What is a cervical smear test, how to read the results of a cervical smear test, and what should be paid attention to during a cervical smear test

The female cervix is ​​actually very fragile. If you accidentally suffer from cervical erosion and do not receive timely treatment, it can easily become cancerous. Once cancerous, it will be difficult to treat. Therefore, when women are diagnosed with cervical erosion, doctors will generally recommend a cervical smear test to rule out the possibility of cancer. So, what is a cervical smear test? How do you read the results of a cervical smear test? Let's take a detailed look at these related content.

What is a cervical smear test

The cervical smear test is a common gynecological examination. Many female friends do not understand why they need to do a cervical smear test, what a cervical smear test is, and how to interpret the results of a cervical smear test. Therefore, it is necessary for women to understand these related common sense in detail. Let us first look at what a cervical smear test is.

A cervical smear is a procedure in which a small sample of cells is taken from the cervix of the uterus, placed on a glass slide, and then studied under a microscope to see if there are any abnormalities. Cervical smear is currently the simplest and most effective diagnostic method for widespread examination of cervical cancer.

If a female friend has severe cervical erosion, it may turn into cancer, and a cervical smear is the most convenient and effective examination. It involves using a special scraper to gently scrape the surface of the cervix.

How to read the results of cervical smear test?

A cervical smear is a procedure that uses a special scraper to scrape off the exfoliated cells of the cervix. The cells are then smeared on a glass slide, stained with a special Papanicolaou stain, and observed under a microscope. According to the characteristics of Papanicolaou staining, the cells are divided into Papanicolaou grades I, II, III, IV, and V.

Pap grade I: There are no abnormal cells in the normal smear.

Pap grade II: There are abnormal changes in cells in the inflammatory smear.

Pap test grade III: Suspicious cancer cells in the smear have nuclear metamorphosis, but it cannot be confirmed and further follow-up examination is needed to confirm the diagnosis.

Pap test grade IV: There are cells in the smear that are highly suspected to be malignant.

Pap test grade V: There are cancer cells in the smear, which is definitely cancer. Most women have a Pap test result of grade I or II, indicating that cervical inflammation is common. However, checking for cervicitis is not a one-time check, because the situation can change and regular checks are required. Sometimes, the result of IIB may be reported, indicating that the cervical inflammation is more obvious and regular follow-up is needed. At the same time, cervicitis should be actively treated to prevent the occurrence of cervical cancer. Reminder: The purpose of cervical smear examination is mainly to understand the morphology of cervical epithelial cells and rule out the occurrence of cervical tumors. Of course, cervical smear examination is a relatively basic examination method. When doubts arise, further colposcopy or cervical biopsy pathological section can be performed to confirm the diagnosis.

Cervical smear examination should pay attention to

1. The person being examined should avoid sexual intercourse within 24 hours before the scraping.

2. Do not flush the vagina, use vaginal suppositories, or perform intravaginal examinations within 24 to 48 hours before the planned examination.

3. When there is cervical inflammation, treatment should be carried out first, and then the scraping should be done to avoid the film being filled with a large number of white blood cells and inflammatory cells, which may affect the diagnosis.

4. It is best to schedule the examination during the non-menstrual period.

5. Anyone who has had sexual intercourse should have a cervical smear test. Regardless of whether they are married or unmarried, any woman who has had sexual intercourse at any age may develop cervical cancer. Among them, women who marry early or have sexual experience too early, give birth to their first child at a very young age, have many sexual partners, give birth frequently, or smoke have a particularly high risk of developing the disease. Therefore, all sexually active women should undergo a smear test at least once a year.

Cervical smear test is suitable for people

Any woman who has had sexual activity for more than three years or has had sexual activity for more than 21 years should start regular cervical cancer screening. Women who marry and have children early, have a history of miscarriage, a history of sexually transmitted diseases, or have multiple sexual partners are all at high risk of cervical cancer.

Cervical smear test time

It is best for sexually active women to have a cervical smear done once a year if possible.

It can be seen that the cervical smear test is not redundant. If women do not know how to read the results of the cervical smear test, they must show their test results to the doctor in detail in order to get an accurate answer. If the test results are cancerous, effective treatment should be carried out as soon as possible to prevent the cancer from getting worse and endangering women's health and appearance.