Cervicitis

Your healthcare provider can diagnose cervicitis during a pelvic exam. During your appointment, your healthcare provider will look for:

Any redness or inflammation on your cervix.
Pus-like discharge.
Inflammation of your vaginal walls.

Your provider will also take a sample of your vaginal discharge and send it to a lab for analysis. To do this, they place a cotton swab into your vagina and collect fluid. Then, a pathologist tests the discharge for infection.

Does cervicitis show up on a Pap smear?

A Pap test can offer clues that could lead to diagnosis, but it’s not a test for cervicitis. A Pap smear is helpful in that it allows your healthcare provider to see changes in the cells of your cervix that may point to dysplasia or cancer. But it can’t diagnose cervicitis or what’s causing it.

What can be mistaken for cervicitis?

Many other conditions have similar symptoms to those of cervicitis like inflammation, irregular discharge, odor and itching. Some of these conditions are:

Vaginitis.
Yeast infection.
Bacterial vaginosis.

Symptoms

When to see a doctor

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Complications

Blood clots are a dangerous complication of atrial fibrillation (AFib). Blood clots can lead to stroke.

The risk of stroke from AFib increases as you grow older. Other health conditions also may increase the risk of a stroke due to AFib. These conditions include:

High blood pressure.
Diabetes.
Heart failure.
Some types of heart valve disease.

Blood thinners are commonly prescribed to prevent blood clots and strokes in people with atrial fibrillation.

Prevention

Healthy lifestyle choices can reduce the risk of heart disease and may prevent atrial fibrillation (AFib). Here are some basic heart-healthy tips:

Control high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
Don't smoke or use tobacco.
Eat a diet that's low in salt and saturated fat.
Exercise at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week unless your health care team says not to.
Get good sleep. Adults should aim for 7 to 9 hours daily.
Maintain a healthy weight.
Reduce and manage stress.

By Mayo Clinic Staff

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Diagnosis & treatment

Living with atrial fibrillation?

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