Coughing During Hernia Exam

I had a hernia (inguinal). At first I was hoping for a sport hernia but as time went by I resigned myself to an ordinary inguinal hernia. My primary physician (I use large University Hospital and Clinic) was terribly busy so I asked for anyone who could see me. I got a nice resident and told him this was his easiest diagnosis of the day. I told him what I had and that I needed a referral to a surgeon who knew his/her way around the inguinal canal. I didn't have to cough until I got the Surgeon who was the department head and had a resident in tow. Since I am typing I will add, with my pants at half mast the discussion about a sports hernia vs the real hernia was discussed. Then the discussion of what to do came up. The Head of the Dept said what about laparoscopic treatment? With pants still at half mast I said yeah what about that. The resident was befuddled at best. The Surgeon looked at me and said what is the most treated issue in males. I said Prostate. He said bingo. I thought I won a prize. Then he said the surgeons that treat that laparoscopically do not like hernia repair the same way. Scar tissue hinders their efforts. So a 4 inch incision, in his opinion works the best. I pulled my pants up. The resident still befuddled.

As a kid, I never gave it gave it much thought. That was the most intense part of my physical. No blood drawn, and nothing in the butt. Decades later, and today nothing more than bloodwork and basic medical questions.

I remember always being asked to cough with the doc holding a teste in his hand and if it wasn’t enough being told to cough “harder”. Once it wasn’t good enough and I was instructed to cough and “flex my stomach”

One odd hernia test I had once was given by a PA for my job and he said unbuckle your pants and lower them but DO NOT LOWER YOUR UNDERWEAR! So he had me bear down and he pushed against my lower abdomen basically just lower than the waistband but not any where close to where my pubic hair started. I don’t even know if that assesses anything.

With my hernia checks, 'again' I interpret simply as a confirmation of what he felt the first time, not a comment about my cough.

@Smoog1

That is a valid check. He is simply checking for budges in the groin on straining, although I, personally, think that he should also have checked the inguinal canal via scrotal invagination also.

Cough…cough!!!

I don't remember really being told off, but as a kid at schoool I was told "Turn left and cough for me. And again. Now turn right for me. And again."

Not that I can remember. As I mentioned in another thread, there was one instance where I was asked by the PA doing the physical if I wanted a hernia/DRE check. She wanted a "chaperone" in attendance. I didn't. Never-the-less, there was one. First and only time I had an observer as an adult. I was instructed to hold up a sheet between me and the observer while the PA worked from "behind". Ridiculous! The initial request to turn and cough went awry. I coughed and forgot to turn my head! Everything was a blur after that!

When our family GP was examining my genitalia for the first time and asked me to cough, I told him that I wasn't sick. He smiled and said, "Well, do it anyway. Turn your head and cough." I had no idea that doctors always ask you to cough when they check you for hernias.