Social media posts claiming that the chemical used to sterilise swabs used in cervical smear tests is “cancer-causing” and implying that it is therefore dangerous to have a smear test are being shared on Facebook.
As we’ve explained before, ethylene oxide is a gas that is commonly used to sterilise all sorts of medical devices, including swabs and speculums.
Although ethylene oxide can be carcinogenic or cause other health issues at certain levels of exposure, such as lung damage in severe cases of inhalation, there is no credible evidence it endangers patients who come into contact with sterilised medical devices.
A spokesperson for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) previously told us “there is no credible evidence that the swabs used in cervical smear tests are associated with cancer”.
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Negative health effects would involve higher, prolonged levels of exposure.
