Why do you think taking the temperature rectally was considered unpleasant by most?

Why do you think taking the temperature rectally was considered unpleasant by most children and teens?

Was this because the tip of the thermometer felt uncomfortable or even painful when inserted into the anus. Or was this because when the temperature was taken by someone else, the anus and other naked parts of the body were fully exposed to someone else, and felt very embarrassed about it.

Or maybe a combination of both.

What is your opinion about this?

No, this question is not rhetorical.

As a younger child, I found it especially unpleasant to have the thermometer inserted, while as I got older it was mostly the embarrassment of being exposed naked.

The physical discomfort is a given. The other point, is that in America, at least with some cultures, anal penetration is a taboo, even today,i.e., people like the Duggar family....and their followers. The thing that I hated as a toddler, was also knowing that my older siblings, didn't have to submit to a rectal temp., so I felt like I was being treated like a baby. If you grew up in a country where rectal temps. for all ages, was the norm, then you probably would have accepted it as a way of life.

I was seldom uncomfortable or in pain while actually receiving the rectal thermometer. For some reason my mother stressed that it was a very private area of my body; it was not to be seen nor talked about. So top that off by having to expose my anus and genitalia to a complete stranger every time (while my mother watched), and then to be penetrated by that stranger with an object, made the entire procedure awkward to say the least. Think about it.... A complete stranger is penetrating you, and putting a foreign object into your bottom as a toddler! I was mostly embarrassed that my mother was watching. The anxiety never got better, but familiarity eventually allowed me to secretly enjoy it once the process was in motion.

Not to belittle rape in anyway, but being penetrated by anything as a child runs a close parallel, even though it was a very accepted medical necessity at the time.

It didn’t physically hurt, but if you didn’t find it at least unpleasant, you would likely be an odd duck- don’t you think?

Most folks can’t remember that far back into their lives; for those of us who can, rectal temps have developed into this odd little fixation and fetish that evidently lasts a lifetime.

Getting your temp taken rectally was embarrassing and belittling, especially as one got older.

Up to age 7, I didn't mind having my temp taken rectally. It was expected at every doctor visit, normal, and always done gently, and there was no pain associated. What I really hated were shots, which stung my little bottom. Somewhere around 8 or 9 rectal temps started to become embarrassing. I think there are a number of reasons. One reason is that rectal temps were only used on "little" boys and girls in my estimation, and I wanted to be grown up. Another reason was of course being exposed and vulnerable, and having my bottom parted, my bumhole exposed and then penetrated. Also, at some point, I started getting erections from the thermometer which was extremely embarrassing. By age 12 I hated getting my temp taken at the doctor's. It was humiliating and degrading to me. In spite of that, I would get quite erect and have to deal with trying to get my briefs up without showing my mom and the nurse, but no matter how I tried to wrestle them up without showing my reaction, it never worked, and my thin white briefs did little to conceal it anyway. I wrote of my last rectal temp elsewhere which was the worst of all.

That all being said, I got all of my shots in the bottom up to age 18, and they didn't embarrass me near as much as the thermometer. At the same time I started hating the thermometer, I started not minding the shots as much, especially since the nurse made me relax my butt so it wouldn't sting. I got shots pretty frequently, and always had to bare my bottom in front of the nurse and my mother. I would say knowing even adults got shots in the bottom helped, and also the fact that it was over quickly.

As someone who got rectal temperatures through 18 years old, I really didn't feel any discomfort. Actually, I think the nurses put much more vaseline on the thermometer than what was needed. From the time I was 12, however, I started feeling embarrassed at having to lie face down on the table and having my rear exposed in getting my temperature taken. Similarly, I was in the hospital, in the pediatric ward at one time and wore nothing except a hospital gown, which was untied in the back so my temperature could be taken every 4 hours. I always hated this and wished I could get the oral thermometer. Starting from my teenage years it grew into a fetish which remains today.

Probably a combination of both but definitely the exposure especially as a kid it was emotionally challenging especially if it was in a hospital or doctors office and a total stranger was taking it.

I think it’s a combination of the variability in when a boy changed from rectal to oral and the exposure. For me I knew that others had switched earlier to oral either because they went to a different doctor or because my doctor kept me longer as a rambunctious kid with rectal temperatures. I can Distinctly remember the nurse reviewing my chart and switching to a rectal thermometer for me. At a young age that made me realize that she even thought I was old enough for a world temperature but got it rectally. The other part that was uncomfortable as you were so helpless to follow doctor’s orders without the doctor even being there to receive your complaint. I guess Lashley as I got older I always got a very strong direction while my temperature was being taken which added to the situation.

Probably because, unless like those of us who don't/didn't mind the procedure, it is for many, "invasive", embarrassing an no doubt for them, unnecessary, as I'd think most patients would say.

I would imagine it’s the usually hidden bottom being bared and soft round cheeks firmly separated, while helplessly lying facedown, as two or three adults look on, knowing they are peering in as the exposed clenched anus is penetrated, and listening as a soft grunt or moan or whimper pierces the cold silence of the bright white exam room.