Well...I got my shiny, happy flower postcard! Woohoo!
Pap smear - normal
Gonorrhea/chlamydia - negative
HPV virus - negative
The second test I forgot about was the HPV test. My doctor told me it's done when you hit 30, but I had to look it up again to remember why. HPV is the virus that has been linked to cervical cancer and the test determines if the virus is present while the pap smear is the test that determines if there are abnormal cells, which the virus causes. Apparently 30 is when the risk for cervical cancer is at the highest. There is a very small percentage of people who aren't sexually active who have HPV in their system, but a majority of cases are transmitted sexually. I've read on a couple different sites that a very high percentage of sexually active people (including men) will have HPV at some point, but probably don't know it for lack of symptoms. The only obvious sign for both sexes is genital warts, but for women sometimes a positive test result is the only way they know. According to the CDC website there are 40 different types of genital HPV.
The controversy over whether young girls should get the HPV vaccine gardasil is ongoing. Merck's big push with their 'one less' campaign is frankly insulting but I digress. Any drug company that lobbies to have their product be a requirement for 6th graders, (6th GRADERS!) is suspect, and yet, they still managed to bag 339$ million in sales for their last quarter last year. However, sales for a number of their drugs are falling off which isn't making the good old boys at Merck happy. Thousands of people will be getting pink slips, not in response to their flat "disappointing" sales or the crumbling economy of course, but because the higher ups want to restructure.
A common search for women finding my blog is 'do virgins need to go to the gynecologist?' I wonder if after reading the posts about my few doctors appointments they are encouraged or deterred. Though my very first visit wasn't ideal, it really wasn't that bad and in the long run I'm glad I went. I obviously never worried about actually having STDs or being pregnant, but there was always a gnawing feeling that I should get checked out just to make sure everything was healthy. Virgin or not, it's important to go because not all symptoms are obvious nor are all causes of problems sexual. I'm not trying to scare anyone into going, god knows that never worked for me and I loathe to be in Merck's company, but it kind of allows you a more peaceful state of mind. It actually made me feel a little more adult about my sexuality because I was recognizing and taking care of my sexual health.
So to all my virgin readers who haven't gone to the gyno yet, make yourself an appointment! Don't be nervous about how it will feel because it passes quickly and is worth it in the end. The hardest part is just being that exposed. I wasn't sure how to pick a doctor either, so I found some names from my insurance's directory and looked them up online. Oh the age of instant information! Some had bios and info on where they practiced and even had comments from patients while others had nothing at all. For me it was important to find a female who had been practicing for at least 10 years but not on the verge of retirement either. The one I ended up with was actually not the one I (thought I) made an appointment with, as she was with a group who all had varying office hours. I assume because I was a first time patient that they just scheduled me with whoever was free. I'm not complaining because I really like her and who's to say I would have felt the same way about the other doctor? Check the sidebar for a link to vitals.com for a doctor search in the US!
When you get your shiny, happy flower postcard you'll be glad you went. And if you get a call instead, at least you will have the chance to treat whatever it is. Just please do a little research on any drug you are encouraged to take. I am not anti-drug on the whole, because I know and have seen the great results they have, but it's still run by an industry that's in it for the money, not your health. Much like most HR departments are in it for the company, not you. But I'll put the cynic away now.
Yay for pap smears!
37 comments:
I'm one virgin who has never had a smear. The last two times I signed up with a new GP (family doctor?) surgery here in the UK I was asked if I'd ever had one, and when I said no, if I'd ever been sexually active. When I said no to that I was told I didn't need one until after I became sexually active. I have wondered how true that is, and have googled it, but not found any concrete answer. Your post has made me consider whether I should have one after all. It can't harm after all.
Hmmm...that's interesting. I always thought it was a mandatory test when you go, no matter what your age or sexual situation. It must be different in the UK though, our GP's don't take care of our lady parts. But I would say do it, if it doesn't cost you and arm and a leg. (Spoken like a true American dealing with the disaster we call health insurance.) I'm glad my post made you consider it though, your health is most important!
