Self-Administered Alternative to the Pap Smear Promises Less Pain, No Speculum

Mar. 15, 2025

Stock image of a speculum; Stock image of cotton swabs.Photo:Getty (2)

Getty (2)

A new self-administered test for HPV — the virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer — is rolling out to doctor’s offices, and may be available for at-home use in the future.

In the test, whichThe New York Timessaid is expected to be available this fall, a patient can swab the inside of their vagina themselves to collect a tissue sample while at their gynecologist’s office.

The swab, the outlet said, is similar to those used tonasally testforCOVID 19.

Stock image of a gynecological office.Getty

Getty

In a pap smear, a gynecologist ​​uses a speculum to open the walls of the vagina, and then uses an instrument to collect cells from the cervix.

As theMayo Clinicnotes, it “may feel uncomfortable. You could experience light bleeding afterward, but you shouldn’t feel pain or cramping.”

However, that’s not the case for everyone: “I nearly passed out from the pain,” writer Emma Szewczak shared inVogue UK.

And “when asked to rate the discomfort, distress or anxiety they might feel about having a pelvic examination on a 0–10 scale, women with a history of sexual assault were nearly twice as likely to report high (22% vs. 11.4%) or moderate (22.4% vs. 13.7%) levels of distress, compared to women without a history of sexual assault,” one study, published in theNational Library of Medicine, highlighted.

Stock image of a woman talking to her doctor.Getty

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It’s “a common virus that’s passed through sexual contact,” and although for “most people, the virus never causes problems,” for some, “the virus can cause changes in the cells that may lead to cancer,” according to the organization.

It can also causeanal cancer, asDesperate HousewivesalumMarcia Crossshared in an effort to raise awareness about the virus.

source: people.com