It depends.

Pap test, also called a Pap smear, is a routine screening test for early diagnosis of cervical cancer.

If you had a partial hysterectomy — when the uterus is removed but the lower end of the uterus (cervix) remains — your doctor will likely recommend continued Pap tests.

Similarly, if you had a partial hysterectomy or a total hysterectomy — when both the uterus and cervix are removed — for a cancerous or precancerous condition, regular Pap tests may still be recommended as an early detection tool to monitor for a new cancer or precancerous change. In addition, if your mother took the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES) while she was pregnant with you, regular Pap tests are recommended, since DES exposure increases the risk of developing cervical cancer.

You can stop having Pap tests, however, if you had a total hysterectomy for a noncancerous condition.

Your age matters, too.

Doctors generally agree that women can stop routine Pap test screening after age 65 — whether you've had a hysterectomy or not — if you have a history of regular screenings with normal results and if you're not at high risk of cervical cancer.

If you're unsure whether you still need Pap tests, discuss with your doctor what's best for you.

No. A Pap test can't reliably detect ovarian cancer.

A Pap test is a procedure that involves collecting cells from your cervix and examining them under a microscope. A Pap test can detect cervical cancer and changes in your cervical cells that may increase your risk of cervical cancer in the future.

Very rarely, ovarian cancer cells can be detected during a Pap test. If the ovarian cancer cells travel away from your ovaries through your fallopian tubes and uterus to the area around your cervix, the ovarian cancer cells could be collected during a Pap test. But this is rare, so the Pap test isn't a reliable test for ovarian cancer.

There is no standard or routine screening test for ovarian cancer. Researchers haven't yet found a screening tool that's sensitive enough to detect ovarian cancer in its early stages and specific enough to distinguish ovarian cancer from other, noncancerous conditions. Doctors don't recommend routine screening for people with an average risk of ovarian cancer.

Whether people with a high risk of ovarian cancer may benefit from screening is a point of debate. Experts don't agree on exactly what to do for screening, when to do it or if it should be done at all. If you have a high risk of ovarian cancer, your doctor may recommend surgery to remove your ovaries and fallopian tubes in order to reduce your risk.

If you're concerned about your risk of ovarian cancer, discuss it with your doctor.

Parkinsonism is any condition that causes a combination of the movement abnormalities seen in Parkinson's disease — such as tremor, slow movement, impaired speech or muscle stiffness — especially resulting from the loss of dopamine-containing nerve cells (neurons).

Possible causes

Not everyone who has parkinsonism has Parkinson's disease. There are many other causes of parkinsonism (secondary parkinsonism), including:

• Medications, such as those used to treat psychosis, major psychiatric disorders and nausea
• Repeated head trauma, such as injuries sustained in boxing
• Certain neurodegenerative disorders, such as multiple system atrophy, Lewy body dementia and progressive supranuclear palsy
• Exposure to toxins, such as carbon monoxide, cyanide and organic solvents
• Certain brain lesions, such as tumors, or fluid buildup
• Metabolic and other disorders, such as chronic liver failure or Wilson's disease

Managing parkinsonism with medications

• For drug-induced parkinsonism, discontinuing the medications that cause the condition may reverse it.

• For other forms of parkinsonism, taking Parkinson's disease medications — typically a carbidopa-levodopa combination drug (Sinemet, Duopa, Stalevo) — can help.

  However, these drugs aren't likely to be as effective for some forms of parkinsonism as they are for Parkinson's disease. Levodopa — which occurs naturally in the body and is always taken as a combination drug — replenishes brain dopamine, and brain dopamine loss is fundamental to Parkinson's disease. However, in other parkinsonian disorders, additional brain pathways may be affected.