Did you tell your new doctor you were a virgin?
I am a 30 year old virgin and I am going to be having my first pap smear in 3 weeks.
Should I tell the doctor or just say 'I am really tight, can I have the small speculum'?
hi anon- the doctor will first have a meeting with you in his/her office. the first time you see any new doctor this should happen. if it doesn't, find a new doctor! questions about your overall health, your sexual history and whether you smoke or drink are always asked. they'll take their cue on how to treat you from your answers. :)
While the American Cancer Society recommends that any woman 21+ get a pap smear, according to Mayo Clinic, if you're a virgin, pap smears are pretty much unnecessary. That is also what a well-respected gyno told me when I was 18 (citing the documented low rates of cervical cancer among nuns).
So, I think that simply empowers people to make the choices they feel are best for them.
Here's the Mayo link:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pap-smear/AN01635
No country in the world tests virgins for cervical cancer (apart from some doctors in the States) - cervical cancer is caused (in almost every case) by HPV, which is caught through sexual activity...including genital to genital contact without intercourse. Use of condoms reduces the risk, but doesn't eliminate it...
The more partners you have, the greater the chance you've caught HPV.....of course, you might have one partner, but if your partner has had lots of partners, you might get infected...
You shouldn't panic though...most women with HPV don't go on to get cervical cancer - it's an uncommon cancer, always has been...
Also, my husband & I were virgins when we married and are in a mutally monogamous relationship, so my Doctors have confirmed it's up to me whether I have smear tests - I've declined...
Why? Mainly because the smear is an unreliable test for an uncommon cancer and produces lots of false positives - these cause enormous anxiety and usually mean the woman faces a colposcopy and biopsies - you can be left with permanent damage to your cervix that can later affect your fertility and cause problems during pregnancy.
A report released by Dr Angela Raffles (cervical cancer screening expert)puts the risk of cancer in perspective (even for a high risk woman) and the unreliability of the smear - 1000 women need to be tested for 35 years to save one woman from cervical cancer! Powerful research!
Also, with 2 yearly testing almost 78% of women will have a colposcopy, but only a tiny number will have any malignancy.
A report by an American Pathologist states that 1% of women will get cancer in an unscreened population (I've seen statistics up to 1.58%) - one third of these women will have received one or more false negatives on their smears, so they may delay getting a doctor's advice after being reassured by the incorrect smear result. SO, roughly 0.66% of women will be helped big time by this Test.
Of this tiny %...there are risk factors which may further reduce your risk...
So, for me, it was an easy decision - the risks FAR outweighed the benefits.
It shocks me sometimes that women are not given honest information by the medical profession - the risk of cancer is exaggerated, the benefits of screening overstated and the risks barely mentioned...
All women are supposed to give informed consent before screening - don't be pushed into this test by scare campaigns, do your research first...
Virgin don't need pap smears or gyn exams. (unless they have symptoms)
US women should really question the need for routine gyn. exams - they're NOT recommended in Australia - the medical thinking is completely different - routine gyn. exams are considered unnecessary in asymptomatic women and in fact, can be harmful (anxiety, discomfort, false positives, unnecessary further testing)...
I think many American women are going through unpleasant and unnecessary invasive exams.
Of course, some women may choose to have every exam and Test available...it should be HER decision made after she receives honest and complete information.
Don't act on fear, get the facts and make informed decisions.
Hi! I'm Polish, 26 years old and a virgin. The Polish goverment wants to introduce obligatory pap smear tests for all working women beginning from 2010. This test would become a part of the routine check-up for workers that every employee has here every 2-4 years (depends on a doctor), but until now the check-up only included the geneneral examination, e.g. listening to your heart, checking your sight, if you work with a computer etc. - no intimate check-ups. Now they say that in this way they want to decrease the number of women who die of cancer every year. If you refuse this pap smear you can lose your job! In the middle of the crisis! Horrible! Of course this is a violation of constitution and women's rights (guys won't have any similar check-ups, so they are not threatened to lose their jobs), so we are pretty scared here and try to organize some protest. I cannot imagine this, really.
