A question for a health care proffesional

My first medical experience that I can remember happened when i was very young and for better or worse it is this event which I feel has lead to my fascination with all things medical ever since. I must have been no more than three or four and I think I had been 'holding' my poo in, not wanting to go to the toilet. I remember my father took me to the Doctors where I remember having to lie on the table. I have never come across this procedure since which has made me doubt that it ever really happened but my memory tells me that the Doctor picked up one of those wooden tongue depressors and inserted it into my bottom 😳. Has anyone heared of this being done before or is it my memory playing tricks on me. Is there any legitimate medical reason why a Doctor might have done this and what was he doing? I have often thought about it and tried to decide whether it really happened or not. Would love some kind of confirmation either way.

It did happen your memory is not wrong. Doctor sometimes use tongue depressors to see if a child is constipated. What the doctor is looking for is stool in your lower intestine. When someone is constipated their stool is dehydrated and does not pass very easily. With children sometimes it is hard to get them to eat their veggies, bran, nuts and fruits. These food make our stool small hydrated and easy to pass. If a child or adult is not getting the right about of good food like everything I mentioned above they have problems passing stools making them constipated. Usually a good does of Milk of Magnesia works wonder with good diet. The experience most likely happened to you. Hopefully you do not experience these problems as an adult.

[quote author=Shyguy link=topic=29702.msg279530#msg279530 date=1267569520]

My first medical experience that I can remember happened when i was very young . . . I have never come across this procedure since which has made me doubt that it ever really happened but my memory tells me that the Doctor picked up one of those wooden tongue depressors and inserted it into my bottom 😳 . . . .

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[quote author=Playfulgirlygirl link=topic=29702.msg279553#msg279553 date=1267576005]

It did happen your memory is not wrong. Doctor sometimes use tongue depressors to see if a child is constipated. . . . .

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As one nurse to another, I find it hard to believe that a doctor would insert even a child sized tongue depressor in a child's anus/rectum that has been clenched closed to retain feces. Even with tons of lubrication, introducing a wooden tongue blade into a child's anus would be extremely painful, not to mention traumatic to the tissues, which I would expect to tear terribly in response to the friction and shape of a wooden tongue blade. Tongue blades aren't exactly sanded to a high polish like some of the newer specially treated wooden sex toys.

You probably THOUGHT it was a tongue depressor, or saw one in his hand while you were there, but that was most likely not what he used to probe your anus.

Unless of course, little boys anuses are looser in San Francisco! 😁 😁 😁 😁

I need to clarify what I wrote. Some doctors use tongue depressors to find out if a child or adult is constipated. Some doctors use a long slender plastic disposable type instrument. It can be about ten or twelve inches long with a dull v shape at the end. Doctors and nurses us these to remove stool from an impacted person. An impaction is a big clump of stool that has collected in the colon. Sometimes these collections do not want to move on there own and they need help. I hope I have clarified any misunderstandings. Doctors do not always use the right instruments when checking for constipation in children. Parents it is very important we always stay with our children when taking them to the doctor. Doctors make mistakes and we need to be our child's advocate their voice.

Doctors don't use tongue depressors or ANY size rectally. The edges are sharp and the tissues are delicate. They also would not use an adult size anoscope on a kid. A pediatrician (who is not a gastroenterologist) would check with a gloved finger, or in an infant or very young child stimulate the anus with a thermometer to get things moving. Pretty much all of the looking inside would be reserved to the specialist - a pediatric gastroenterologist. Neither would ever use a tongue depressor for this.

Doc

Doc is right, I've never heard about this kind of diagnostic procedure....not using a tongue depressor. 😮

And I woud call at least INSANE a doctor who ever did something like this to a child...It seems like abuse!

Do you think it was abuse then? I have often wondered.

There is a procedure most often used by pediatricians in which they wrap a bit of transparent tape, we call it Scotch Tape(R) here in the US sticky side out to collect eggs and adult pinworms as they emerge from the rectum. I wonder if it could the answer to this?

I am not a medical doctor (I do have a PhD in something else), but it sounds strange at the very least.....

I'm with Dr Laennec. It was undoubtedly a pinworm prep. The is a piece of scotch tape (sticky side out) folded over a glass slide or conceivably a tongue blade. No none would try to insert a tongue blade into the rectum. Yikes the splinters!