Plastic vs Metal Speculum

I prefer metal speculums, especially if they have been heated above body temperature.

Experienced my first ever metal speculum at my last appointment. They are apparently back in favour due to environmental issues, plastic waste etc. It seemed much larger, it felt cold (pretty sure they hadn't warmed it up at all) the sounds it made were a little scary. I swear I felt the tip right on my cervix, and it seemed to take longer. Not painful bit less comfortable than the plastic ones, but it did get my heart racing a little.

Whenever I have spied a metal speculum at the doctors I always wonder how many women it has been used on.

Wife had her annual gyn exam about a month ago. Was surprise that the Dr. used a metal speculum. Thought everyone had gone to plastic for routine pap smears.

Could it be that ecology would lead to less disposable medical devices?

Could it be that ecology would lead to less disposable medical devices?

That is exactly the explanation I was given, by which time I was already "in position" and didn't really have an option

I've only had metal speculums. I've heard that plastic is more uncomfortable.

When me and my wife had our conjoint physicals a few months ago, our doctor’s office had started using metal specula once again for routine Paps and pelvic exams. The previous years they had been using the plastic specula, the type with the LED light inserted into the handle.

Before my wife was given the Pap/pelvic exams, she was asked if she was okay with a metal speculum being used, that it was still the same size as the plastic one usually used on her. She said she doesn’t have a preference either way, as it still sucks to have one inserted into her. (Her gallows humor showed yet again!) So a metal medium Pedersen was used on her. She has had metal ones used on her in the past, so it wasn’t anything new to her.

It was explained to her that the practice has resumed using metal specula once again for routine exams, unless the patient prefers the plastic, or for procedures that require more lighting. (I’m guessing for procedures like colposcopy, maybe IUD insertion, etc.) The reasons given was to try and reduce plastic waste, and that many women prefer the metal ones anyway.

Most patients tend to enjoy the experience if metal specula, plus there's a 'wider' variety of types of metal speculums to have fun with rather than the single generic plastic versions.

The heat conduction of the metal type provides a better experience for play exams, a colder sensation.

I've always had the plastic speculum used on me in real exams but the metal ones for play exams. I definitely prefer the metal ones. The plastic ones don’t feel strong and I have huge fear of them breaking inside of me. Or of them scratching me, they don’t seem 100% smooth to me.

In play exams, and when I play by myself at home, I love using the metal speculums. There's something about the weight of it inside me and the coldness. Definitely is a turn on for me.

Doctors have used both in me, my first time with a speculum was with a metal one. I was scared and it hurt... but i got aroused.

My experiences with plastic speculum are more comfortable. The last one, I remember my gyno watching my tiny pussy (i've never birthed), and tell to the nurse "a plastic small speculum, she's so small" and i really felt fine with this instrument.

I definitely prefer the metal speculums, I love their weight and how cold they feel as they slide in. The plastic ones feel flimsy. I’ve only played with metal ones.

This discussion was started over two years ago, and we can see that opinions are divided between the two types of equipment.

We also see that the trend toward using plastic speculums is decreasing.

I note that, as in my experience, stainless steel equipment is much easier to insert and seems less aggressive to patients.

Similarly, the argument that disposable equipment provides better hygiene is undermined by economic constraints and the environmental impact (carbon footprint).

For those who are concerned, I remind you that to clean a stainless steel speculum after use, you must immediately immerse it in a bleach-based solution. After rinsing, you can sterilize it by placing it in the steamer basket of a pressure cooker, for example, for 15 minutes. Of course, in an office, we use an autoclave specifically for this purpose, but for your playful experiments with your regular partner, remember that a woman's vagina is not a sterile environment. The important thing is to avoid cross-contamination between the two people being examined.

For real doctor's visits, I prefer plastic. More sterile, I feel. lol For med play, I love the feeling of a cool metal speculum.

I love stainless steel and every medical tool i own is stainless steel. I love it - and i love it cold, like the speculum refrigerated or kept in ice water. I jump and flinch a bit during procedures like this, and the cold expands that skittish feeling. In real life however, i have had 6 doctor's appointments to do with my vagina, and they always use a plastic speculum, individually wrapped.

