When it comes to women’s health diagnostics, precision begins with equipping your team with the right tools.
And not all swabs are created equal.
If you’re purchasing for your OB/GYN office, hospital, or women’s health clinic, the quality of your collection device can directly impact not on your clinical outcomes, but your workflow efficiency and quality of care.
Here at Puritan, we have over 100 years of experience perfecting the single-use swab for cervical testing. Our tools are trusted by thousands of healthcare professionals nationwide.
For this article, we interviewed Virginia Templet, Director of Marketing, to see what makes Puritan swabs so special, and why women’s health clinics love working with Puritan for all of their diagnostic and specimen collection needs.
What are Cervical Swabs?
Cervical swabs are swabs that are designed to collect cells and fluid from the cervix or vaginal canal. These swabs play a vital role in a variety of diagnostic procedures. Providers use cervical swabs to screen for infections, monitor reproductive health, and catch early signs of disease, like cervical cancer.
Choosing the right swab is critical for accurate results and patient comfort.
How to Use Cervical Swabs
STI and STD Testing
Cervical swabs are routinely used to collect specimens for the detection of sexually transmitted diseases like:
- Chlamydia and Gonorrhea – These bacterial infections are often asymptomatic and can impact fertility if left untreated.
- Human Papillomavirus (HPV) – High-risk strains are linked to cervical cancer and require regular monitoring.
- Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) – Swabs help identify active outbreaks or asymptomatic shedding.
Learn more about Puritan swabs for STD testing in our complete guide.
Pap Smear Tests (Papanicolau Smears)
During a pap test, providers use a cervical swab to collect epithelial cells from the cervix. These samples are then examined by a lab for precancerous or cancerous changes. Paps are one of the most important preventative health measures.
Puritan is proud to produce swabs that offer excellent collection and release of specimens while prioritizing patient comfort.
Collecting cervical cells can be uncomfortable for your patient without the right tool.
Pregnancy Related Screenings
Swabs used for cervical testing can also be used for Group B Streptococcus (GBS) screening for women between 36-37 weeks pregnant. It’s important for women to identify and manage GBS colonization to prevent serious infection in their newborns during delivery.
Vaginal Infections and Discomfort Screening
Swabs also support your team when evaluating a variety of discomfort and infections of the vagina. Bacterial vaginosis, yeast infections, and trichomoniasis are common in most women’s health clinics. Help your clinicians easily determine the cause of your patient’s discomfort with specimen collection kits that are ideal for the vaginal area.
What to Look for in a Clinical Cervical Swab
When choosing the right swab for OB/GYN specimen collection, it's important to begin with a clear understanding of the clinical purpose:
Are you testing for a viral or bacterial infection, or are you collecting cervical cells for cancer screening? The type of sample you're collecting, and where you're collecting it from, will guide your choice of collection device.
Cervical vs. Vaginal Swab Sample Collection
While the term “cervical swabs” is often used as a broad encompassing term, when ordering your swabs, it's critical to distinguish between:
- Cervical specimen collection, which typically involves collecting epithelial cells from the cervix for Pap tests or HPV testing.
- Vaginal or vaginal-cervical collection, which is performed to detect bacterial or viral infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, or bacterial vaginosis.
Each requires the appropriate swab type and usually a different collection protocol.
Cervical Swab Tip Material and Handle Guidelines
For diagnostic testing, whether for STIs or cytology, swabs should follow accepted clinical standards:
- Tip material: Use synthetic fibers only. The most common are spun polyester, rayon, and flocked polyester. Cotton is not recommended, as it can interfere with certain assays.
- Handle material: Must be plastic (typically polypropylene). Wood or paper handles are not appropriate for diagnostic testing, as they may affect sample integrity.
Rayon swabs, such as Puritan’s 808, are commonly used in OB/GYN settings for cleaning or applying medications, but only specific sterile variants (like the 25-808 1PR) may be used for specimen collection.
For Pap smears, a nylon bristle brush or plastic cervical sampler is often used in combination with a large-tip rayon swab for complete sample collection, in accordance with lab protocols.
