At what age are doctors doing prostate exams nowadays?

I think it depends on if you have issues.

I had a prostate exam when I was 22. Went to the urologist because I had slight pain in my balls. I think He wantet to rule out an urinary Infektion.

Is a TRUS the best test to detect prostate cancer?---My father died from prostate cancer and my brother, 2 years older than me is currently taking radiation treatments for it now

I had a prostate exam at 47. I told my doctor at a physical I was having trouble urinating. My flow had started to weaken. He offered to check. Still having mild to moderate issues at 50 but my new doctor just checks my PSA. He's never even seen me naked. It seems like they don't even like to exam you anymore.

@Mtgriz98 If you need a second opinion, I am always available.😉

How can they just ignore your largest organ ??? Doesn't make any sense. I was referring to not even taking your shirt off any more.

DRE - digital rectal exam, that so many on Zity seem to be so fascinated with, has been replaced with PSA and MRI, if PSA elevated, quite a while ago. DRE was very unreliable due to subjective experience. What can feel big or hard or 'abnormal' to one person, may feel normal to another. As well, it allowed access to only part of prostate.

I am surprised if any serious medical professional is still doing it. Unless, they see how excited their patient gets about it and do it out of pity or other reason. But that would be unprofessional and wrong.

As for age that OP asked, in US there is no well defined standard. 50, with 55 being the latest is most common advisory, unless there is family history of prostate cancer, then 40-45.

70 years old and have never had a prostate check. Last PSA check was fine. The only thing a doctor has put up my butt was some very strong pain relief.

I got first at 15 y.o. and than since 22 y.o. got one ever year.

Being 70 years old with "urgency" issues, every year since seeing a urologist, so probably from 40+. Now I did get prostate exams at

annual physicals up until I started seeing a urologist. None since then.

Let's not forget about the free prostate exam clinics which I posted in a thread. I don't remember what the youngest age was, but the oldest was in the 70's. It included a PSA, and a DRE. So they are still being offered.

Around 40, the PCP will order the PSA blood test to check the levels for concerning prostate activity.

Though visiting a urologist earlier may get you a DRE and prostate check as a baseline if your symptoms that referred you there align with needing to check it.

I wasn't surprised getting one at the urologist, just not expecting to get one while lying on my back after a cystoscopy.

I had my first prostate exam at 50 (luckyly everything ok) and I began to to have regular annual exams when I was 58

I had one in my mid 40s but not since then. I think they’re probably not something medics like doing, and there are alternatives available for men in high-risk groups.

My first was about 20, but that was a targeted exam. They became routine about age 40. Now they tend to rely on the PSA.

In the Netherlands we don’t have routine physicals. Last year I had a big check because of burn out. My PSA was also part of the blood panel. When I asked if the outcome was ‘green’ my dr told he could only tell in combination with a DRE. He asked if that had been done before. This wasn’t the case. So he suggested to do it now. The outcome was positive, nothing to worry about. So my first unscheduled DRE was at 48 and I’m curious if and when a next one will be performed. We haven’t discussed that.

As many people have mentioned, we don’t have routine check-ups of this kind either.

If you end up seeing a urologist, there’s likely a specific reason for it; in that case, they’ll perform an ultrasound and a digital rectal exam if necessary. That’s exactly what happened in my experience.

However, if you go in for a different type of check-up, the state of your prostate won’t even be addressed. That’s just how healthcare works here.

As others have said, I think psa has pretty much replaced dre for most routine circumstances, for better or worse.

I got first at 15 y.o. and than since 22 y.o. got one ever year.

@doktorApacient That’s young. Were you having issues that led to that?

My first was at 40 since my dad got prostate cancer. Then once a year until I got prostate cancer. After that a PSA every 6 months. My PSA has been 0.2 for the last 7 years after radiation.

Working on a doctor’s office I will answer this.

The very first time you start pissing razor blades, you will be bent over regardless of your age. Yea ole finger wave.

Might have had one during my induction or military physicals but don't recall. I think I was mid to late thirties. My OD at the time did it annually. My next doc was female and she did it once over a ten year period. My PSA jumped and I was referred to a urologist in my mid fifties who only did it once that I remember over a 4-5 year period. Retired for 14 years and only have had two by my urologist. They do check PSA each year, but my PCP doesn't think it's necessary given my age and history. I just go with their recommendations

@Tillie fortunately I've not been blessed with the razor blades! 😀

I am in my mid-70's and I have never even once had a primary care doctor suggest checking my prostate during a routine physical exam. All of my primary care doctors have been male, and over the years I have had to change doctors 5 or 6 times so it was not just my experience with one or 2 doctors. I was of course seeing doctors prior to PSA tests being around. The only time I had a prostate exam was when I was in my late 20's when I presented with acute lower quadrant pain and it turned out that I had prostatitis. That was the one and only time. It is not that I refused to have a prostate exam, my doctors never required it.....and actually I have never had a "turn your head and cough" hernia exam either. I have had friends my age tell me that my experience is not typical.

Seems like a lot of doctors (especially younger ones) skip the prostate exam entirely in favor of newer types of blood tests. Touching of a patient is rapidly becoming a no-no in the medical profession.

@Clyde1150

I’m thankful that my “old fashioned” urologist “felt me up” seven years ago when he detected prostate cancer. My “state of the art” blood tests (aka PSA test) had been “normal” for years, but I was having some difficulty urinating so he executed the “ancient” DRE!!! After radiation treatments, my prostate has been cancer-free. And yes, I still get BOTH “felt up” and the PSA blood test every year. You can’t be too careful when dealing with cancer.

@doktorApacient That’s young. Were you having issues that led to that?

I had an issue with blood in semen.

The new guidelines state that the DRE is pretty much 95% ineffective. If your Dr is doing it, he or she must be behind the times. It is suggested as a secondary test if the psa score indicates a problem. But see link below:

https://malecare.org/the-digital-rectal-exam-dre-and-prostate-cancer-2015-2025/