Prevention for women isn't a single test: it changes with age. Knowing which screening is due helps avoid two common mistakes: getting more tests than you need or, far more often, going years without any. This guide sums up what the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends and how we handle it at the clinic.
Which screenings do I need at my age?
Ages 21 to 29
- A Pap smear every 3 years to find changes in the cervix (USPSTF).
- Chlamydia and gonorrhea testing every year if you are sexually active and 24 or younger (USPSTF).
- A review of your birth control and vaccines.
Ages 30 to 65
- Cervix: a Pap smear every 3 years, or a human papillomavirus (HPV) test every 5 years, alone or together with a Pap smear.
- A mammogram every 2 years starting at 40 (USPSTF).
- Blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol as often as the medical team advises based on your risk factors.
From age 65
- Bone density testing for osteoporosis (USPSTF).
- Mammograms up to age 74.
- Pap smears can stop if previous ones were normal; you decide that with your doctor.
These are general recommendations. A family history, symptoms or earlier abnormal results change the schedule.
Which vaccines should I check?
- HPV: routinely recommended in adolescence and as catch-up through age 26; between 27 and 45 it is decided case by case with your doctor.
- Tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough (Tdap): one dose during every pregnancy, to protect the baby in the first months.
- Influenza: every year, especially if you are pregnant or have a chronic condition.
If you don't have your vaccination record, bring what you remember and we will go over it together at your visit.
Which of these are done at the clinic?
- Pap smears and cultures, with infection treatment when needed.
- Confidential STD testing.
- Birth control: pills and the shot, plus implant removal.
- Pregnancy tests and pelvic and pregnancy ultrasound.
- Blood tests and diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol management.
Mammograms and bone density scans are done at imaging centers; if you are due, we guide you on where to go.
What about family planning?
Choosing a method depends on your health, whether you want to get pregnant later and how much you want to think about it. The CDC summarizes how well each option works: long-acting methods such as the implant fail least often because they don't depend on daily use. At your visit we go over benefits and side effects with you before you decide.
What if I don't have insurance?
You don't need it to come in. We tell you the price of each test before doing it, and when there are women's checkup promotions, we post them. Many of these screenings are quick and can be done in a single visit.
Your health, on Bellfort Avenue
At Clínica Hispana Nueva Salud (7640 Bellfort Ave, Suite A, Houston 77061) we see patients with no appointment, in Spanish, every day from 9 AM to 9 PM. If this is your first gynecology visit and you want to know what it is like, read what a gynecology visit involves. Phone and WhatsApp: (832) 831-4016.
