When you go to the pediatrician for a cold or injury....

When I was growing up, anytime I went to see my doctor I was always told to strip down to my underwear and given a gown to wear.

He always would do a complete exam, no matter what I was there for.

There werent very many times when I ended up in my undies at the pediatrician, but almost always its shirt, shoes and socks off. In fact when I first started going to adult doctors, I thought it was odd when I didnt have to take anything off, and would sometimes take my shirt off when i got there just out of habit. I dont even remember wearing a hospital gown, in fact I dont think I even wore on until my early 30s.

I know boys who went to other doctors who got the same treatment.

Oh I know that feeling. The amount of times I've heard other guys had seen the same doctor I had, I always wondered what their exams were like and what happened. And if my doctor did the same thing to them.

It was a certainty growing up, no matter the reason my pediatrician always had to strip to just my underwear. Every appointment began the exactly same way if I was there for a shot, flu or my physicals. Those non-physicals visits turned into a semi-physical exam. He would used this phases all the time: “Since your here, I”ll going to just take a look or check” resulting in either his hands in my underwear or pulled down. Usually, he just checked my penis, foreskin and felt my balls. Once in my early teens & puberty, my doctor would ask if I regularly checked my testicles. Then he proceeded to pull my briefs down felt my testicles and penis then occasionally checked me for a hernia. Several of my buddies went to the same pediatrician they received the same exam. I knew others guys who went to different doctors town there basically got the type same exam.

It is strange that with different countries and people their experiences are different. As I was born and lived all my working life in the UK my experience is way different to many of those posted below. In the 1960's I can only ever remember one secondary school medical and that most certainly did not include a check on my genitals or anus. At no other time while at school did I ever have a medical of any description.

I almost find it disturbing that all those young boys were subject to overly regular examination of their genitals, especially when visiting a doctor for a problem that had no relation to that area of the body. To my way of thinking most parents would have regular sight of their off springs bodies, particularly pre-pubescence and if they were to have noticed any issues then obviously off to the doctors. My mother was always with me when I had a bath, and she would wash my hair and back along with my penis after I had experienced a problem within the foreskin at around 8 years which i have mentioned elsewhere in another post.

So therefore she would know whether my "bits" were in good order or not. Around puberty she then left me to my own devices which would appear quite normal.

Just from an English perspective I find this rather over used desire to check young boys genitals unhealthy. On the contrary I like having my penis and scrotum examined as an adult, but the thing here is that I am in charge of that situation and a young lad isn't.

We went to a number of doctors when I was a kid and most of them did at least fairly thorough physicals with full or near-full undressing. But we (my brothers and I) didn't undress for visits for illness, that I can recall.

Those were handled like one I remember my younger brother and I both having once when we'd been sick and missed school. I was about 14 and he was about 11. Our dad took us to the pediatrician and, when we were taken into the exam room, we were told to sit up on the table (both of us, side by side) as the nurse took our temperature and did our blood pressure. We both had on long sleeve flannel shirts and had to roll the sleeves up. Then, we were both taken to the bathroom down the hall and went in one at a time to pee in a cup for her.

When we came back to the exam room, the nurse told us to sit down on the table again. A few minutes later, the doctor came in and looked at the files, asked a few questions and then told us, "Ok, guys, unbutton your shirts the whole way and open your pants for me." So, we unbuttoned and unbuckled and unzipped. He gave us a very quick check up like that, seated on the table the whole time, telling us to lean back a couple of times as he felt and listened around our abdomens. Our shirts were spread out to our shoulders as he thumped on our chests and listened. Our underwear was pushed down a little bit as he felt around abdomens.

One little thing that stands out is after he had given me a once-over and moved on to my brother, I started to fasten up my pants and he said, "leave your clothes open for me until I'm all done, Jake." And, sure enough, after examining my brother he did some more palpation, pressing up and under my ribcage as I sat there.

Yes, I can remember a number of times going to the family my doctor for minor illness, injury, or something in between annual physicals, and having to undress to at least just my briefs. Not that they necessarily did anything more than was needed to treat whatever I was there for, it wasn’t a full physical at all, but I was still undressed.

