Growing up, the sense of embarrassment remained strong when summoned into an exam room. It may have ebbed when I got to be seen without a parent being present. Though with age and seeing more doctors over time, the notion of having a female doctor or nurse conduct an exam made my head spin. As I have come to appreciate, embarrassment and concern go hand in hand. Sometimes those hands are female!

When exams were given by the school doctor, most of us had a sense of dread having to be exposed in front of peers while in the nurse’s office. For most of us, the requirement to stand in front of the doctor naked with the nurse admonishing you to “remove your briefs” caused us to blush and cover our genitals.

Among my peers, we would tease and chat about who had to get a physical. The rumor mill was fast and furious about having to be naked and given shots. As high school graduation approached, most of us turned 18 and now were being introduced to a manhood exam. There were reports of having erections during the exam and then learning about the rectal exam. Surely this couldn’t be true until you were being positioned naked and leaning fully onto the exam table! Suddenly the threat of a rectal temperature paled by comparison to receiving a finger deep into your rectum and gasping as the doc pressed on one’s prostate. Who knew that was capable of inducing an erection for most of us.

Over time, the DRE became routine with most exams that could now include unpleasant swabbing of your penis, anus and mouth. Those insurance medicals were known for that and being observed while providing a urine sample. For the unexpected, one might now be examined by a female doctor or nurse practitioner and be totally helpless to prevent an erection. “It happens to a lot of men; not to worry!”

It’s been a remarkable transition from lying on the exam table hugging a rectal thermometer while the parent and nurse spoke to being naked and bending over the table or lying on one side for the inevitable finger! I would assume that for many of us, the prospect of the exam requires us to ejaculate prior to being seen or surely once one has left the doctor’s office?

The graduation to having a colonoscopy is yet another milestone. This time, its knowing that a long tube will invade. The only saving grace is being asleep and only feeling one’s bottom being wiped clean after the procedure has finished.

Here’s to the New Year and what the next exam includes and your wonderful explanations. Go for it Zity!