Why do Americans go to gynecologists so regularly?

[Anonymous]

I asked a question earlier and everyone was telling me I should be seeing a gyno regularly for check ups... Is that an American thing? I'm from Australia and generally women only go to a gyno if they have something wrong with them and they have a referral from their GP. Specialist doctors like that are expensive. If a woman over here needs a pap smear, she goes to her GP, and usually only sexually active women get pap smears. So that's why I haven't had one, I'm not sexually active so don't really need one as I wouldn't have HPV (which is the number one cause of cervical cancer).

[MrOracle]

One of the reasons that medical care is better in the US than anywhere else is because so many areas of medicine are specialized. It was recognized that as our knowledge improved, that individual areas were unique enough, and had so many unique issues and treatments, that a GP simply couldn't keep track of them. He might know the most common/basic stuff, but anything out of the ordinary and he'd be out of his depth, and as a result, the patient wouldn't get the best possible care.

Gynos are just one of many COMMON specialties in the US, and even if 60-70% of their work is fairly routine, that other 30-40% is stuff that a GP wouldn't be good at, because it's too unique. A GP might deal with that problem once or twice a year, where a Gyno would see it every week, and so have much more experience and better training to handle it.

[Cryostatic]

If you're over 30, and a recent pap came back normal, then you shouldn't need another pap for three years.

I'm sure that in some other countries, women go to gynos far less than they do in Australia, if ever.

Maybe it's due to women's lib and the sexual revolution, maybe it's due to the rise in STDs over the past couple of decades, maybe it's due to special-interest or activist groups, but whatever the reason, womens' health is something that we're very aware of here in the states.

It might be overkill, but the general idea is that it's better to be checked regularly than to let it go, and I can't really say that's a bad idea.

[carinabina820]

Here, when you go to a gynecologist, it is not just for a vaginal exam. Gynecologists also are the only ones who are allowed to run certain hormone, STD, and pregnancy tests (or order them to be done). In order to start on birth control, the doctor must be sure that you are not pregnant and do not have certain STDs or physical obstructions (or other hormonal disorders such as PCOS) before prescribing birth control. Possibly this is because here it is always the doctor's "fault" when something goes wrong.

Women go to see gynecologists to ensure that they do not have any STDs, uterin or ovarian cancers, obstructions or cysts, to check for pregnancy, and to ensure that they do not have any hormone imbalances.

It is a required part of a generally healthy lifestyle.

[samhradh_ean]

I'm American and I've never been to the gyno. You don't have to go to a gyno before going on birth control, but you usually have to get a pap smear, which gynos may sometimes handle.

It's generally recommended to go to the gyno for checkups the same way you get a doctor's checkup once in a while or a dentist checkup. You want to catch problems early and make sure everything's going well. But not everyone goes regularly, especially if they don't have good insurance and can't afford to. Specialist doctors are expensive here too, and even normal ones are expensive. Everyone does different things. But going regularly is safest for your health, that's only common sense.

[tohrment]

I was slightly horrified when I first read this because I thought you were saying US women have vaginal exams too often, lol.

I'm not sure why it is? I think our GPs take on a much wider range of duties. It's really a question for people in the medical field, but I'm going to assume that healthcare in the US is far more specialised, as its mostly privatised. Here in Aus it's more public, and GPs are the most accessible.

But yeah, really you should be seeing a GP every 1-2 years anyway, even if you aren't sexually active. It checks for cervical cancer, which isn't always related to sex.

[ken11356]

Having a gyno exam for pills is a big joke in the United States. It is just another money maker for them. My girlfriends GP used to do the pap smears, but not suggests somebody and she has never had any luck with the referrels. The way things are done in this country are crazy, but I still love the United States and God Bless America.

[katiesmuff]

In the US you would have a very hard time to find a GP who wants to look at our bits. Medical in the US has changed to the point you have specialists for just about everything. We have ear, nose, throat specialists, gyno's, obgyn's, etc. Your GP's here basically give simple physicals (when a girl matures is sent to a gyno), and he is the one you go see if you have a cold, flu etc type thing. It's become Specialized Medicine

[kheserthorpe]

For whatever reason gyno's handle pap smears quite often in north America.

As for the 'before going on birth control', there's actually no necessary link, but the doctors have basically set it up that way to ensure sexually active women are getting regular pap smears done.

[Blobb]

To keep their vaginas clean, healthy and spotlessly shiny clean. And ti give gynaecologists a job.

[Asker]

probably to give gynos a job... vagina's are usually capable of cleaning themselves.

[samhradh_ean]

Nobody goes to the gyno to keep clean. It's not like a car wash.

[Anonymous]

It's a myth that regular gynecological examinations are necessary for good health and I don't know why it is such a widely held belief in the US. Gynecologists are specialists and one need not visit a specialist unless they have a specific problem. Pap smears are overused in the US and can be done by a primary care physician anyway. It has been documented that the overuse of pap smears has led to risk factors regarding false readings leading to high rates of biopsies for abnormal cells that would usually fix themselves without interference. Contraception (with the exception of IUD's) do not require a pelvic exam or pap smear and if a doctor does require such tests or examinations before prescribing contraception, I recommend never going to that doctor. So yes, it is an American thing to frequently visit gynecologists and no, you do not need to see a gyno for regular check-ups.

[Anonymous]

That's not just America.

That's common sense health.

Like men after 40 getting yearly prostate checks. And that has nothing to do with whether they smoke, or have butt-sex or anything like that.

It's basic health.

Pap smears are not about being sexually active. Neither is HPV. Women should be having regular gyno checkups since the age of 21.

Even in Australia, how can you possibly be in your 30's and not know this?

[Asker]

Yeah but you don't need to go to a gyno here unless you have a problem, otherwise you just go to your gp doctor. As far as I know you actually have to have a referal from a GP to see a gyno, and that's usually if the gp can't help your problem or doesn't know enough about it. Women in Australia don't have to have pap smears they just reccomend them 2 years after becoming sexually active. It's very rare for a virgin to get cervical cancer, and HPV is from skin to skin contact

[Asker]

So how would a virgin have HPV if she's never been touched in that area? Women get it from having sex.

[Opinion Owner]

Everytime an American told you to see a gyno then, they were telling you to see your GP. And as *everyone* has told you, you're wrong about the need to see them. The Australian Medical Association recommends that all women who have *EVER* been sexually active should start having Pap smears between the ages of 18 to 20, or one to 2 years after they first had sexual intercourse. If you ever had one, you'd be on the register, and they'd be contacting you every time you were due a new one.

[Opinion Owner]

HPV is not only contracted through sex. 30 seconds on google can show you that.

Here : link

They give the example where it was contracted through getting a brazilain.

and before you say it, I DON'T CARE THAT YOU NEVER HAD A BRAZILIAN

I'm merely pointing out that you're wrong when you say HPV is only contracted by sex.

There are other ways to contract it.

So yes, going to see your GP or GYNO or whatever is NECESSARY.

[Asker]

yes Australians only get pap smears if they have ever had sex. So no a virgin doesn't need one. It would be extremely rare for a virgin to have HPV. No one has ever seen my vagina let alone touch it so I don't think I would have it.

[Opinion Owner]

You obviously have a paranoid fear of getting a medical check up.

[Asker]

I just think its unnessasary. I'd rather save my money for something more important. Save my embarrassment aswell