Other steps you can take

Certain lifestyle changes also may help you cope with parkinsonism:

• Stay physically active. To the extent you're able, try to sustain your normal daily activities, exercise regularly, and incorporate physical and occupational therapy as needed.
• Create a safe environment. If gait and balance become impaired, consider modifying your environment. For example, install grab bars next to your toilet or in your shower; remove obstacles, such as throw rugs; and keep frequently used items within reach.

Passive-aggressive behavior is a pattern of indirectly expressing negative feelings instead of openly addressing them. There's a disconnect between what a passive-aggressive person says and what he or she does.

For example, a passive-aggressive person might appear to agree — perhaps even enthusiastically — with another person's request. Rather than complying with the request, however, he or she might express anger or resentment by failing to follow through or missing deadlines.

Specific signs of passive-aggressive behavior include:

• Resentment and opposition to the demands of others
• Procrastination and intentional mistakes in response to others' demands
• Cynical, sullen or hostile attitude
• Frequent complaints about feeling underappreciated or cheated

Although passive-aggressive behavior can be a feature of various mental health conditions, it isn't considered a distinct mental illness. However, passive-aggressive behavior can interfere with relationships and cause difficulties on the job. If you're struggling with passive-aggressive behavior — or you think a loved one is — consider consulting a therapist.

Studies suggest that a father's age at the time of conception (paternal age) might pose health risks for a baby. However, this field of research is still relatively small and results have been mixed. More research is needed.

Studies have shown that when paternal age is over 40, there might be a small increase in the risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes or risks to children's health, including:

• Pregnancy loss. Advanced paternal age might be associated with a slightly higher risk of pregnancy loss before week 20 of pregnancy (miscarriage) or stillbirth.
• Rare birth defects. Older paternal age might slightly increase the risk of certain rare birth defects, including defects in the development of the skull, limbs and heart.
• Autism. Research shows a link between older paternal age and an increased frequency of autism spectrum disorder.
• Schizophrenia. Studies suggest an older paternal age might increase the risk of the severe mental disorder schizophrenia and might be associated with earlier onset of schizophrenia symptoms.
• Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Older paternal age might be associated with a slightly increased risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer that results in abnormal white blood cell production.

Researchers believe the increased risk of health conditions might be due to random genetic mutations in sperm that occur more commonly in older men than in younger men. Despite the increase in these risks, however, the overall risks remain small and less certain than those associated with maternal age over 40.

If you're older than 40 and you're considering having a baby or you're concerned about your reproductive health, consult your doctor.

Yes. Although rare, penis fracture can occur when there is trauma to an erect penis.

During an erection, the penis is engorged with blood. If an engorged penis is bent suddenly or forcefully, the trauma can rupture the lining of one of the two cylinders in the penis (corpus cavernosum) responsible for erections — resulting in a penis fracture. The trauma most often occurs after accidental injury during intercourse, but can also occur due to aggressive masturbation or taqaandan, a cultural practice in which the top of an erect penis is forcefully bent.

A penis fracture is a painful injury. Signs might include a cracking sound, immediate loss of the erection, or the development of dark bruising of the penis due to blood escaping the cylinder. Sometimes the tube that drains urine from the body (urethra) is damaged as well, and blood might be visible at the urinary opening of the penis.

A penis fracture requires urgent medical attention. The injury can usually be diagnosed with a physical exam, and prompt surgical repair is typically recommended.

Left untreated, a penis fracture might result in deformity of the penis or the permanent inability to get or keep an erection firm enough for sex (erectile dysfunction).

Percent Daily Value (DV) on the Nutrition Facts label is a guide to the nutrients in one serving of food. For example, if the label lists 15% for calcium, it means that one serving provides 15% of the calcium you need each day.

DVs are based on a 2,000-calorie diet for healthy adults. Even if your diet is higher or lower in calories, you can still use the DV as a guide. For example, it tells you whether a food is high or low in a specific nutrient, defined as follows:

• Low: 5% or less of a nutrient
• High: 20% or more of a nutrient

Note that the Food and Drug Administration hasn't set a DV for trans fat. That's because experts recommend that Americans avoid foods with trans fat and partially hydrogenated oils.

