STIs

[catwalker]

I hope people don't think I'm barmy asking this but something on the other infidelity thread made me wonder...

If your dh had had unprotected sex with another woman once (I know it only takes once) 18 months or so ago, would you want him to get himself checked out at a clinic? The ow has been married for about 20 years, though of course I've no idea what she or her husband get up to in their spare time.

Am I being paranoid, OTT or sensible? Neither of us has any symptoms but my imagination is working overtime, and then some.

Malificence Yeah I know that the HPV that results in warts tends to be the 'less serious' type but I have no idea how many strains I may have caught. OW did have an abnormal smear during the time she was sleeping with XDH and had to have a colposcopy so chances are I may have the strain that can lead to cancer.

No point in me worrying about it unless I needs to at some point in the future but bloody annoying all the same that XDH's stupid, selfish behaviour has lead to me having this 'hanging over' me.

I just need to make sure I have regular checks.

Also not the nicest issue to have to discuss with future sexual partners.

Did the OW just have a colposcopy? No other treatment?

I had a colposcopy about 10 years for an "abnormal" smear that was nothing of the sort, simply an inadequate smear as it turned out.

I'm not suprised you're wary and annoyed though.

Well dh was tested this afternoon and the dr said that he would be extremely surprised if test results revealed any STIs given his lack of symptoms/history/lifestyle etc.

Advice re hpv was apparently that, once a woman becomes sexually active she is more than likely to be exposed to the virus so it's probable that I've already been in contact with it. Therefore I'm not any higher risk than I was pre-affair. Does that make sense? I had a smear test a year ago which was fine but, as I'm now the wrong side of 50 (just!) I'm only able to have them every 5 years. I'm now wondering if I should pay to have one more regularly or if I'm just being hysterical.

Hi catwalker, can I suggest that you check out the link I posted above to the NHS CSP site. That should give you some reassurance hopefully.
Whilst it isn't the same situation as yours, there's no recommendation in the screening guidance to have a cervical screening when someone's got a new partner, so I wouldn't think it was necessary for you to have an additional one now.
If you did approach the GP then I woul expect them to charge a fee as it's more than the NHS screening programme.

Like I said earlier, you can walk into a family planning clinic and have a smear between the recommended time. I dont think you would be frowned upon. The virus can lay dormant for years which is why you might have changes between times. A colposcopy is fairly routine if you have an abnormal smear but its not something to berate the OW about really!! Although myself and two friends both had to have treatments after our DPs had been unfaithfull!! Likes lots of these std's the man has no symptoms. Even if if you had warts you wouldnt automatically know, that why you have a colposcopy, sometimes they can be seen inside. Incidentally, out of the three of us only one of us got tested for the hpv virus and that was the person who went private. I dont think doctors think its that important oos theres so many strains of it. You should check the official cancer research website though if you want facts. Im just going by experience and what Ive picked up through work. And just to emphasise, a medical professional would not blame anyones husband and the only reason why she said bloody men to me is cos we were working in the same industry!!

Hi kittya
No you should not be given a smear between the recommended time and FPC should not be offering it. It is a screening test not a diagnostic test. The intervals at which women are called for screening on based on the time it takes for CIN3/or then cancer to develop.
Even if you have HPV, you may not develop any abnormal cells, and if they do, in most women they change quite slowly. This is why the NHS does not screen every year and also why cervical cancer is a disease which is suitable for screening - because it has a long pre-invasive phase.
The NHS CSP website does have the facts and also the guidelines to which all the health professionals working within it follow.
Evidence and guidelines about screening intervals in Section 2, particularly Section 2.4 Unscheduling screening.

Im on the last six monthly now, I hope! I have had them inbetween afew years back but my gp's surgery is well on the case now. My poor friend does about 7 aday, sometimes more!! I still have 24 year old friends who have had families desperate for to have them but not allowed. Im sure I had my first at 18, mind you, it was along time ago....

catwalker - it's easy to get them privately and I would get them done every couple of years still if it sets your mind at rest. If you feel sure that the infidelity was just the once and won't be repeated again, then eventually you will hopefully stop worrying about it.

Kittya - they did used to screen younger women if they went on the pill but it was not consistent over the country. I went on the pill early and was screened yearly back in the late seventies/early eighties. They knew back then that women on the pill had a higher risk of cervical cancer but they didn't know why. The HPV discovery came later.

Once mass stats were collected and age vs incidence were calculated they changed the cut off times and rules of frequency for testing.

Relevant article here: www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/besttreatments/2009/apr/24/older-women-still-need-screening-for-cerv ical-cancer

I remember it well, going at such a young age. I dont think I told my mother though!! I cant remember ever getting letters, the screening is very on the ball now. BLN, my friend recently had one at her gp's in Newcastle and had one again a year later in London at a family planning. Im not saying its the right thing to do but just that it can be done, she felt she needed a clean slate. And anyone can go private, my friend was tested for the virus when she went private and she is the one that has had loads of treatment, its been back to stage 3 three every six months. Im still not convinced whether she has just been unlucky or whether its been in the private sector. She most definitely has only slept with one man in her life and this all came about after he was unfaithfull. The NHS have always said its not worth been tested for the virus. God Ive had a right day of it today with all things gynae related so, I will shut up now!

The NHS is in the process of doing various trials to assess using HPV testing and how best it could be used. The main trials - ARTISTIC and MAVARIC are due to report in May at an international cytology conference in Edinburgh.

We have much better knowledge about the role of HPV on the develop CIN and cervical cancer since the late 70s and 80s.
The NHS CSP was started really in the late 80s when it was recognised that you need a central register to record the test results, ensure eligible women are invited and also that appropriate action (such as colposcopy referral) is taken based on the test results. Further guidelines were brought in from 1996 onwards (see the publications part of the NHS CSP site) which set in place standards which all
parts of the screening programme work by.
That's why so much has changed in the past 30-40 years. The front page of the site also has a link to the minutes of the committee meeting where screening of the under 25s was discussed and has useful info about the evidence regarding screening intervals.