In the past, women have been told to get annual Pap tests starting three years after becoming sexually active or when they turn 21 – whichever came first. Now teen girls are able to skip Pap tests, according to new guidelines, and they should start receiving the tests when they turn 21. Experts are now concerned that with one in four teen girls contracting an STD, often soon after becoming active, rates may begin to rise.
Kimberly Spector, an adolescent-health educator in Los Angeles, is concerned that young girls will lose the opportunities to ask questions about their sexual health if they aren’t routinely coming in for a Pap test. She says that even if no tests are performed, a simple conversation with the doctor can be very informative.
While the new guidelines suggest that girls under 21 visit their gynecologist, many people are worried that if women hear that they don’t need to have a Pap test annually, they won’t make the effort to get any preventive care against STDs such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, and human papillomavirus (HPV).
Harold Wiesenfeld, M.D., director of the division of reproductive infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, acknowledges that many STDs do not show symptoms. If someone is positive for an STD and it is left untreated, often the STD will develop into more serious complications including pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility.
Many experts have agreed that Pap tests are unnecessary for teenage girls, and that waiting until they’re 21 years old will not put them at risk. Bobbie Gostout, M.D., chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota says that the guidelines are well thought out, and that she is not afraid of any consequences.
Ideally teens should receive the appropriate vaccines and develop a relationship with their doctor before becoming sexually active, but if they do not it is not a bad idea to receive a Pap test annually for the sake of their own health.
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