Intimate Medical Issues

[Stu]

In the UK, patients supposedly have the right to see a doctor of the same sex for any intimate issues if they wish. This is normally aimed at women, but I guess men can also ask for that. Some people don't care - a doctor is a doctor. However, I am extremely uncomfortable with the idea of being examined or treated for an intimate issue and so I self-treat, even when the published advice is to see a doctor. If I absolutely had no choice but to consult a doctor for such an issue and be examined, I would insist on a male one.

[crfriend]

If I absolutely had no choice but to consult a doctor for such an issue and be examined, I would insist on a male one.

There is precisely nowt wrong with that choice -- it's down to personal preference and modest. No issues whatsoever.

[moonshadow]

Well... in the U.S. beggars can't be choosers.

We're lucky if we can even find a doctor that's accepting patients. Usually it's a nurse practitioner.... oh and that's assuming you've got the proper insurance, because if you don't, you don't have to worry about a doctor fondling your parts, they'll just turn you away at the door.

A lot of us self medicate for other reasons...

... bills.

[Seb]

Well, I work in Healthcare, as long as I don't have to see a doctor I know, I don't care who it is.

From the other side, once you seen one you've seen em all, no one is gonna think twice about it, as a patent your just one of the 20-30 other patients that got looked at that particular day, just be happy if the doctor read your chart before they took you in, they will have forgotten you the minute you leave.

[geron]

If I absolutely had no choice but to consult a doctor for such an issue and be examined, I would insist on a male one.

As an erstwhile medical student, I would do the exact opposite. My female contemporaries worked much harder than the men did. Well, mostly.

[Stu]

From the other side, once you seen one you've seen em all,

But you ain't seen mine.

As an erstwhile medical student, I would do the exact opposite. My female contemporaries worked much harder than the men did. Well, mostly.

I have a daughter who is an erstwhile consultant and I know she works hard, but females are still females. The point is that women patients have a legal right to be seen only by female medics for intimate issues while no corresponding right exists for males. That's an inequality.

[Modoc]

I didn't have many medical examinations until I was in my forties, and since then, I have had only extensive physicals yearly. The first of these yearly examinations involved having a female doctor do a digital prostate exam. She was very professional and matter-of-fact about the whole process, and in retrospect, it was probably the most comfortable of those I have ever had. Since that time, I have had only male doctors do that procedure. Most were okay, but there are a couple of them of which I would have preferred that female doctor.
Having said that, I do agree that it's important for everyone to be comfortable with their caregivers for whatever reasons they have.

[Fred in Skirts]

Doctors are someone you don't want to see until you do!!
I use the local VA clinic for my general health check-ups and I have had nothing but females doing the work. This includes the prostate exams. I was asked when I first started going there if I had a preference, I said I did not. I do not get uncomfortable with a female doctor or nurse seeing me naked nor when they have to place their hands in private parts of my body.
I just recently had a heart catherization (SP) done and there are no secrets when you are lying there naked from the waist down and about 4 or 5 people working around you in the operating room.

So I don't see any problems at all, just sit back and relax!!!

[r.m.anderson]

Doctors are someone you don't want to see until you do!!
I use the local VA clinic for my general health check-ups and I have had nothing but females doing the work. This includes the prostate exams. I was asked when I first started going there if I had a preference, I said I did not. I do not get uncomfortable with a female doctor or nurse seeing me naked nor when they have to place their hands in private parts of my body.
I just recently had a heart catherization (SP) done and there are no secrets when you are lying there naked from the waist down and about 4 or 5 people working around you in the operating room.

So I don't see any problems at all, just sit back and relax!!!

Bravo Fred - - - - -

I recently had prostrate surgery (BY A WOMAN DOCTOR)
I have been in and out of hospitals and therapy centers with on going issues.
Issues with incontinent (aka diaper wearing) changing by both female and male.

"GET OVER IT --- IT IS IN A HOSPITAL ENVIRONMENT --- THEY HAVE SEEN EVERYTHING" !

Everything handled respectfully - professionally - NO VULGAR sexual talk - terms explained in layman language.

Oh and in an emergency you may not have a choice of doctor - you can wait in the morgue for your choice of one !

[6ft3Aussie]

"GET OVER IT --- IT IS IN A HOSPITAL ENVIRONMENT --- THEY HAVE SEEN EVERYTHING" !

Yep, the human body is the human body, and aside from the obvious differences between male and female, we're all built the same, with the same bits in the same places.

During my week in hospital for tibial plateau fracture repair surgery, I had many nurses assist me with everything from relieving myself to having a wash, which was not an easy task when your less than mobile. I have to say that the female nurses seemed to be a bit more gentle than one of the male nurses except for one particular female nurse who was just plain rough.

[Stu]

"GET OVER IT --- IT IS IN A HOSPITAL ENVIRONMENT --- THEY HAVE SEEN EVERYTHING" !

Everything handled respectfully - professionally - NO VULGAR sexual talk - terms explained in layman language.

Oh and in an emergency you may not have a choice of doctor - you can wait in the morgue for your choice of one !

I repeat the point I made above - women patients have a legal right to be seen only by female medics for intimate issues while no corresponding right exists for males. That's an inequality.

Some women are fine with male doctors doing intimate exams - others are not. You may be fine with a female doctor or surgeon doing stuff to your private parts - I would not be.

[Mouse]

I repeat the point I made above - women patients have a legal right to be seen only by female medics for intimate issues while no corresponding right exists for males. That's an inequality.

Stu, do you have a source for this. I have consulted the "NHS Constitution" https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ges-to-you and couldn't find an explicit female right. I may have missed it, but would be interested in more information, since this inequality is wrong.

[Stu]

Stu, do you have a source for this. I have consulted the "NHS Constitution" https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ges-to-you and couldn't find an explicit female right. I may have missed it, but would be interested in more information, since this inequality is wrong.

I have a confession to make. I was given this information by an indignant neighbour who is a retired (male) nurse suffering from an enlarged prostate. I found it astonishing, so I double-checked it by asking Claude.AI if it was correct - and Claude stated that yes, females have a statutory right to be examined and treated for intimate issues by a female practitioner - and that, while males can request a particular gender, they have no corresponding right. Two sources - must be true then. I just asked Claude.AI for its sources and it came back with a meek admission that there doesn't appear to be any actual legislation. I should have known better than to trust these two sources without seeing the statutory evidence myself. Wild goose chase - my bad. Sorry.

[Jim]

...women patients have a legal right to be seen only by female medics for intimate issues while no corresponding right exists for males. That's an inequality.

I expect men rape women much more often than women rape men. So women fear men more than men fear women--it's reasonable. Fear hinders openness to medical communication and treatment.

[Stu]

...women patients have a legal right to be seen only by female medics for intimate issues while no corresponding right exists for males. That's an inequality.

I expect men rape women much more often than women rape men. So women fear men more than men fear women--it's reasonable. Fear hinders openness to medical communication and treatment.

Yes, I think that's absolutely part of it, but not the whole story. Female patients are often invited to have a female (e.g. nurse) present for intimate examinations by male doctors and that should (!) negate any worries regarding personal safety. I think personal dignity/privacy is also a factor. My view is that patients should be asked, male patients as well. While I know many patients don't care so long as a medical person is competent and behaves professionally, if I have, say, a prostate issue, testicular lesions, ED, balanitis or some other intimate male medical concern, I wouldn't want to be seen by a female practitioner. That's not because I am afraid of being molested, but to minimise an already hugely embarrassing situation.