{"id":52942,"date":"2025-04-25T22:09:44","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T02:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/mayo-health-library\/colposcopy\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T12:13:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T17:13:15","slug":"colposcopy","status":"publish","type":"mayo","link":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/es\/mayo-health-library\/colposcopy\/","title":{"rendered":"Colposcopy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"container mx-auto   wordpress-block wordpress- core-\">\n<p>Colposcopy is an exam that looks closely at the cervix. It uses a special magnifying instrument to do this. The instrument also may be used to look at the vagina and vulva.<\/p>\n<p>Colposcopy, which is pronounced kol-POS-kuh-pee, looks for signs of disease. A colposcopy may be recommended if a Pap test result shows something concerning. If your healthcare team finds a suspicious area of cells during your colposcopy procedure, a sample of tissue can be collected for testing.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s common to feel anxious before a colposcopy exam. Knowing what to expect during your colposcopy may help you feel more comfortable.<\/p>\n<p>A healthcare professional may recommend colposcopy if a Pap test or pelvic exam finds something concerning.<\/p>\n<p>Colposcopy can help diagnose:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genital warts.<\/li>\n<li>Inflammation of the cervix, called cervicitis.<\/li>\n<li>Noncancerous growths on the cervix, such as polyps.<\/li>\n<li>Precancerous changes in the tissue of the cervix.<\/li>\n<li>Precancerous changes in the tissue of the vagina.<\/li>\n<li>Precancerous changes of the vulva.<\/li>\n<li>Cancer of the cervix, called cervical cancer.<\/li>\n<li>Cancer of the vagina, called vaginal cancer.<\/li>\n<li>Cancer of the vulva, called vulvar cancer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Colposcopy is a safe procedure that has very few risks. Rarely, complications from biopsies taken during colposcopy can happen. A biopsy is a procedure to remove a sample of tissue for testing in a lab. Biopsy complications may include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Heavy bleeding.<\/li>\n<li>Infection.<\/li>\n<li>Pelvic pain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To prepare for your colposcopy, your healthcare team may recommend that you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Avoid scheduling your colposcopy during your period.<\/li>\n<li>Don&#8217;t have vaginal intercourse the day or two before your colposcopy.<\/li>\n<li>Don&#8217;t use tampons the day or two before your colposcopy.<\/li>\n<li>Don&#8217;t use vaginal medicines for the two days before your colposcopy.<\/li>\n<li>Take a pain reliever, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), before going to your colposcopy appointment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Coping with feeling anxious before colposcopy<\/h3>\n<p>It is common to feel anxious before a colposcopy appointment. Being anxious can make you feel generally uncomfortable. You may find it hard to concentrate. You also may have difficulty sleeping.<\/p>\n<p>People who are very anxious about colposcopy may have more pain during the procedure than people who find ways to cope with and manage their feelings.<\/p>\n<p>Things that can help with feeling anxious about colposcopy include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Asking your healthcare professional for brochures or pamphlets about colposcopy and what you can expect.<\/li>\n<li>Writing down any questions or concerns you have about the procedure. Ask your healthcare professional to review them with you before your colposcopy begins.<\/li>\n<li>Finding activities that help you relax, such as exercise, meditation, and being with friends and family.<\/li>\n<li>Listening to music quietly during the exam.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>During the colposcopy<\/h3>\n<p>Colposcopy is usually done in a healthcare professional&#8217;s office. The procedure typically takes 10 to 20 minutes. You&#8217;ll lie on your back on a table with your feet in supports, just as during a pelvic exam or Pap test.<\/p>\n<p>A metal or plastic speculum is placed in your vagina. The speculum holds open the walls of your vagina so that your healthcare professional can see your cervix.<\/p>\n<p>The special magnifying instrument, called a colposcope, is placed a few inches away from your vulva. Your healthcare professional shines a bright light into your vagina and looks through the lens of the colposcope, as if using binoculars.<\/p>\n<p>Your cervix and vagina are swabbed with cotton to clear away any mucus. A solution of vinegar or another type of solution may be applied to the area. This may cause a burning or tingling sensation. The solution helps highlight any areas of suspicious cells.<\/p>\n<h3>During the biopsy<\/h3>\n<p>If your healthcare professional finds a suspicious area, a small sample of tissue may be taken for lab testing. To collect the sample, a sharp biopsy instrument is used to remove a small piece of tissue. If there are multiple suspicious areas, your healthcare professional may take multiple biopsy samples.<\/p>\n<p>A chemical solution may be applied to the biopsy area to limit bleeding.<\/p>\n<h3>After the colposcopy<\/h3>\n<p>If your healthcare professional didn&#8217;t do a biopsy during your colposcopy, you won&#8217;t have any restrictions on your activity once your exam is complete. You may experience some spotting or very light bleeding from your vagina in the next day or two.