Health alert: all the Pap smear rules are changing

As women, we all know the Pap test drill. Book in your check up every two years, smugly pat yourself on the back for remembering, and keep an eye out for any suspicious activity.

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Now, the Australian government has announced changes, and we don’t want to get everyone too excited, but it means more time between testing (and less visits to those uncomfortable stirrups).

That’s right, as of May 2017, the pap smear will be replaced with the “more accurate” Cervical Screening Test every five years, with the age of screening increasing from 18 to 25.

So why the new change?

According to the Department of Health , “the new Cervical Screening Test detects human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, which is the first step in developing cervical cancer.”

“While the current Pap test can detect abnormal cell changes, the new Cervical Screening Test will detect the HPV infection that can cause the abnormal cell changes, prior to the development of cancer.”

For those afraid of change, don’t worry – the procedure for collecting the sample is the same, and all you need to do is continue along your normal Pap smear schedule.

“Women will be due for the first Cervical Screening Test two years after their last Pap test,” advises the website.

Another important note: even if you’ve received the HPV vaccine, you still need to get the Cervical Screening Test as not all types of infection are protected against.

There you have it - less time between tests sounds like a win to us!

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