How are virgins examined by the gyno?

Hi! I was wondering: it's true that sometimes for virgin girls is necessary to use the rectal canal for examin the utherus? Sorry for my bad english, i'm not american. :-)

If a girl who is still a virgin is experiencing any abnormal symptoms, pain, bleeding, itching, etc, should report them to a doctor, who may do a pelvic exam. The girl will still renaming a virgin; The exam does not tear the hymen.

A small "virgin" speculum may be used and the bimanual exam may be performed with care. Hymens vary from woman to woman but normally will have an elasticity that allows the exam.

Rectal exam may be performed as a complement because usually both external and internal vaginal exam should be performed depending on the complains.

A woman who reaches 21 years still virgin should start regular routine gynecological exams including pap smears.

I was a virgin when I had my first pelvic exam. My mom had made the appointment for me. No, the doctor did not do a rectal exam in place of a regular pelvic exam. I will have post my experience about my first exam.

My first couple of exams were when I was a virgin. I do believe the second included a rectal but I may be mistaken.

I had five pelvic exams as a virgin. My gynecologists all used a vaginal speculum and also gave me a rectal exam. For my first pelvic the doctor told me he was going to use a very thin speculum. I believe he said a Pederson for virgins. I think as my exams increased they used bigger ones. Or at least they looked bigger on the tray table with all the other toys they have to use on a girl. They sure are a lot bigger today. Oh and I still always get a rectal exam ever time.

I had some pelvic exams when I was a virgin. The gyno inspect my vulva, inner lips, clit, vagina and anus (but he´d never inserted anything in the retal canal).

I was (am a virgin) my first exam at 14 years old. Virginity and age aside a she did it all. Speculum, pap smear, bimnaual & rectal. For me the worst part being a virgin was the pap smear. Ouch!

I was a virgin for my first gyno visit. There was no rectal. I've compared notes with many friends and they also never mentioned a rectal.

I was wondering what country you were in when you had your first pelvic. All the friends who I've talked to about their exams have all had rectal exams. That is here in the US.

I had no knowledge of pelvic examinations while I was still a virgin but would question the need to do a PAP smear on a woman who had not had vaginal intercourse.

I understand that an arbitrary age has been set at which PAP tests should be done regardless of sexual activity (or lack of it), but I think that it is in an abundance of caution and difficult; if by some miracle the young woman's hymen has survived her youthful--if non sexual--activities.

Jackie

Before I was 16 I remember being examined externally a few times. At around 16 I was still a virgin and I had my first internal exam with a speculum... no matter what size this thing was, it felt far too big at that time ;-) My next exam was with a different doc and I was no longer a virgin - only then I received a rectal as well... 😮

I was a virgin the first three time I had a pelvic exam. Stirrups the first two times and knee crutches the third. Ages 15.5, 17, and 18. All with speculum and rectal exams, all male doctors. After that they could use the big stuff on me.

My wife was a virgin at her first exam with no rectal. She did not start receiving rectals until age 40.

I was a virgin for my first one. I was given an internal with one finger in my vagina and also a speculum was inserted. I was given a rectal exam but it was as well as rather than instead of.

To some extent it's more a decision of what can be tolerated than whether or not the patient is a virgin. Use of a pediatric speculum , single finger exam, etc are options. If there is a decision not to examine vagnally then a rectal only is an option to palpate the uterus and ovaries. It's not the same as a rectovaginal or even a vaginal exam since you cannot manipulate the cervix, uterus, etc with your vaginal fingers.

These days, many, if not most girls lose their hymens from physical activity, masturbation and tampon use.

What is the point of going to the gyno if nothing is apparently wrong and there is no need to go on the pill? How is it decided that 21 is the age when you are supposed to start getting checked ?

I agree with ginger89 on this. What is the point of having a pelvic exam if there is nothing wrong with you and you are a virgin even at the "magic" age of 18 or whatever?

