The Food and Drug administration has approved the U.S.'s first at-home alternative to the Pap smear, a procedure generations of women have dreaded and often found painful.
The new device by Teal Health will offer a “much preferred experience,” the company said in its announcement, and also aims to increase screening rates by making the procedure more convenient.
Traditionally, gynecologists have inserted a cold metal speculum deep into a woman’s vagina to scrape cells from the cervix.
The Teal Wand — “built with empathy,” the company said — uses a swab to collect a vaginal sample. Women will then mail the sample to a lab that will screen for HPV (human papillomavirus), the virus that causes nearly all cervical cancers. A growing body of research has found HPV testing to be highly accurate.
I don’t really trust the FDA to be doing due diligence anymore so I will continue to see my doctor for Pap smears, beyond the fact a Pap smear appointment does more than just look for HPV
So instead of looking for cancerous cells they’re just looking for HPV? What percentage is “nearly all” exactly? Either they are going to miss some cancers or I could have skipped a lot of Pap smears. I just finally aged out, and now they tell me‽
The other risks are linked to a ton of other cancers: smoking, and a weak immune system.
There is a vaccine for hpv now, so it’ll be interesting to see if the rates of cervical cancer drop going forward.
Do you really still trust the FDA?
Not under this administration. But I had my final Pap at 65, as per long-standing recommendations, and I don’t intend to start any HPV-risky activities.