Hi, I'm 30 years old and a virgin and plan on being one until I get married.
I just got a Pap Smear done today. Here's what happened:
Earlier this morning, I went in to see my doctor for a physical. She said I need a Pap smear done because of my age. I objected, saying I have never been sexually active, and I will probably get tested after getting married. Perhaps this doctor didn't believe I was a virgin or is just repeating what she learned in school, but she kept on insisting that I needed to have a pap done.
I acquiesced, not having completely knowing what it would entail. I asked if it would hurt... she simply told me "it is not comfortable."
I told myself, OK I think I can handle uncomfortable, especially if the doctor said I really needed to get this done... and that she probably knows what is best. Boy was I wrong.
It hurt like crazy! If I knew that, I would NEVER tell anyone it is simply "not comfortable". I couldn't believe I had agreed to this excruciating pain. The spectrum was big, I couldn't believe she stuck it in me, knowing full well I was a virgin.
She said I would bleed a little because there was a little tearing of my cervix.
I had a lot of bleeding!
I do not trust her now. How do I know it was only a little tear? How could I believe her when she downplayed everything? I am so upset at her not explaining to me what it entailed, but mostly at myself for not coming prepared nor researching if this is necessary. That is why I am now doing some research to read up on what I had just gotten myself into, and if this was truly necessary as the doctor had told me. I trusted her and listened to her recommendation.
My recommendation: read as much on this on possible. If you are a virgin, there is no need to go through this awfully painful test, looking for a virus or it's effects that is caused by sexual intercourse in nearly all cases.
I am sitting here, still bleeding and in discomfort letting you all know that the doctor's response is not always the most objective. They perform it all the time and don't think much of it.
If I could do things over, I would definitely tell the doctor that although she recommended I had a pap b/c of my age, I do still did not want it. And they have to respect that (at least here in the U.S.). If the doctor still is pressuring you to do it, and you don't feel comfortable, change doctors. I'm changing mine.
To the young lady in Poland, I feel for you. It is an outright violation of your rights to force you to have a pap or get fired.
Well, here's something that will perhaps shock a few of you: In Argentina, where I live, pap smears and colposcopies are routinely done at the same time even if you're a virgin.
They don't wait until you get the results of your pap smear: they actually schedule you automatically for both when you go for a check-up and you have to expressly decline the colposcopy if you don't want it. And I insist, this is done even when you're a virgin.
I was actually surprised colposcopies aren't done in the US unless you've had a positive pap smear, and that you can ever forgo the smear if you're a virgin: that's not what they're telling us over here. If you're older than twenty-one, it's a yearly pap and colpo for you, sex or no sex.
Perhaps they're thinking it's best to be safe than sorry, but having never had sex it's very stressful to go and bear my intimate parts in front of a stranger for them to fiddle around; and that's without taking into account the fact that it's not only "discomfort" you're facing when you've still got your hymen more-or-less intact (because past the age of twenty it's unlikely your hymen is going to be in perfect conditions; the use of tampons, exercise and whatnot do damage as well) and the dreaded speculum comes into play.
It never ceases to amaze me how women are mistreated in this world. Polish women should fight that outrageous law! That amounts to coercion and negates any consent at all - that sort of law sets you back 100 years.
It could never hold up in a court of law - it is a violation of your human and civil rights.
Prostate cancer is FAR more common than rare cervical cancer - why is it men are given risk information and their informed decision is respected?
In the States it's 11,000 cases of cervical cancer a year versus 200,000 cases of prostate cancer.
Cancer screening carries a legal requirement of informed consent...if you're forced to have smears, that means the govt should be totally responsible for all negative outcomes and there are LOTS with cervical screening.