I was 15 and a virgin when I had my first speculum and internal exam (never a rectal though) I had heavy periods so there was a medical reason, and in the UK in the 80's if you went on the pill you got a full exam every year regardless of age or state or virginity, I think I had 4 speculum exams as a virgin

As EGB1969 says, here in the UK in the 60's,70's,80's, and probably some of the 90's, if a girl visited her GP or the family planning clinic to go on the pill then she would be given an internal examination and often a breast examination as well. It didn't matter if she was a virgin or not, it was still done and done vaginally. Rectal examinations are few and far between in the UK. I've only ever heard of women aged around 40 or over having a rectal during a general health screening, and then only at a private clinic appointment paid for by their employers.

But at some point I'm not sure exactly when but probably sometime in the 90's, these routine internal examinations for the pill ceased, and nowadays they just check the BP and more general stuff like that and a regular smear test is offered to all women from age 25 in England. I'm not sure why they stopped doing these pill checks, but perhaps the examinations didn't reveal much and became a bit pointless.

Does anyone in the UK know when these pill checks were stopped and why, and if it was a general instruction to GPs and family planning clinics by the Dept of Health?

Thanks...

Dr Philip.

Philip, I addressed this issue a couple of years ago - here's a link to the post:

http://www.zity.biz/index.php?mx=forum;ox=display;topic=6103.msg337306#msg337306

Like you and many others of 'a certain age', I remember when these 'pill examinations' were standard procedure here in the UK and as such some interesting stuff fell into my ever-eager ears!

Dear Dr. Philip,

I was on the birth control pill from 1978 until sometime in the middle 2000's and I always received a full Gyn exam for my annual pill check-up in the United States. I did have to change to a no estrogen pill, because I was developing what is commonly called, "the mask of pregnancy" on my arms. Since I am blonde and very fair, it was fairly easy to notice. It did fade some when I changed pills, but it never completely went away. Finally, I just stopped taking the pills and now, I use something else.

Lady Teddy, blonde hair with blue eyes and a native Californian girl

Dear Lady Teddy,

Thank you for your kind response...It is always good to learn the secrets of the speculum, Californian style et al...

Dr Philip.

I had a full pelvic and pap as a virgin. It's a bit uncomfortable. She did use a smaller spec and did a lot more explaining but it was a pretty normal pelvic exam/pap.

I was a virgin at 19 when I had my first exam. They used a smaller speculum but that was the only difference.

As for being examined if you are not sexually active or on the pill.....cancer and abnormalities can occur at any age. One of my friends, at age 24 (who was a virgin at the time) had abnormal cells come back from her pap that year. It was not cancer, but what if it had been? Just like with breast exams at a young age. Sure, the odds are greater that you won't have anything wrong until you're older, but we have a commercial going around right now in my city from a local hospital about a woman who was 22, fresh out of college and found a lump in her breast which did turn out to be cancerous. The commercial is promoting breast self exams at a young age.

Sure, odds are most people are going to make it to their older years before something happens. BUT there are always some who have issues earlier in life. Me, I'd rather have my annual exams and make sure everything is ok than have a problem that could have been caught early with a simple test.

But that's just me. *shrug*

I had been mid of 15 as i had my first gyn exam. Had been there with my mom together. The doctor did a full gyn exam. Use a small speculum. It didn't hurt but felt uncomfortable cold pressure.

I was a virgin at my first 3 gyn exams and received normal, complete pelvic exams with external, speculum, pap, bi-manual and recto-vaginal examinations. The only consideration made to my virginity during my first exam was the use of a pediatric/virginal speculum and the doctor going slow and describing what was happening at each part of the exam. At the two subsequent exams when I was still a virgin, a regular medium sized (ouch!) was used, just as it is today.

I heard that the pelvic exams on virgins in some countries, (like Spain for example) are done rectally, never vaginally. This is quite interesting.

Are there other countries where this is the standard procedure? I would be interested to hear from people with their real life experiences of this.

I would imagine that for some (who dislike rectal exams) this would almost act as an incentive to become sexually active! 😃

I think a lot of it will depend on the state of the hymen, perhaps more than geographical location.

Which type and size of speculum has been found to be the most comfortable and best tolerated for a virgin? I've read that a small Pederson may be the best choice.