Can home HPV screening kits be the answer to reducing smear test participation?



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Earlier this week, we reported the high number of women who avoid smear tests because they are embarrbaded. Of the 2,005 young women interviewed by Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, 81% indicated that they had either delayed or did not go to their cervical screening for this very reason.

And it's worrying because there is honestly not be embarrbaded. The doctors and nurses performing the screenings have all seen about 472,894 * other bads in their careers so far and, believe it or not, during the forty-five seconds they spent near the yours, they would not spend much time. its external aesthetic.

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* This is not an official statistic, but I bet it's not far

However, it would be wrong to leave aside the role that bad embarrbadment plays in preventing so many women from undergoing their smears, which is why a DIY test kit might well be the option many women need.

Could home HPV screening kits be the solution to reduce the rate of participation in smear tests?

The brush used to recover a cotton swab during smear tests

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All about HPV

Better2Know.fr, a private provider of badual health testing services in the UK, has implemented an HPV home testing kit. And we think it's worth knowing more, as this could be an effective (and much more private) way for women to know if they are at risk of developing cervical cancer. uterus in the near future.

Here's why it could work: In the UK, smear tests are changing over the next year. These are what are called "HPV primary screenings". HPV – or human papillomavirus – is a common virus that causes 99.7% of all cervical cancers. It's badually transmitted, but most people do not even know it. The risk of contracting HPV during your lifetime is extremely high, with about 8 in 10 people being infected at some point in their lives.

Cervical screening, smear

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Since HPV causes almost all cases of cervical cancer, it makes sense to start by testing HPV in women. If they have one of the 13 strains of the virus that can cause cancer of the cervix, uterine cervix monitoring is a priority in order ensure that there is no evidence of pre-cancer. If they are not infected with HPV, it would be almost impossible for them to develop cervical cancer.

With me up to now? Screening tests by the NHS in England will soon be adapted to follow this line of thought (this has already changed in Wales and Scotland will follow next year). Thus, while the procedure itself will not change (a speculum will still be inserted into the bad, with a swab taking cervical cell samples), the change will occur when sending the sample to badysis. Instead of looking for changes (abnormalities) in uterine cervix cells on the cotton swab, labs will first test the samples to detect HPV.

Could home HPV screening kits be the solution to reduce the rate of participation in smear tests?

To be honest, a speculum is rather harmless

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The DIY test

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This is where the home samples come in. If the NHS is now giving priority to HPV testing, then for women who find the idea that another person is picking up their samples by embarrbading it could be easier to do it themselves at home.

But obviously, it has a cost. DIY HPV tests can be ordered online for £ 99. They are self-administered privately and the samples must then be mailed back to Better2Know, which will provide badysis and results within five working days.

BUY A DIY TEST NOW

From there, if a woman turns out to be HIV-positive for one of the high-risk HPV strains, she would be advised to consult a doctor (privately or via the NHS) for further examination. Otherwise, she may relax knowing that she is extremely unlikely to develop cervical cancer and that she does not need to think about getting another screening test in three years ( Smear tests are recommended every three years by the NHS for women with no abnormalities.).

You may be wondering why we really need to play with all these screenings and house picks. And the only thing I can say about this is that he could literally save your life.

The NHS uterine cancer screening program saves 5,000 lives each year in the UK and offers the best protection against cervical cancer, compared to 75% of cervical cancer cases. # 39; uterus. With more than 3,000 women diagnosed each year in the UK – and with cervical cancer the most common cancer in women aged 35 and under – that's so, so important to protect your health that way.

Do not let the embarrbadment stop you – that it behave to take a smiling and frantic approach and submit to a screening test, or invest in a kit at home that you can create privately.

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