A very unreliable test that sends thousands of women for unnecessary biopsies and LEEP every year. It's big money for doctors and devastating for women.
Legally no woman (or man) can be forced to have cancer screening.
In the States and Canada women are coerced into gyn exams if they want birth control. These exams are unrelated to the safe use of the Pill and completely unnecessary. Use HOPE at Planned Parenthood and if YOU choose to have a smear, set your own agenda to minimize the risk of false positives and harmful over-treatment.
Virgins do not need smears at all, ever!
If I were high risk, I might have a smear every 5 years from age 30, following the Finnish program. As a low risk woman, I'm not prepared to risk over-treatment with a risk of cancer that is near zero.
(My husband and I were virgins and are monogamous)
I have serious doubts about cervical screening - a test for a rare cancer and using an inaccurate test causes problems for the majority of women...women who'd never have an issue with this cancer, 99% of us.
I also hate the way it medicalizes our lives - we are almost under surveillance and controlled by doctors and our sexuality is judged...I'm so tired of explaining to every Dr I see why I won't have pap smears.
I'd never agree to pelvic or breast exams either....neither exam is necessary in a healthy symptom-free woman and both expose you to risk...from false positives and more unnecessary procedures.
There is no evidence routine breast exams help, but they cause biopsies which may be a risk factor for cancer.
I think this medical control of our bodies is offensive and very likely to harm us.
Fight back!
Mammograms carry high risks too for very limited benefits.
Check out a very informative website - Dr Joel Sherman's medical privacy under Women's privacy issues....lots of great articles from medical journals. This Dr also wrote, "Informed consent is missing from pap smear testing".
Men make decisions about their health care, women get told and have things "done to them" like chickens being processed...we're treated like powerless lumps of meat.
I refuse to be treated that way and have never agreed to any screening.
If I don't think it can help me, without harming me, I'll pass and I don't care what anyone says - my healthy body is my business.
I'd see a lawyer if I were a Polish or Argentinian woman, it is outrageous to force such intimate and optional exams onto women.
Isn't it interesting that men don't have these problems? My father has refused prostate screening and has received nothing but support from his Dr, yet women get a lecture like a disobedient school child if they don't do "as she's told"...there IS a double standard.
We are adults!
It surprises me that many women hate pap smears, but few go to the trouble of looking for answers.
If you look at the facts, few women would worry about skipping pap smears. They have been hugely oversold to women. You take bigger risks with your health when you get in your car and definitely when you light a cigarette. More than 50 women have cone biopsies for every woman with a real problem, the false positive rate is alarmingly high and rarely even mentioned to women. It is shameful that doctors and the authorities feel a woman's body, health and rights can be trampled over without hesitation.
I listen to women talking about their abnormal paps that turn out to be nothing and all the pain and anxiety, I'd never live my life like that...you might as well have cancer if you choose to live like that.
I'm healthy and don't plan on having a biopsy every 4 or 5 years.
The answers are not hard to find with the internet, these women need to be proactive with their health and not deliver up their bodies in total ignorance.
Jess
I just wanted to say that it is okay to say no to pap smears. The doctors cant force you to have them. Its wrong of doctors to deny you birth controll if you refuse the pap smears (Im pretty sure its illegal too). I know this blog is a virgin blog but I thought Id add that anyhow. I refuse pap smears and have for probably 5 years now. I will keep refusing them too. For some women (me included) they are beyond uncomfortable, they are down right painful. The last one I went in for, I bled for over a week. I actually screamed out in pain while laying there on the exam table, tears streaming down my face. I have even had to go for a biopsy (which turned out to be unnessacary). I urge women to look up all the facts and be informed before saying yes to pap smears. Its your body, you have the right to make up your own mind.
