Reader question: Can you trust home tests for cellular changes? I got a test kit sent home in the mailbox and did the test as it was told to do. But we did not receive any response. Can you get lost? Or not good news?
The doctor answers: Then a midwife is called.
Some areas offer self-tests like I did. It was introduced to make it easier for women to test themselves. In the past, it was difficult to get everyone to come to the clinic for a Pap test with a midwife.
Self-exams primarily look for HPV, the human papilloma virus, which can lead to changes in the cells, not the changes in the cells themselves. If you find a persistent viral infection on the self-test, you will be called to a midwife for a test where any changes in the cells can be detected. You usually wait until three months have passed for the virus to recover when the cell sample is taken.
You should always get an answer to the test and usually say within how long the answer will come. It may take a month or so, since there are many samples being tested in the lab. If something goes wrong when running the test, you will be notified, that is, you cannot run the analysis and need a new test.
If the test was sent from your area and you followed the instructions, you should be able to trust it, and if you don’t receive an answer, you should be able to contact it, or alternatively ask to get a new one.
Check how to contact 1177 in your area. Also, something might have happened when you mailed the sample.
Ask a doctor
Gunilla Hasselgren is a specialist in general medicine and Honorary Doctor of Medicine at Uppsala University.
Send your questions to: [email protected]
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