Sometimes at regular physical, I was told to undress before they even did the finger prick, and TB test, which I had to go into the clerical office next to the exam room to have done. So I’d be sitting on the old wooden chair in just briefs, or maybe naked, while the office assistant did those tests, then sent me back into exam room. I didn’t think much about it at the time, because this is the only doctor I’d ever known, and anytime I’d ever been there before I always was undressed. So, whenever we came in the door there, and I’d smell that familiar sterilized scent, mixed with the cigarette and pipe tobacco smoke, I’d start feeling nervous because I knew I’d soon be taking off my clothes in front of the doctor, nurse, and maybe the one or two women who worked in the office there.

While in college, I was on crew and had somehow injured my back. The injury held me up for at least two weeks to the chagrin of our trainer. He took me to the college doctor along with another athlete who had injured his knee. For whatever reason, we went to the doctor's office off campus. We get there and after about 20 minutes we are taken into an exam room, the both of us and the trainer, and told to strip naked. In that situation, one does as told but I surely felt anxious and rather embarrassed standing there with my hands at my side while the doc checked the first guy. Basically, he listened with his steth and then had the other guy get onto the table and examined the knee then ordered he get xrays. For me, he made me assume different positions and felt my lower back and buttocks. When done, he recommended heat treatments. It was just such an unusual experience. I am sure I remained shriveled the entire time!

I grew up in MA too and always remember that no matter why I was in the office it involved an exam and complete undressing.

I had an exam a few months ago for poison ivy on my leg. I didn’t have to undress at all and I just pulled up my pant leg so the doctor could see that part of my leg. I can’t remember another time I’ve gone to the doctors for something that wasn’t my yearly check up though but I’m assuming they don’t examine genitals there unless the patient is there for a checkup or there’s a specific reason to.

For physicals had to undress completely but for colds undress to underwear. fairly typical for that time period.

Sadly all my exams sick or well we’re just take my shirt off and sit on the table. Wish I got more...

For physicals, I would always have to undress down to my underwear. For anything else, I stayed totally clothed unless the nature of my complaint required me to take anything off. Even if the doc had to listen to my heart or lungs, I remember him either reaching under my shirt or having my pull up my shirt enough for him to work. And when I had appendicitis, I remember the same thing--stretched out on the exam table, shirt lifted up enough for him to check out my abdomen.

I also grew up in Massachusetts going to the doctor up there. My regular physical exams were in my underwear. But if I had to see the doctor for anything else, I would stay clothed and he would go under my clothes. It was until I was 14 or 15 (which is the same time I went into the exam room by myself) that he would have me take off my shirt. He would still his hands under my pants and underwear but only when he was palpating me lying down and did really examine anything down there.

My recollection is that physicals/ check-us were done underwear, and illness-related visits were clothed. A shirt might get untucked or taken off to allow for a stethoscope (esp for a chest cold), and pants would come down if an antibiotic injection was required.

Seems a little excessive to be stripped nude for injured ankle.

I remember i was 8 and i was at school when i developed some extreme stomach cramps. My mother was called who then took me straight to the hospital. Once inside the nurse said they needed to get a urine sample. We where standing at the nurses station i remember a nurse coming from behind the counter. She knelt down in front of me and said i need you to pee in the cup. I was in pain and being young simply knodded. The nurse pulled my shorts and underpants down she then took hold of my penis and retracted my foreskin she then pointed my glans into the cup and said pee for me. This was done in full view of all the people in the corridor. So being young and wanting to get the job done modesty was not an issue i must also say that this happened in the 1980's.

I posted earlier this morning but I do not see it here, so I will try again.

If you went to my pediatrician for a physical exam you always stripped down to your tighty whities or boxer shorts, everything else off. Soon into the exam your underpants came off too.

If you went to him for anything else - a cold, sore throat, sprained ankle, ear ache, etc - things that one would not expect to require a lot of stripping, you still had to strip down to just your underpants. And usually he ended up having your take off your underpants for a testicle exam. He always emphasized that testicular cancer was the most common cancer in our age group and one could never be too careful about that. So even though I generally only had one complete physical exam each year I wound up having my testicles examined several times each year.

I think that was not right for an ankle injury. There is no need to do a genital exam.