What does your doctor do with the speculum after the exam?

My GF said that after she removed the speculum she leaves it on the tray until later when the nurse disposes of it in the trash can..

Don't forget to ask for another to take home ; ) Nothing like an engaged patient eager to learn more.

My wife has always been examined with metal ones. When the doc finishes he puts them in the sink. I always look at it when the doc leaves the room and it is wet with my wife's juices which I love! She also looks but never says anything, I guess just curious of what was just inside her.

I went into an exam room for the practice nurse for an injection and the previous patient had been a lady. When I looked about there was a used metal speculum in the sink. It had something on the blades may be vaginal secretion or perhaps KY

Id like to think it was the lady who had just been in, I think it might have been because she looked flustered when she came but had looked nervous before she went in.

With metal speculums I do like to wonder exactly how many different vaginas have they been inserted in to?

DFG

He take it and put it in the garbage before the end of the exam. the speculum part is done before the manuel part becose it need the cervix not be contamined by the lubrifian so i dont see the speculum after...

If the metal speculum was used it goes in the sink. If a plastic speculum is used, it goes in the red biohazard trash can.

Straight to the trash can when it comes out, mine have always been the plastic type.

A few times, the speculum has been left on the tray, but most of the times its put away, either thrown out or put in a box until it can be sterilized

Depends on whether it is metal or plastic..lately my doc has switched to plastic and like everyone else said he drops it in the trash right after it comes out. The metal ones have been either left on the tray or put in the sink to be cleaned and used for other patients. Makes you really hope they do their best with sterilization!

Drops it in a special garbage can out of sight...

My wife's doctor leaves it on the tray for the nurse to clean and sterilize

Seconding Dr Feelgood's comment below, it must be common for the spec. to be thrown into the big stainless steel sink, cos that's what I observed when I was last in an A&E exam room. Didn't have time to tidy I guess, but they were bloody and I felt a pang of concern for the patient.

My wife's doctor puts the plastic speculum in the trash one she is done with it.

He laid it in the sink yesterday at the wife's annual.

My wifes doctor has it in plain sight on a sterile tray when you enter the exam room. Since it is plastic it is not resuable, now once complete with the internal exam the doctors puts it back on the tray. The nurse then comes in afterwards and cleans up and throws it away.

MY gyno, after removing from me,ALWAYS put it the drawer under my bottom while my legs are still in the stirrups!!

My GP and GYN always place it on a towel initially then they lay it in the sink when they leave the room when they are finished with the pelvic exam.

Gets placed in the sink after exam along with any other instrument that was used

Placed in the sink or given to the attendant to place in the sink.

My wife's doctor always puts it in the sink. We usually look at it ones he has gone and it always is wet with her juices.

Mine always place it in the sink.

Usually there is a small trashcan, lined, for durable instruments that need to be sanitized/autoclaved. I can hear it "plunk" at the end of the speculum portion of the exam.

My girlfriends doctor always places them into a trash can next to the table.

Has anyone ever taken their used speculum when the exam is over, either with or without the doctor's permission? The plastic ones would seam to be a reasonable take away item since they are disposable and considered a one time use item. On the other hand, a metal one would be outright stealing, and should be punished appropriately. Either way, proper sanitizing and sterilizing of the item would be on order, but certainly within the capabilities of a medfetish aficionado.

Hookajoe said:-

Has anyone ever taken their used speculum when the exam is over, either with or without the doctor's permission? The plastic ones would seam to be a reasonable take away item since they are disposable and considered a one time use item.

That proposition has been discussed before Hookajoe - and the consensus was that theft is theft - even of trash.

Both metal or plastic speculum's are so cheap to buy - even metal are available as disposables. Would you really like a criminal record?

Interesting, if not trivial dilemma! I think in the end result taking a metal speculum would definitely be theft! However, if you choose to keep the disposable, plastic one, which is discarded anyway, in a strange perspective a patient has the right to do so. Stretching a bit here, the patient has paid for that equipment. (I guess, in deference to ¨renting¨ the metal one!) Perhaps the theory of the auto mechanic returning your used or replaced parts would apply here!

My only concern is that some jurisdictions may consider this a bio-hazard and walking away with it could get you in some trouble, although I am not aware of any such restrictions. I dispose of mine in a bio-hazard box nonetheless.

My take, in the end result, if someone wants to take a disposable spec with them, hey, it´s nothing more than a souvenir of their visit with me! LOL!

Taking a metal speculum would be theft since they are sterilized and re-used. However, it would seem that taking the disposable, plastic speculum would not be theft since it already has been used and is intended to be thrown away. The problem would seem that the doctor throws the plastic speculum in the trash once they are done using it, so you would have to dig it out of the trash. Unless you are the first patient of the day, there probably are other used speculums, gloves, etc in the trash with your speculum. Do you really want to take a speculum (yours) which has been exposed to other speculums? Probably not.

Ask the doc if he would give you the disposable speculum BEFORE he throws it out.

He might or he might not citing possible misuse or sterility concerns.

You can buy a metal graves or collins speculum on the internet for less than $15-20.

BE A SPORT, COUGH IT UP AND JUST BUY ONE.

Along the same lines of "why not ask the doc if you can take it home".... Ask him if you can have a NEW plastic speculum for self-exam at home. The following reasons can be used in your request (taken from a feminist oriented website):

"Vaginal and cervical self-examination is one of the most useful health tools a woman can have. It enables us to see a vital part of our anatomy which is hidden from plain view-the vagina and cervix (the neck of the womb). By using a speculum, you can observe changes in your cervix, secretions, the menstrual cycle and indications of fertility; you can identify and treat common vaginal conditions such as yeast, trichomonas or bacterial infections (which often cause itching or discharge); and you can learn what your cervix looks like day by day, rather than depending on a physician to look once a year to pronounce what is normal for you."

Tell the doc that you found the above on a self-health website, and that since you already do monthly self breast examinations, that this would be the logical extension and made a lot of sense. At worst, he can say "no" and give you a funny look. If the office only uses metal specs, I guess you're out of luck.

More than one member has pointed out the cost of a speculum would hardly break the bank. I have a suspicion it's not the cost of buying it's the possible embarrassment of buying, even from the internet