Smears

[Donnamarie85]

Hi just wondering if every 3 years is enough and safe for a smear test,i have awful health anxiety and naturally think the worst of everything,my last smear was July 2021

I think that generally it should be. Those guidelines exist for a reason. Obviously if you have any other symptoms etc you should get checked out sooner but also try not to look for symptoms, if you see what I mean, if you suffer with health anxiety. I know that you can't have smears too regularly as each one disturbs the cells and so the next smear would be an inaccurate reading (there's probably a lot more to it than that but that's my basic understanding). Would the HPV Vaccination be an option to try to help you allay some fears? I don't know how feasible or helpful this is but could be worth looking into. Also, as a final thought, have you sought support - therapy etc - to try to help you manage your fears and anxiety? Good luck with it all.

Smears (in Scotland) are now every 5 years, I think it would depend on family history re types of cancer you may be more susceptible, also some STIs can increase risk but if you don’t fall into one of those categories I wouldn’t overthink it, you don’t get regular tests for e.g. lung cancer because it’s person specific, you should ask to talk to your GP about any medical issues causing you concern hopefully a further understanding will help your anxiety, but my thoughts are with you having anxiety over something feels like a horrific hole you can’t escape x

The health anxiety has been going on years now I've tried different antidepressants and talking therapies etc,I've been experiencing left side pelvic pain and lower back ache,I haven't helped myself googling everything 😭I won't even get intimate with my partner anymore for fear of bleeding,all's I do is break down crying constantly on edge thinking the C word😌

If you have potential symptoms then a smear is not what you need. A smear is a screening test, not a diagnostic test. I'd make an appt with your GP.

A smear is a screening test and isn't appropriate if you have any symptoms. I'm in Scotland and smears are every 5 years since it moved to screening for hpv first.

I had high risk hpv detected with no cell changes on my latest smear and will have to go back in 1 year for a another smear to see if it's cleared.

This is where I get confused so if my last smear was back in 2021 and no HPV was detected is it unlikely I could develop anything sinister in that time,sorry to sound thick or a nuisance just honestly don't have anyone to talk to X

Yes its unlikely that anything sinister would pop up in a short space of time. Even with hpv detected I need to wait 1 year and see if my body clears it.

https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cervical-cancer/getting-diagnosed/screening/about

This gives info about cervical screening.

If you're in England and under age 49 then you'll be offered a test every 3 years so you'd be due next year.

If you have symptoms don't wait for the test and see your GP instead as they will do different investigations

Thank you so much I really appreciate that🤗💗I keep telling myself this in my head drs know what they're doing and looking for just this stupid health anxiety xx