It's not really necessary to test every year if you've had several normal paps in a row. Also, it's not an overall indication of how healthy you are "down there" - just that there were no abnormal cells detected on your cervix at the time.
The reason they test less often when you're in your 30's is because it's assumed that by 30 many people are in a monogamous relationship and/or married by that time, so their risk for contracting HPV and thus, developing cervical cancer, goes down.
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Date: 2010-08-25 05:02 pm (UTC)The reason they test less often when you're in your 30's is because it's assumed that by 30 many people are in a monogamous relationship and/or married by that time, so their risk for contracting HPV and thus, developing cervical cancer, goes down.