doctor's advice : All posts

Navigating Healthcare in Washtenaw County - A doctor's advice

Understanding the guidelines for maintaining your cervical health

Should women get an annual Pap smear test? January was Cervical Health Awareness Month and as we pass into February, we want to try to make sense of the current guidelines on when women should have a Pap smear test.

A study published in September 2009 Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology suggested some women can wait three years in between Pap smear tests. For years, women have been told to get an annual Pap smear test. So these new recommendations are welcome to some, anxiety-provoking to a few and confusing to many.

So here is an attempt to sort out some of the confusion. The most common cause of cervical cancer is the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). This virus is exceedingly common. Only a few strains of the virus are actually harmful, a few cause cervical cancers (and pre-cancers) and a few strains cause genital warts.

More after the jump…

Navigating healthcare in Washtenaw County - A doctor's advice

Health care information is coming from multiple sources and much of it is conflicting.

Do we take vitamins or get our vitamins from a good diet? What is a good diet? Low carbs? Low fat? Grapefruit? Organic? How much exercise is enough? Should it be cardio? Or weights? Yoga or running? There are different types of practitioners? What is the difference between a chiropractor and a doctor? A physical therapist and a physiatrist? A naturopath or a homeopath?

When should we seek help? When do you live with that virus, or when is it time to be seen and be treated? How often should we have a physical? Or what about the confusion over when to be screened for certain conditions?

Even for those of us familiar with the health care system, the navigation is tricky.

More after the jump…