So get in the habit of checking DVs to choose foods high in vitamins, minerals and fiber, and low in saturated fat, added sugar and sodium.

If you don't intend to have children in the future, one option is permanent sterilization for either you or your partner. Or if you're generally in good health — and you don't have any medical conditions that might make it risky to use them — hormonal forms of birth control may be an option, too.

Perimenopause birth control options include:

• Combination estrogen-progestin pills or a vaginal ring, if you don't have a medical reason not to take contraceptive-strength doses of estrogen.
• Progestin-only contraceptives, such as the levonorgestrel intrauterine device (IUD) (Mirena, Skyla, Liletta), the etonogestrel subdermal implant (Nexplanon) or the progestin-only minipill, which also provide protection from cancer of the endometrium — the tissue that lines your uterus. A progestin-containing IUD offers the added benefit of treating irregular or heavy bleeding that can happen with menstrual periods later in your reproductive years.
• An estrogen-progestin skin patch, if you're not at risk of blood clots or other bleeding disorders. There may be an increased risk of blood clots when using the skin patch compared with other forms of estrogen-progestin contraception, such as birth control pills or the vaginal ring.
• Barrier methods, including condoms, a diaphragm, a cervical cap or a contraceptive sponge, provide nonhormonal options for birth control. Condoms also protect against sexually transmitted infections. Barrier methods, however, are less effective than are other types of birth control.
• A sterilization procedure, such as vasectomy or tubal ligation, which provides a permanent form of birth control.

Whichever method you choose, doctors generally recommend that you continue birth control for about 12 months after your menstrual periods naturally stop.

There's no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog breed, although some individual dogs may cause fewer allergy symptoms than others.

Many people think that pet allergies are caused by a dog's or cat's fur, but the real source of pet allergies is often a protein that's in the saliva and urine of dogs and cats. This protein sticks to the dead, dried flakes (dander) from your pet's skin.

Some dog breeds are marketed as hypoallergenic because they don't shed fur or they shed very little. Because these dogs don't shed, the allergy-causing dander that sticks to their fur doesn't get released into the air or onto the floor as much as with a shedding dog. But while you may have less dog hair with a nonshedding dog, no dog breed is hypoallergenic.

If you're allergic to dogs, but still want to have one, consider the following tips to reduce your allergy symptoms:

• Choose a smaller dog, which will shed less dander than will a larger dog.
• Keep your pet out of your bedroom and other rooms in which you spend a lot of time.
• Keep your pet outside, if weather permits.
• Bathe your pet weekly to remove dander from its coat.
• Choose carpet-free flooring, or shampoo your carpet regularly.
• Use a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) purifier and vent filters to help reduce airborne pet allergens.

Petroleum jelly is generally safe to use. Rarely, however, inhaling fat-based substances (lipoids) — such as petroleum jelly or mineral oil — for prolonged periods can cause lung problems.

Typically, petroleum jelly applied to the inside of the nostrils drains down the back of the nose with normal nasal secretions and is swallowed. Rarely, small amounts of the jelly can migrate into the windpipe (trachea) and lungs. Over many months, the jelly can accumulate in the lungs leading to potentially serious inflammation known as lipoid pneumonia.

In some people, lipoid pneumonia causes no signs or symptoms. In others, lipoid pneumonia may cause cough, chest pain or shortness of breath.

Lipoid pneumonia is often detected on a chest X-ray or CT scan. Sometimes, the diagnosis is confirmed with a bronchoscopy.

When lipoid pneumonia is caused by petroleum jelly, generally the only treatment is to stop using the petroleum jelly. To relieve nasal dryness without petroleum jelly, use a vaporizer or humidifier or try over-the-counter saline nasal spray. If you must use a lubricant, choose the water-soluble variety. Use it only sparingly and not within several hours of lying down.