<\/p>\n<p>If you had a biopsy sample taken during your colposcopy, you may experience:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Vaginal or vulvar pain that lasts one or two days.<\/li>\n<li>Light bleeding from your vagina that lasts a few days.<\/li>\n<li>A dark discharge from your vagina.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Use a pad to catch any blood or discharge. Avoid tampons, douching and vaginal intercourse for a week after your biopsy, or for as long as you&#8217;re instructed.<\/p>\n<h3>When to call your healthcare team<\/h3>\n<p>Contact your healthcare team if you have any lasting symptoms that worry you.<\/p>\n<p>Symptoms that may indicate complications include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bleeding that is heavier than what you usually have during your period.<\/li>\n<li>Chills.<\/li>\n<li>Fever.<\/li>\n<li>Severe stomach pain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Before you leave your colposcopy appointment, ask your healthcare professional when you can expect the results. Also ask for a phone number you may call if you don&#8217;t hear back within a specified time.<\/p>\n<p>The results of your colposcopy will determine whether you&#8217;ll need any further testing and treatment.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Find out why colposcopy is done and what to expect during an exam to diagnose cancer and other problems affecting the cervix, vagina and vulva.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[1687,1682],"class_list":["post-52942","mayo","type-mayo","status-publish","hentry","tag-medical-procedure","tag-person-group-concept","content_type-tests-procedures"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Colposcopy - Hancock Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/es\/mayo-health-library\/colposcopy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Colposcopy - Hancock Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Find out why colposcopy is done and what to expect during an exam to diagnose cancer and other problems affecting the cervix, vagina and vulva.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/es\/mayo-health-library\/colposcopy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hancock Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-04T17:13:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Tiempo de lectura\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutos\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hancockhealth.org\\\/mayo-health-library\\\/colposcopy\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hancockhealth.org\\\/mayo-health-library\\\/colposcopy\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colposcopy - Hancock Health\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hancockhealth.org\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-26T02:09:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-04T17:13:15+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hancockhealth.org\\\/mayo-health-library\\\/colposcopy\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hancockhealth.org\\\/mayo-health-library\\\/colposcopy\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hancockhealth.org\\\/mayo-health-library\\\/colposcopy\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hancockhealth.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mayo Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hancockhealth.org\\\/mayo-health-library\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Colposcopy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hancockhealth.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hancockhealth.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hancock Health\",\"description\":\"Explore a health network built around you.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hancockhealth.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Colposcopy - Hancock Health","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/es\/mayo-health-library\/colposcopy\/","og_locale":"es_MX","og_type":"article","og_title":"Colposcopy - Hancock Health","og_description":"Find out why colposcopy is done and what to expect during an exam to diagnose cancer and other problems affecting the cervix, vagina and vulva.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/es\/mayo-health-library\/colposcopy\/","og_site_name":"Hancock Health","article_modified_time":"2026-02-04T17:13:15+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Tiempo de lectura":"4 minutos"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/mayo-health-library\/colposcopy\/","url":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/mayo-health-library\/colposcopy\/","name":"Colposcopy - Hancock Health","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-04-26T02:09:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-04T17:13:15+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/mayo-health-library\/colposcopy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"es","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/mayo-health-library\/colposcopy\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/mayo-health-library\/colposcopy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mayo Articles","item":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/mayo-health-library\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Colposcopy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/","name":"Salud Hancock","description":"Explore a health network built around you.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"es"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mayo\/52942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mayo"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/mayo"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}