The Pap smear test is part of the women’s regular routine physical examination. The importance of the test is to help in detecting abnormal cells that can cause cervical cancer.

In case your doctor pronounces that you had an abnormal pap smear, it means that there are some cervical cells that appear abnormal. There is a misconception among many people that this would mean that they have cancer but this is not true.

Abnormal pap smear causes

In many cases, the abnormal pap smear results from unusual alterations of cervical cells by human papilloma virus, HPV. The HPV are sexually transmitted infections and they often disappear on their own.Abnormal Pap Smear Causes

Nonetheless, there are other varieties of HPV that have been associated with causing cervical cancer. It takes several years before a certain infection turns into cancer hence the importance of regular pap smear tests to help in early detection of the condition.

In some cases, abnormal pap smears can result from infection by some yeasts or bacteria. The changes can be easily treated with medical assistance.

Women who are past the menopause also have unusual Pap smear result. As you can see, in all these abnormal tests the women do not have cervical cancer.

What enhances one’s risk towards having abnormal pap smear test

One of the main abnormal Pap smear causes is high risk coitus. High risk sexual encounters refer to unprotected sex. You should use a condom when having sex with other partners to stay safe from these infections. In some cases, you may have a single partner but the partner has several sexual partners. This also puts you at risk of getting abnormal tests.

Another cause for abnormal Pap smear is having HPV in your body for a long time unknowingly. In case you have been having the bacteria for a long time and it has escaped untreated, you are likely to experience unusual Pap smear test results. This implies that it is imperative for ladies to have regular pap smear results to avoid letting HPV virus reside in their bodies for long duration.

Are there unusual pap smear symptoms?

The alteration of the cells does not cause any kind of symptoms. In addition, HPV which is behind causing the abnormal tests does not have any kind of symptoms as well. This is the reason why occasional Pap smear tests are very crucial as there is no other way one can detect abnormalities of cells especially in the cervix until it is too late to treat the HPV.

However, in case the abnormal Pap smear causes experienced are attributed to venereal infection the following symptoms may be observed:

  • There may be a discharge in your vagina which is strange in characteristic such as color, amount, texture and odor.
  • Experiencing itching, burning or pain in the pelvic or genital region during sexual encounter or when urinating.
  • Blisters, lumps, sores and warts in the genital region.

What follows discovery of unusual pap smear test?

A subsequent test called Colposcopy is done to determine the extremity at which the cells have altered. The test is also carried out from taking a sample of HPV infected cells from the cervix. Treatment is then administered depending on whether the cells alteration is mild, moderate or extreme.