Personally, I prefer metal speculaas. They fit better in my hand, and you can apply more force without worrying about them breaking. Regarding the blood, I completely agree with #Franklin58200. From an environmental perspective alone, metal is the better choice. However, it should be warmed up.

In Venezuela they always used metal. Since I moved to the US it's always been plastic to my knowledge but I rarely see the equipment so I have no idea if it switched to metal. The minute I get "in position" I tend to close my eyes. Mostly because of the embarrassment but also my way of zoning out and waiting for it to be over.

I don't mind the speculum too much but I HATE the pap smear. That scraping always hurts so much. Yes it's quick but it's super painful for me.

I have both types, it depends on whether I feel the need to use a cold metal or a lighted plastic one. It depends on the mood of the patient.

I think a lot of the logic behind plastic vs metal is unintentionally misleading.

Plastic speculums are not sterile unless the packing states so, not sure I've ever seen one but I'm sure they exist. Also the vagina is not sterile. Once you pass through the cervix into the uterus you need to have a sterile environment. Performing a pap is not a sterile situation. Metal speculums are "sterilized" but are not sterile sitting in the warming drawer.

Plastic speculums aren't any more comfortable than metal and in many ways can cause discomfort due to the plastic composition itself. Comfort is going to depend on the individual woman's body, the skill of the doctor, and the positioning on the table.

The convenience factor of plastic being disposable vs the labor required to clean and autoclave metal speculums is a big factor in non obgyn offices that do not already have staff that autoclave as part of their job function at the end of every day.

If you make an appointment early in the day you will likely find that metal speculums are cold. It's a matter of the length of time required in a warming drawer to bring up to a comfortable temperature. I find it interesting that most doctors forget about using a rinse under warm water which is pretty much required for those first morning appointments. The warmers simply do not get turned on early enough to matter.

And I think it's already been mentioned, but the plastic things can literally break while inserted. It's a rather sudden and loud event when it happens....not exactly a calm situation when it does happen, and it's not as rare for this to occur as you might think.

Oh my gosh I remember an exam once when we were on vacation. My wife thought maybe she got something from being in the pool at the hotel or while in the water along the coast. Anyway, it was much worse pain than a UTI or yeast infection. Turned out to be bacterial. But anyway, there was no gynecologist for miles, and we thought it might be a bad gamble to just go get over the counter medication for yeast, so we found a family practice that had an after hours sort of setup. I think that was common for where we were, no urgent care nearby either. So this doctor wasn't very experienced in female medicine it seemed, and was pretty much having a hard time finding her cervix to get a sample. So he finally thinks he is in the right spot and starts to open her up, you hear the weird clicking ratchet sound of the plastic speculum and he keeps going, one click at a time. He was using a smaller size speculum and you could see the plastic bills sort of bend, my wife wasn't exactly able to relax at the time. So then he has this thing only partially inside but all the way opened up, and he turns around to get the swab and then all of a sudden it just sort of collapses, the handle actually broke apart, but as this happens it shoots straight out and the top part heads directly into his eyeglasses knocking them off his face. It wasn't all that funny at the immediate time though we laughed it off, but to this day we talk about how hilarious that was.

From my experience the main reason that the Uk transitioned from metal to plastic speculums was the cost to autoclave the metal speculums after use. Most of the General practitioner (GP) surgeries used to send their metal speculums to be autoclaved at the local District General Hospitals (DGH). Unfortunately most DGH started to outsource their sterile services instead of it being performed in-house; in addition the reforms to the NHS also resulted in the closure of multiple DGHs. This resulted in additional cost and delays and it became cheaper to use single use plastic speculums.

A lot of the single GP surgeries also started to disappear replaces by GP group surgeries either run collectively by a group of GPs or by private corporate medical companies who based services on prudent financial management resulting from cost cutting savings so metal speculum were replaced by plastic.

I find the metal ones more comfortable. I always have urethral pain with the plastic ones and the opening of the plastic ones isn’t as fluid/ causing more discomfort