{"id":1419,"date":"2019-06-17T14:43:24","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T20:43:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/?p=1419"},"modified":"2019-06-27T14:34:31","modified_gmt":"2019-06-27T20:34:31","slug":"pap-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/pap-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"Pap Testing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As a teenager on the brink of womanhood, having my mother drag me to Pap smear
\nappointments was a nightmare. I thought the doctor should at least provide me with a paper bag
\nto put over my head to preserve my dignity.<\/p>\n

My pap tests always came back normal, rendering me frustrated at the fact that I had to
\ncontinue getting them done. Of course, I didn\u2019t recognize that in this case, no news was good
\nnews.<\/p>\n

A Pap test or Pap smear (also known as a Papanicolaou test or smear) is used to determine
\nwhether there are abnormal and\/or cancer-causing cells in the cervix.
\nCervical cancer is a disease in which the cells of the cervix become abnormal and start to grow
\nuncontrollably, forming tumours. In Canada, a Pap test is the most effective and recommended
\nscreening test for cervical cancer.<\/p>\n

Most provincial and territorial guidelines recommend that women 21 years of age and older who
\nare sexually active should have a Pap test at least every three years.<\/p>\n

The best way to protect yourself against cervical cancer is to protect yourself from HPV (human
\npapilloma virus). HPV is a sexually transmitted infection that can cause cervical cancer.<\/p>\n

There are some steps you can take to reduce your risk of contracting HPV:<\/p>\n

Use a condom<\/strong>. Condoms help reduce the risk of getting HPV. Men who use condoms are less
\nlikely to be infected and less likely to infect their partners. (Please remember that condoms do
\nnot prevent all infections).<\/p>\n

Limit your use of spermicidal gels<\/strong>. Frequent use of spermicidal gels containing nonoxynol-9
\nmay cause irritation and small tears of the genital tissue, allowing for easier transmission of
\nsexually transmitted infections.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t smoke<\/strong>. The risk of developing cervical cancer increases with the length of time a woman
\nsmokes and the number of cigarettes smoked per day.<\/p>\n

In order to ensure your next Pap test is as accurate as possible:<\/p>\n

Book<\/strong> your appointment for the 5th or 6th day following the end of your menstrual period.
\nAbstain from sexual intercourse at least 24 hours prior to your Pap test.<\/p>\n

Refrain<\/strong> from using vaginal douches, vaginal sprays\/powders, or contraceptive creams for at
\nleast 24 hours prior to your Pap test.<\/p>\n

Empty<\/strong> your bladder before your Pap test.<\/p>\n

Pap tests do not hurt, but they can be unpleasant. The test lasts just a few minutes and can go
\na long way in catching cervical changes before they develop into cancer.
\nTo learn more about Pap testing or to schedule an appointment with one of our physicians, drop
\ninto your nearest IHC location or give us a call!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a teenager on the brink of womanhood, having my mother drag me to Pap smear appointments was a nightmare. I thought the doctor should at least provide me with a paper bag to put over my head to preserve my dignity. My pap tests always came back normal, rendering me frustrated at the fact […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[57,55,56],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1419"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1419"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1421,"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1419\/revisions\/1421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginehealthcentres.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}