Are smear tests important even if I’ve never been sexually active? Dr Zoe Williams answers your questions
HERE’S been lots of talk about different jabs in the past week.
One new injection could “cure” hangovers, say scientists at the University of Texas, while a weight loss jab called Wegovy – which has helped Elon Musk and, reportedly, Kim Kardashian to shed the pounds – will become available on the NHS.
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Then there’s the latest Covid booster jab that will become available this spring to the over-75s, older adults in care homes and those who are immunosuppressed and aged five or over.
More generally, it’s really important to make sure you and your family’s vaccines are up to date, whether it’s routine ones, or if you’re jetting off somewhere exotic and need protection against certain infectious diseases.
The NHS outlines the routine immunisation schedule and all the travel vaccinations you might need at nhs.uk.
Here is what readers asked me this week . . .
Q) SOME of my family members (mum, grandparents) had strokes.
How much do they run in families?
A) Strokes can run in families in the same way lots of conditions can, but the most likely cause of a stroke is lifestyle factors, which also tend to be passed down the generations, and run in families, too.
Quite often we adopt the same habits as our parents and we know that smoking, high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes are all major risk factors for strokes, as is excessive alcohol consumption.
So while we cannot do anything to change our age or the genes we have inherited, we can change our biggest risk factors by leading a healthy lifestyle.
If you’re concerned, take a look at your lifestyle first and see if you can mitigate your risk by making your lifestyle as healthy as you possibly can.
Q) MY wife has had burning mouth syndrome for more than two years.
We have tried everything, including alternative medicine.
The doctors have tried all they know too, and nothing has worked.
Can you offer any advice which will help to relieve pain.
We’re not after a miracle, just anything that will help.
A) As you’ll no doubt know, burning mouth syndrome is a debilitating and painful condition which feels like a burning, tingling or scalding phenomenon in the mouth.
It’s most commonly diagnosed in post- menopausal women over 50. BMS is considered to be a neuropathic (when nerves are damaged or malfunction) pain condition.
So there are changes in the way the nerves in your mouth send messages to your brain — for example, about taste and temperature.
When your brain does not understand these messages properly it can cause the feeling of pain or burning.
Because taste receptors can be involved, it can also mean food tastes bizarre or not like it should. It’s usually diagnosed by symptoms.
You don’t mention if your wife has any underlying health conditions such as diabetes, allergies or nutritional deficiencies, which can make symptoms worse.
I’m sure you’ll know this already but avoiding certain things can ease symptoms — spicy foods, alcohol, mouthwashes with alcohol in them and acidic foods.
Difflam spray or mouthwash can help to reduce discomfort — this can be bought at the pharmacy.
Medical treatments include HRT if the case is thought to be due to changes in hormones, and as with many chronic neuropathic pain conditions, antidepressant and anticonvulsant medications can be helpful, such as amitriptyline, duloxetine, gabapentin or pregabalin.
The most important part of treatment for people who have BMS is to fully understand the condition and appreciate that it is a long-term issue that cannot usually be cured.
The aims of treatment are to reduce the severity and manage symptoms.
There are no known serious health problems associated with BMS but the burden of having a persistently sore mouth can lead to irritability, anxiety or depression.
It is very important to realise how stress affects symptoms and to learn to manage it. Relaxation, yoga and meditation can all help.
Your wife should also try to keep active and not let the presence of pain impact on her daily activities.
She could also set aside time to do pleasurable activities and reward herself if she has coped well with the day.
These types of measures have been shown to be more effective than medications for some.
Smear tests catch cancer
Q) ARE smear tests important if I’ve never been sexually active?
Two British women die every day from cervical cancer, yet it is one of the most preventable types of cancer.
Around 3,200 of us are diagnosed with it each year and it’s the second most common cancer among women under 35.
Cervical screening (smear tests) is our best defence, and if everyone who was eligible attended their free screenings, we’d prevent the majority of these cancers ever occurring in the first place.
The tests are designed to detect the presence or absence of the human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer.
It’s an assessment for abnormal pre-cancerous cells, which can be treated if found.
They’re offered every three or five years in the UK to women aged between 25 and 64 and that’s because it takes several years for any abnormal cells to turn into cancer.
So if you never miss a screening, you are exceptionally well protected.
If you’ve never been sexually active, and that means ANY sexual activity, not just penetrative sex, then your risk of getting cervical cancer is exceptionally low and it is ultimately your choice whether to take up the offer of screening.
Your question doesn’t elaborate on what you think the term “sexually active” means, though.
The HPV virus can be contracted through oral sex, sharing sex toys and any skin-to-skin contact in the genital area.
So if you haven’t had penetrative sex but have done any of the above, then attending cervical screening is still important in order to check for HPV.
In most cases our bodies get rid of HPV on their own, but sometimes it can stay in your body for a long time and some forms, called “high risk” HPV, can eventually cause cervical cancer if untreated.
If you decide to take up screening, please tell the nurse or doctor that you’re a virgin, so they can use a smaller speculum and be very careful and gentle.
And if you feel more comfortable taking someone along with you for support, you absolutely can do that.
The bottom line is, if you have a cervix and have had any kind of sexual contact, with people of any gender, you should attend screening.