I have been told if a woman is a virgin and if after saying No to it is Forced to get a pap smear still by someone that by federal law has been broken and that the doctor doing it and the people forcing her to get one can be:
1 charged upon malpractice and.
2 Charged for rape.
This of course is what I have heard, and my 22 year old virgin friend was forced into having a pap smear by someone. And yet that I have been told this is a possibility I can not find anything save a old news article which does not say if the Woman that was forced by her doctor to have one resulting in the obliteration of her hymen won or not.
And I can not find anything else out about it so if anyone knows if a Virgin female forced to have a pap smear can legally sue for the above mentioned charges let me know, and I have asked her if she said she didn't want one and she told 6 different people and yet she was made to get one against her will. Which does constitute as rape.
My husband and I were virgins when we met and this group are overlooked and tested even though they can't benefit from them.
We risk unnecessary biopsies having this test.
We also get insulted if we decline...the suggestion is always made that my husband is probably being unfaithful.
I think I know him better than a Dr who's never even met him.
I won't risk my health...as it is a high risk woman has a remote chance of being helped by smears, low risk and women like me need to be really careful and stand up for ourselves.
To suggest a virgin needs smears is ridiculous - that means the Dr is an incompetent idiot or arrogantly suggesting you're lying to get out of the smear well....shock, horror - we have a choice about these things and don't need to make excuses or apologise...it's OUR choice!
Jilly
Pap smears cause more harm than good. Thousands upon thousands of women hurt from false positives just to save a handful. Girls, please do intensive research to understand what paps are all about before you say 'yes' or have one forced upon you, because it's impossible to wipe away the mental and physical damage caused by a pap. I've never had one and never will. No doctor is forcing that crap upon my body, thanks. More women die from car accidents and brain tumors than they do from cervical cancer!
A doctor (also my aunt) told me pap smears are a public health objective but don't help most women.
These programs don't take into account women hurt by incorrect test results and ending up having biopsies or something worse. Sadly, this test is one of the worst for that...very often wrong.
I don't worry about cancers that are rare and I'm definitely not happy to risk having something painful and embarrassing done to my cervix to cover a tiny risk...rare cancer happens, but no point risking your health looking for it. If you worry about something, worry about common cancers.
If women knew the truth behind this testing, fewer women would test, but it wouldn't matter much if high risk women had screening but that's the crazy thing with this testing, the women with the highest risk usually don't test at all.
I find the spin around cancer screening for women a bit insulting and the facts are always suspect and one-sided...you need to dig deeper if you want the truth or have a relation in the field.
My aunt doesn't care about pap smears, but she cares about missing her target and missing out on her target payment.
It's all a bit unethical really...my aunt doesn't have pap smears. She said all the abnormal results and there are lots are always nothing but cause serious worry, fear, exposure and the biopsies are painful and traumatic. Shame her patients don't get the choice and have no idea of the risk. She said her old boss saw one case of cervical cancer in 40 years, he thinks the screening program is too unreliable and harms too many healthy women to save a very small number of women.
I agree.
Kat
I'm 33 and a virgin. I live in Belgium. My employer seems to be making an annual smear (pap) test a condition of further employment for women on the staff. I'm really worried about it. Having had previous medical advice in the UK (from the nurse in charge of these things) that this was not necessary unless my circumstances changed, I do not feel that my employer should decide this for me. I don't want to have to discuss my choices or sexual matters with a doctor who is working for my employer - not for me. It's private. Surely this kind of threat is unacceptable. So I'd just like to express my solidarity with women in a similar position.
Incidentally, from the bits of research I've done on this, I've found arguments both ways on the pros and cons. Experiences of the test itself also seem to vary. It does concern me that some cervical cancer seems to stem from causes other than the HPV. But then, would the test do more harm than good? It's really hard to find objective medical info.
It does occur to me that women living in countries that have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights might raise a case against any government authority attempting to force them to have a test under art. 8 (right to private and family life).
