What is Pap Smear Test?

Question

I have read about this Pap smear a lot on yahoo ansewers and now it is irritating me. i need to know what does it mean.what is a Pap Smear examination.

Answer 1

Pap test or pap smear is an examination to check for cervical cancer,it can also detect std's but only if the doc orders it, otherwise the test is only done to look for cancer cells/pre-cancer cells. The doctor has you lay on a table and put your feet in the stirups with your legs open,he/she inserts a speculum, a medal tool that kind of looks like a ducks beak to open up your vagina so they can swab you're cervix with a giant q-tip and it picks up cells to be tested in a lab where they "smear" the q-tip on a slide and look at it through a microscope. It doesnt hurt but it's quite uncomfortable and lasts under a minute.Often if its your yearly exam (some women have to have more than one a year) he/she will stick 2 fingers (pointer and middle) in your butt hole and push down on your lower abdomen with the other hand checking the size of your uterus,ovaries...i think fingering your butt helps them feel your uterus and ovaries because the doctor pushes up when there fingers are inside you...its like they push up your uterus so they can feel it..? The doctor also does a breast exam to make sure there are no lumps or masses that shouldnt be there.Its all done at your yearly exam...its not just for the pap test.
Your probably thinking why is it so important that women get this done if the test is only to check for cervical cancer? We should get one done every year as soon as a girl gets her period. It is very,very important especially if you have a baby...then you need to be examed every year because it is very common for young women who have had a baby to develop pre-cancer cells on there cervix.Sometimes you can develop them from absolutely nothing...it is very common and most of the time a young girl/woman can have them and not even know it because they most often go away on there own and dont develop into cancer. Now I had my son when i was 20 yrs old and they still consider that young to have a baby and your still at risk for developing pre-cancer cells of the cervix. My doctor did a pap not even a year after my son was born and i got a phone call saying my test came back abnormal for pre-cancer cells...i asked how they knew thats what it was and thats when i found out that they ONLY test for cervical cancer during a pap smear. The doctor then has you come back for another exam where she spread a vinegar solution (of all things) on your cervix ,she puts a special light down there and it makes the pre-cancer cells turn white in the light so she could see where they were and took a biopsy (had a clipper and snipped a tiny piece of my cervix off) to send back to the lab...cancerous cells turn a different color in the light. I had those cells for 3 years before they went away...exam every 3 months (usually every 6 mos,but my g-ma died of cervical cancer) and biopsy after biopsy...ouch. So you see its very important you get those done once you hit puberty and especially if sexually active.You can also develop cervical cancer from an HPV infection inside,which there are no symptoms of....you dont even know you have it and your body usually clears it by itself,but sometimes it doesnt (weak immune system) and it turns to cervical cancer...that is the most common way a woman develops the cancer. I know i wrote a lot...sorry ...tend to go into too much detail.

Answer 2

Derrick's mom is wrong. A pap Smear is a test done by a Gynocologist or woman's health practioner. It is done vaginally, a speculum (instrument shaped like a duck beak) is inserted in the vaginal to aid in opening it, the doctor uses a small bruch and a small scraper and removes cells from you cervix. The cells are put on a glass slide and sent to a lab to be viewed. The are looking for abnormal cells such as HPV that could lead to cervical cancer. If you have not been sexually active you do not need to have this test done. Once you start to have sexual relations you are at risk of infections and Pap Smears are a way to catch cellular changes early. Pap Smears DO NOT test for STDS --STD testing is something different, can be done at the same time but is a totally different test all together.

Answer 3

It's an exam where the doctor opens your vagina wall up with a tool called a speculum, and takes a few swabs off your cervix with a long q-tip. It's a test to check for irregular cells on your cervix, which could be a warning sign for cervical cancer, and other STD's.

Answer 4

The collection of cells from the cervix for examination under a microscope. It is used to detect changes that may be cancer or may lead to cancer, and can show noncancerous conditions, such as infection or inflammation. Also called a Pap test.

Answer 5

its where they stick this thing that looks like a ducks beak thats what I think and insert in into the vagina and then they take swabs and swab the inside of you to test for all kinds of things from STDS to whatever.

Answer 6

Its where a doc. checks out the vagina. Basically your legs are spread open and they stick a lubed clamp in and check around and make sure everything is ok

Answer 7

um its a coochie check lol ive had 1 its alright it dont hurt but u do feel pressure in ur tummy in 16 ive had 2 so far

Answer 8

u have to wash yr window its dirty