What is colposcopy and why is it needed?

What is colposcopy, to date, few know, since this procedure has only recently become desirable, and in some clinics - and mandatory. Many women, having learned that they are assigned the passage of colposcopy, are frightened and harass their gynecologists with questions about why colposcopy is needed, is it painful.

In fact, there is nothing terrible and painful in this procedure. On the question of what colposcopy is, it is possible to answer extremely simply: it is a gynecological procedure, in which a detailed examination of the cervix by a microscope is carried out.

If you describe the colposcopy in detail, you can find out that this procedure is very similar to a usual gynecological examination: when it is carried out, the patient's vaginal walls are diluted with a gynecological mirror, and a colposcope is brought to the cervix, which combines a binocular microscope and a lighting device. Colposcopy does not take much time. Its average duration is 20-30 minutes.

It should be noted that colposcopy was recognized as the safest of all diagnostic methods used in obstetrics and gynecology. And the fact that the procedure is performed without any anesthesia only confirms its painlessness - the patients can experience only minor unpleasant sensations.

In some cases, this procedure can also cause harm to health. Especially if the unpleasant consequences of the examination were not detected on time. Therefore, knowing what colposcopy is, one should keep in mind its possible consequences.

So, if colposcopy was performed with insufficient accuracy, the walls of the vagina or cervix can be damaged, and also an infection can be entered in them. Therefore, if after this procedure the patient has symptoms such as severe persistent bleeding, the appearance of strange vaginal discharge, pain and discomfort in the lower abdomen, and an increase in temperature, she should immediately consult a gynecologist.

The desire to know as much as possible about the forthcoming procedure is very natural, so many patients ask not only what colposcopy is, but why it is needed. Perhaps, many people secretly hope that this procedure is not at all necessary for them, and it can be avoided.

To their disappointment, colposcopy is an absolutely indispensable procedure that allows to reveal many diseases of the female reproductive system that occur asymptomatically.

Thus, colposcopy can detect erosion of the cervix, benign and malignant tumors, as well as various damages to the cervix, vagina and vulva.

In addition, this procedure greatly facilitates the carrying out of various samples (Schiller and Hrobak test, adrenaline sample and acetic acid test), as well as a biopsy of the cervix, in which the smallest piece of tissue for laboratory testing is taken from the most affected area.

Colposcopy during pregnancy is also extremely important, because during this period the woman's health is especially fragile. Colposcopy is not performed in the first trimester of pregnancy, because at this time it creates a threat of miscarriage. But in the second and third trimester, this procedure is highly desirable, since it is during pregnancy that erosion of the cervix is particularly intense. And if this unpleasant disease does not start in time to treat, then at birth it can lead to rupture of the cervix.

Generally, it is desirable to undergo colposcopy every year. This procedure is indicated for all women who have sex. It should be borne in mind that a couple of days before colposcopy you need to refrain from unprotected sexual acts, and do not use gels and lubricants, do not perform douching. With a procedure, you need to take a gasket, since colposcopy may result in bleeding.