Perhaps these tests were introduced and made universal in order to ensure that women who do need them have access. The universality takes away the stigma that might put off some women if people got the impression it was only for those who were sexually active at an early age. People fight for the right to be screened, and then it gets forced on us...
Totally agree with the last poster - an "offer" to screen has always been we MUST screen, to the point where coercion is even acceptable.
Cancer screening has risks and benefits and everyone has a different risk profile - that's why legally and ethically our informed consent is required for all cancer screening.
Personally, I think the risks of cervical and breast cancer screening are too high and I have declined to participate in both programs. If anyone tried to force me to test, I'd refuse and if necessary (there was a threat of dismissal from my employer or an increased premium on my health care policy), then I'd seek legal representation. In most cases doctors etc back down when they're faced with an informed woman.
A woman not yet sexually active accepts risk for no benefit - this group of women are usually excluded from screening, but many doctors will screen them anyway...particularly in countries where they receive financial incentives to reach screening targets. (Australia and NZ)
The lifetime risk of cervical cancer is 0.65% while the pap test is so unreliable it sends many women for unnecessary biopsies and "treatments" after false positives - 77% of women in Australia, 95% in the States. Almost all are unnecessary - only around 0.45% of women benefit from pap testing. A low risk woman has a risk profile close to zero.
I'm not sure about Belgium, but I'd be surprised if an employer can force you to screen or penalize you for choosing not to screen. I'd lodge a complaint with the company explaining informed consent is required for all screening and that having regard to the risks and benefits of the test and your risk profile, you've made an informed decision not to screen. I'd also be pointing out the inappropriate nature of pressuring or requiring female staff to have cancer screening - voluntary programs. This is stepping over the line and is improper. Are they prepared to compensate women for all negative outcomes that flow from this testing?
If you're after references, head over to Dr Joel Sherman's medical privacy forum and under womens' privacy concerns - in the side bar, you'll find some great references. Read the enlightening research by Dr Angela Raffle, UK screening expert - "1000 women need regular testing for 35 years to save ONE woman from cervical cancer" (BMJ 2003) There is also some great discussion at Blogcritics and Unnecessary pap tests.
Also, annual smears amount to over-screening and carry the most risk - also, making a pap test a condition of future employment is coercive and grossly inappropriate - I'd be speaking to other women at the company, I'm sure others resent their employer dictating to them and coercing them into not only screening, but over-screening.
This sort of coercive conduct should be stopped - it only seems to be directed at women. It's outrageous that they feel they have the right to coerce women into an invasive test that carries risk to your healthy bodies.
Pap testing is out-of-control - it routinely seems to flout womens' and human rights. In some countries coercion is not only the norm, but encouraged. Stay strong and fight this abuse of your rights.
The Guy that waits..
Hi all, Guy here, 31. i was browsing about this issue for some time now, cause my partner just had it done (pup smear)... i know some of you girl are saving your self to a special someone... well that's what i was expected from her FYI she's still a virgin... I've controlled my self for not having sex with her.. plan was till we get married.. so we just did some fun stuff.... then one thing you know that she had done this examination.. well she told me about it but didn't know the there putting that thing in here... is it unfair to for me that a speculum done it before me.... or should i just let it go and forget about it...the truth is I'm upset that this happen i know it good for health but... well its just not the same anymore.... please tell me what you think.....
I am a virgin woman in my early 30s. I live in the US. I have never had a pap smear. Look at some good information about how pap smears are often unncessary for true virgins at http://patientmodesty.org/virginandpapsmear.aspx.
Check out http://patientmodesty.org/virginandpapsmear.aspx
I starting having a papsmear when I was young and still a virgin, all the doctors know this. Know I wish I never had it done. I count even count the number of times I have had it done over the years. I read on line that most woman think it has little or no pain at all And that is not true with me it has always hurt like HELL for me from the very fist time to the most recent one I have had.
