Reputable Waco OBGYN Explains What Happens During Pelvic Examinations

By Barbara Edwards


Your obstetrician gynecologist will make it pretty clear that regular pelvic exams are a must. Irrespective of the bold face you show to the outside world, you are likely not to be stoked for what happens during sessions. Pelvic exams involve getting inspections of your outer genitalia and the insides of the vagina. Using a speculum or through other internal exams, your Waco OBGYN would get to understand the state of your ovaries and uterus.

Potentially harmful conditions can be understood better through pelvic exams. The tests that are done will help your doctor to identify infections, infertility issues, skin conditions and cancerous tumors just to mention a few. You will need to undergo a pelvic exam if your menstrual cycles are irregular, you are pregnant, you are battling with infertility, you have unusual discharge or you want to be screened for cervical cancer.

It is normal for women to get anxious about getting the pelvic exam. What you need to know is that there is nothing to worry about. In most cases, the doctor will spend between 5 and 10 minutes. Irrespective of how uncomfortable you may feel, you could take comfort in knowing that the sessions would not take long before they are wrapped up.

Apart from taking a bath or shower in the morning, there is nothing else that is expected of you in terms of getting ready for the tests. Make sure that you do not use scented products, even if they are for hygiene reasons. It is okay to get pubic hair grooming, though it is not compulsory.

During manual examinations, your OBGYN will provide you with a gown. You therefore need to undress from the waist down and put it on. From this point, you should lay on the examination table on your back. You will also get special stirrups on either end of the table where you can place your feet. This position makes it easier for a specialist to evaluate the state of your vulva and determine whether there are abnormalities or abrasions that should be addressed.

After the manual exams, the obstetrician gynecologist will then need to do a pap smear. This would involve using a duckbill-shaped tool also known as a speculum to spread out the walls of the vagina. Once the speculum is in place, your doctor will use a small wand to get cell samples from the cervix.

These samples that are collected during the Pap smear procedure are used to test for a variety of conditions. They include STDs (sexually transmitted diseases), HPVs (human papilloma virus) and also cervical cancer. It is hence essential for all sexually active women to get a Pap smear at least once each year.

In some instances, additional checkups may be done. Your doctor could propose doing breast examinations or rectal exams. Any issues that are identified would then be effectively addressed and you could also ask any questions that you have. Before you leave, your OBGYN may also have a list of questions to ask you.




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