clarification here

They think you've stopped bonking randoms.

Which is so annoying. So many divorced women start new relationships , yes you use condoms, but when you've found a partner to bond with you stop. Perhaps your new partner should be checked for HPV?

That's the standard timescale. My DD (under 30) has been offered extra because of risk factors and autoimmune conditions. I have a autoimmune condition and get offered extra. I don't go for mine. I'm nearly 60 and don't have PIV sex. I might combine getting one when I have my coil (to prevent female cancers) removed. My middle DD born 1995 was the first of my girls to be offered the vaccine as a young teen.

Exactly, so go for the smear test.

Years ago you started having smears when you went on the pill I was probably 19 when I had my first.

I think it's because if you don't have HPV at 64, it is very unlikely that you will get cervical cancer in your lifetime as it takes a long time for the virus to develop into cancer. Hopefully, someone more eloquent will confirm or explain that better.

Also, post menopause, an invasive smear test can be incredibly painful.

I had mine last week after three years, and they told me the next would be in another three. I’m in my 40s and in England, never had any abnormalities or tested positive for HPV.