Im really worried as I've never had a smear test and Im not "allowed" one either

[BarbieLovesKen]

and cant get one either. Im 24 and have had two babies. I went to my GPs for 6 week check after last baby and asked to be booked in for a smear.. she looked at computer and noted that no, I couldnt as Im 24, therefore under the required age of 25 to be registered with cervical smear. I need to be registered with them and can then actually get them free!!.

I said that until I did turn 25 I would be happy to pay for one and was told I cant until September (my birthday) .

Now, me being me, Ive stupidly started to really worry, Ive went and got it into my head that theres something wrong and I feel that September is ages away..

Any advice?

The reason they don't offer them to under 25s is that the risk is just too low to be worth doing!

Another reason is that the false postive rate is too high in under-25s. There is a very high chance that you will seem to have abnormal cells and go through a battery of other tests, which will be unpleasant for you and a waste of your time and of NHS money, when in reality nothing is wrong.

Do you have any symptoms to make you think something is wrong?

I am not sure if that is a national policy- try phoning some other doctors if you are worried, I had a couple of smears before I was 25. (Only 26 now so not talking about many years ago)

as the others have said, the test just doesn't work reliably for under-25s. So the policy does make sense.

Please try not to worry. Unless you have any troubling symptoms, there is really no need for a smear test.

Oh ok then. Thats fair enough. I hadnt realised, I dont know why - I was under the impression that you should have routine smear tests once you are sexually active and definately once you start having babies!!

Am obviously wrong though and thanks a million for your replies!

Hope it's been reassuring! From an individual point of view, it is a bit daft though - obviously your body isn't suddenly going to change on your birthday. But when you set up a screening programme for millions of people, you have to have a dividing line somewhere, hopefully where the evidence suggests it is helpful.

you CAN demand a smear before you turn 25

i know this as there has been a case in our local news not that long ago of a woman dying from cervical cancer
she requested a smear test several times and was told she was too young

they were at pains to point out that while it is not normally done, you can request one and they cannot refuse

You can also have a test privately- not sure where you live but Marie Stopes clinics and most private hospitals offer them for around £45.
I have all mine privately as was told that NHS screening which was every 5 years ( for older women like me - now it is every 3 years)was not enough, and I go every 2 years.

Thanks for that, Im in Ireland and have health insurance so that might be a good option for me, that said, I feel a bit better, almost that its unneccessary after reading replies on here - I thought it was a must, particulary after having babies - I kept thinking of Jade Goody and thought my GP was just being a pain..

I had my first one at 20 in dublin, in the IFPA on Cathal Brugha ST if thats any help.

I think the not-accurate under 25 is a very general comment. The NHS tries to save money all the time. What you need to do is look at your own risk factors, such as what age you first had sex, use of the Pill, number of children, lifestyle ( smoking, diet, hygiene) and decide if you think your risk is higher/lower.

Cervical cancer takes years to develop in most cases and when it strikes young women it is often ( not always, so don't shout at me!) linked to early sex, and/or smoking etc.

For the sake of £45 -ish I'd just have it done though at 24 you will soon be eligible for NHS anyway..

It's not true that they are ineffective under the age of 25 and also untrue that you can't get cervical cancer under that age. However, you are more likely to have benign cell changes in your cervix under the age of 25 that could prompt you to be recalled unnecessarily or even to get a false positive result. You could get an HPV test privately, which would tell you whether you have a strain of the HPV virus that puts you at risk of developing cervical cancer at some point - this is a more sensitive and accurate test than the smear test. If it comes back negative, you know you don't have to worry about already having cervical cancer or abnormal cell changes. If it comes back positive, you know to go back and get a smear test as soon as you can after your birthday (or get one done privately at the same time as your HPV test). A positive result for HPV does not mean you have or will ever get cervical cancer, or even that you will always test positive for HPV, by the way, but it does tell you whether you should be vigilant at this stage in your life or not. A negative HPV result, of course, doesn't mean you will always test negative for HPV, so you should still follow the national smear programme. And as for agreeing to do a smear test on a woman under the age of 25, a doctor would be most foolish to turn you away if you actually had any symptoms - eg abnormal bleeding, pain, etc.

Although having said all that, it's only 2 months until your birthday, so I really wouldn't worry about waiting - my cervix wasn't sufficiently recovered to have a smear test until about 3 months after the birth of my last baby. To get a smear test too soon after childbirth just increases the risk of a borderline or false positive result.

That has been so helpful, thank you so much.

Have the rules changed then or is it different in Wales?
I had my first smear at 21, DD was two.

They can refuse to do a Pap test because the cervical screening programme is funded to screen the women who are supposed to be attending for screening (i.e. those between 25-65).
The cervical screening programme website has further information on why the under 25s are not invited for screening.
Yes there a small number of women under the age of 25 who develop cervical cancer. In most cases screening would not have detected them.
If any woman has symptoms such bleeding then appropriate investigations should be used - a Pap test is not necessarily one of them. Someone with symptoms requires diagnostic tests not a screening test. The Pap test will not tell a doctor if you have an infection such as Chlamydia (a prime cause of post coital bleeding in younger women), a hormonal imbalance, polycystic ovaries and so on. All it does is delay further investigation whilst the Pap test is waited on. It can also be seen as 'oh well the smear test was negative' so there is no further investigations done.

The Scottish and Welsh programmes have a different starting age because their local governments have made that decision. Many of the scandinavian countries do not screen until 30-35.

OP - its a few months 'till your birthday, you should be called about 6 weeks before for a test. Please try not to worry.

Ireland is also different because until recently they didn't have an organised screening programme so I'm not so up on when they call - my understanding was though that it mirrors England.

In the USA Pap tests are done yearly because health insurance pays for them. Women are also referred to colposcopy more frequently and have more treatments.
The quality assurance and training programmes, and the national standards that everyone involved in the UK have to work to also do not exist in the USA.
If you compare the detection rates, the UK programme is about the best and that because it is rigorously monitored, inspected and held to account - by outside agencies.
Recent American government advice has been to start screening later and less frequently there too.

at scandinavian countries not testing till 30-35. Smear picked up my cervical cancer aged 30.