Now I am married, newly married and sex is pretty much impossible. I tense up so bad that he can't put it in. He was able to only do it 2 or 3 times and the last time I tensed up so bad he was in pain too.
I want (we want) to have sex and can't. It is very up setting to both of us and we don't know what to do. We have tried so many things on our own we don't even like to try anymore and we have only been married for a little over a month. We wonder what we shold do and are very upset!
I'm almost 30 and a virgin but I've been getting annual pap smears since I was 16 or 17 due to my mom's insistence. While I don't worry about things like stds or pregnancy, the doctors found a polyp on my cervix during my first pap that could have gotten dangerous if not removed. Someone I knew in high school had a cyst explode in her cervix which took a huge toll on her ovaries. It's not an experience anyone likes virgin or not, but its really not a huge deal and should be done imo.
I think you might be missing the point here... the point many of these comments are making is not about whether pap testing is necessary, but about a person's right to be given the full facts relating to this testing before consenting, and the right to decline if they choose to. This is core human right which should be inherent to EVERY medical procedure and to EVERY person.
My doctor (who I have known even most of my life) practically made me feel guilty if I did not have a pap done; even though I was a virgin. He told me about the risks I could be taking with my life. Well, I figured one time, okay. He asked his nurse for a small scrotum. She came back and said they did not have one. I was already set to go and they did not ask me if I wanted to wait. I still felt like I was over lubricated. They also used that large piece on me. I did scream out-I felt like this was the slowest process ever. In addition, I thought I had received a shot around the outside of my vaginal area. I didn't. The nurse told me that there is a sharp piece that opens you up and can feel like you're getting a shot. After that hour, I felt the need to have intercourse in the worst way that it was very uncomfortable. This did not go away for several days. I don't think it was so much the pap itself as it was having way too much lubrication. About 6 months later, I did have sex; it was great for both of us-very little pain, but more relief than anything. My point here is, watch out because having a pap can change some people and they are never the same. My hyem did not break during the pap, but it certainly did not help me wanting to wait until marriage. I felt like in a way, it did ruin me.
I am 36 years old and a 100% virgin. I had an vaginal infection so I went to see the doctor. She asked me if I am sexually active. I said "no', yet she recommends me to undergo Pap smear.
When,I was small, my father did not want me to go on biking , tree climbing and other activities because he doesn't want me to loss my virginity,"hymen". Only in the end a speculum has torn it down.So sad! I got depressed and i cried a lot.
I think the value of virginity "depends to each and every individual. To some, it is no big deal however to others, it is very important.
I think the doctors should be responsible to explain clearly to their patients why they have undergo it. And once it was clearly explained, the patient should be given "the chance and the right to decide" for herself whether she will willingly undergo it or not.
I am 30 and virgin, decided to have one for two reasons: history of long periods and all they have started to become shorter and painful. Maybe because I was expecting it and also I was very relax at the time I do not recall any pain. To be honest for me it hurt when they open that stuff inside and then swab which felt uncomfortable. Yet nothing compares to the later part which I did not expect . The touch and feel part it hurt like hell! Did I bleed no, l but it was cold and not comfty. As am looking at the whole virgin talking charge of her health and reproductive issues. I decided that is ok to do so. On the hand you are a virgin in my eyes if you never had any type of sex.
One country that does pester virgins to a tend for smear tests is Scotland . I am a non-smoker . I am fit and healthy and a keen runner. I am also a virgin with an imperforate hymen so there is no way that they could do the test. I have regular tests for other conditions - I have an eye condition which gives a high risk of sight loss so have regular sight tests including retinal scans and painful optic nerve tests. However I resent the pestering for smear tests . I am of very very low risk . I am not scared of needles either , I have donated blood on 68 occasions to help others. I just know that the odds of a 50 year old virgin like me getting cervical cancer are very very low and i don't want to go through the pain of being tested. I am made to feel like I am irresponsible for not having a smear test …on one occasion they said that this was 'more important than an eye test' - er ….not with my odds of blindness. Why is everyone so obsessed with smear tests the cancer only kills 3100 a year . There are a similar number of cases of mouth cancer yet people don't get badgered to go to the dentist - the dentist is a lot less painful as my mouth opens more easily and happily accepts implements in it like toothbrushes - even the drill hurts less as he uses anaesthesia
I find it odd that women are pressurised so much into smear tests. It is as if they are preying on vulnerability. I like to weigh up the odds before I undergo screening . If someone provided me with a clear calculated risk of getting the cancer then it would be different. The simple fact is my risks as a 50 year old virgin are not the same as a 30 year old who has had several sexual partners.