Sterility is Non-Negotiable
All swabs used for diagnostic specimen collection, whether for STI testing or Pap screening, must be sterile. Always verify that swabs are individually wrapped and labeled for sterile use.
Special Note on GBS Screening
When collecting specimens for Group B Streptococcus (GBS) during pregnancy, protocols call for swabbing both the vaginal and rectal areas. In this case, a sterile synthetic swab should be used in conjunction with a transport medium designed to preserve the pathogen.
Head on over to our guide to learn more about swabs for GBS screening.
Puritan offers Lim Broth transport media in 200 mL and 500 mL vials — formulated specifically for GBS enrichment and detection.
Puritan Cervical Swab Options
Puritan manufactures a trusted range of swabs designed to meet the specific needs of OB/GYN offices, clinics, and hospital labs. All of the following swabs are manufactured in the U.S. under strict quality controls, with options for sterile packaging, different handle materials, and varying tip firmness.
More than a swab, this product is a flock swab and bacterial transport medium. The elongated tip of Puritan’s HydraFlock swab is well suited to vaginal testing and 1ml of Liquid Amies transport mediuThe swab in his product has a breakpoint at 80mm.. This collection and transport device is for use when testing for clinically significant aerobic, anaerobic and fastidious bacteria
Also a complete transport media device, this product incorporates a large PurFlock Ultra swab (also a breakpoint at 80mm) with 1ml of Puritan’s universal transport medium. This complete device is intended for the collection, preservation and transport of viruses.
This is a sterile swab with an elongated tip with no breakpoint. This HydraFlock polyester fibers are ideal for optimum collection and release of specimen material. Or, choose 25-3206-U, Puritan’s PurFlock Ultra flock swab, for the same elongated tip, differing only in the finish of the polyester fibers.
This is a standard spun polyester fiber 6’ swab on a plastic handle, sterile. This swab is commonly used for specimen collection of all types and chosen for its synthetic materials and reliable performance. Another Puritan brand swab.
This well-known 7” soft nylon bristle cytology brush, or Histo Brush,has long been used for the collection of cervical cells. Sterile and single-pack, a standard from Puritan. Also available non-sterile.
Puritan 8" Sterile Oversized Rayon OB/GYN Swab w/Polystyrene Handle
A reliable choice for standard cervical and vaginal procedures, the Puritan 25-808 1PR features an 8-inch handle made of paper and is tipped with soft, absorbent rayon.
- Tip material: Rayon (standard), Sterile
- Handle: 8” Polystyrene Handle
- Use cases: Routine vaginal and cervical procedures
- The Puritan 808 swab is used in clinics that perform frequent, low-complexity sampling
Why Choose Puritan for Your Clinic’s Cervical Swabs?
Choosing the right supplier is more important than ever. With supply chain disruptions, quality control, and compliance considerations, you need a retailer who won’t just sell you a box of swabs. You need a trusted, local partner who will be there for questions, certificates, support, and more.
Puritan is proud to offer American-made swabs for cervical testing that offer distinct advantages against some of our competitors when it comes to quality assurance, regulatory compliance, and supply chain stability.
1. Consistent Quality, Trusted Standards
Puritan manufactures all of its swabs in the United States under strict ISO-certified and FDA-registered conditions. This ensures that every product, from our basic rayon-tipped swabs to specialty cervical tools, meets rigorous clinical and regulatory standards.
The Puritan name is a trusted brand among women’s health clinics. Our products are fully traceable, in compliance with CLIA, CAP, and other lab accreditation needs, and precision-engineered for compatibility with diagnostic assays.
Practitioners love seeing our logo on single-use swabs because they know they can trust that they’ll be able to collect a viable sample the first time.
2. Supply Chain Reliability & World-Class Support
Choosing American-made swabs supports domestic jobs and local economies. We probably don’t need to remind you how hard it was to access supplies during Covid-era shortages. Puritan is proud to operate out of our facility in Maine, where we not only manufacture world-class quality products, but offer world-class support to our customers.
When you call Puritan, you speak to a real person. Something that may be challenging if you order outside of the United States.
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