There is no other test where the reminders are monthly . My optician reminds me just yearly for sight tests because of my high risk and people who don't wear glasses never have eye tests. Likewise some people never have dental checks despite the risk of mouth cancer being the same as cervical cancer. A dental check is easier than a cervical smear - my mouth opens :) I can't even get tests for diabetes at all whatever I do.
a few weeks a go I set up a Facebook Page - Cervical Screening- Right to Refuse .
Not much on it yet , but it's a start
I am a mathematician by training so any posts of clear calculations by medically-trained people would be considered .
I am nearly a thirty four years old virgin. I have had pap smears before. A few in my twenties, and about two in my thirties. I don't get them every year and now that the new pap smear standards are every two three years which is better. I skipped this year and next year maybe: Probably will have two in a row and skip three years again. I like it that way. I hate strangers examining me down there. Especially female parts.
Virgins can still get cancer, vaginal infections yeast or bacterial, urinary tract infections, and reproductive health health issues. I have had ovarian cysts, and menorrhagia-metorrphaigia (heavy or prolonged period bleeding) skipped periods that result from a blood clots or functional overarian cyst. I advise virgin women to get well woman check ups because no matter if one is asexual or non sexually active cancer can happen and other conditions, too. So a lot of the people who are different countries need to be clearly aware that virgins can get tumors, ovarian cyst, abnormal growths, polops, ovarian torsion caused by abnormal growths. Women need to stop being afraid or discouraged of the ideal that virgins do not need well woman check ups. Infection such as saph or strep can get in the vaginal track or other areas, too. Virgins in rare cases or circumstances can get pelvic inflammatory disease caused bacterial vaginitis for isn't a STD.
I live here in the United States. I am a thirty three years old virgin and have had a few pap smears in my twenties and two in my thirties. I don't get pap smears every year although I have to be aware of ovarian cyst and menorrhagia-metorrphaigia linked to heavy bleeding/prolonged period bleeding, there are times when my periods skipped and I passed clots or strange menstrual blood discharge. Additionally I have dealt with dysmorrhora often called painful periods. I agree with women who are virgins and try to avoid pap smear or well woman check ups in just about all over the world, but be aware that virgins can get cancer, ovarian cysts, gynecological problems, tumors, fibroids, or abnormalities as well. I encourage women who are virgins to checked out when they get vaginal discharge that may be a symptom of a yeast infection or bacterial vaginitis and irritation including bladder infections just to be on the safe side. Virgins can still get personal health problems or ailments in the genital tract or other organs including digestive problems. Breast cancer, cyst, or infections could happen to virgins or asexual women, too. Virginity testing is nonsense and be a violation to a woman who knows more about her body or herself, forcing virginity testing is never a good idea.
I am nearly a thirty four years old virgin. I have had pap smears before. A few in my twenties, and about two in my thirties. I don't get them every year and now that the new pap smear standards are every two three years which is better. I skipped this year and next year maybe: Probably will have two in a row and skip three years again. I like it that way. I hate strangers examining me down there. Especially female parts.
I was held down and forced to have one done when I was only 14 years old and I was a virgin. I cried. No, I screamed. All because someone spread a vicious rumour about me.
I still remember the trauma and know I wish I could had charged them. They should had been behind bars, in my opinion.
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