Being told to undress

Years ago I was seen at a minute like clinic for poison ivy rash that was extremely bad on both arms, belly and thighs. The NP came into the room and asked me to take off my long sleeve shirt so she could see. She agreed it was very bad. She asked to see my belly, she agreed again it was bad. She then asked about my thighs, I told her they were not as bad. She had me stand up and pull my pants down, BUT LEAVE YOUR UNDERWEAR ON! She exclaimed. As I briefly paused, she followed it with, if you are wearing underwear. 😉

I remember it varied how I was told to undress. I went to the same pediatrician until I was like 15 years old. The only thing that was same the nurses,my mom and sister watching me undress then she took my vitals. The older nurse was always said " strip down to your skivvies including socks". The young nurse it was " strip everything off except for your underpants." Usually, by the end of the physical I was naked either on the exam table or standing up with my underwear at my knees/ankles.

The school physical usually 3 to 5 guys were together in a room. The nurse would say " "Guys shirts unbuttoned and unfasten and unzip your pants." Next she said "the doctor will exam you privates and a henia exam." Then one at a time each guy had to drop their pants & underwear to their knees for the penis, balls and hernia exam.

Current family doctor: after all the vitals are taken its usually "please strip downtown your boxers" or " everything off but your boxers". Then at the end of the exam doctor " drop your boxers to your ankles - turn and cough"

When I see my primary care doc, after the nurse weighs me, I am told to take off my shirt and undershirt, for the EKG exam. After that is finished I am told to everything else off and to cover myself with the paper sheet. A little more than a year ago when I was at an urgent care run by the medical center for a repeat chest x-ray, the nurse told me to take everything off and to put on this "jonny" robe. I didn't see the need, since I was only there for a chest x-ray, so I declined. When caled for the x-ray, all I was asked to remove was my shirt and undershirt.

Srg rik you are a party pooper, lol.

Mashie

srg rik you are a party pooper, lol. Mashie

@Mashie... Sorry to disappoint you. That's medicine these days. They do everything according to the cookbook. And when you come into that urgent care facility, the Nurse Practitioner's instructions were what the recipe called for. I just didn't think a hospital "jonny" was called for for a repeat chest x-ray (they wanted to apply nipple buttons to more clearly define a shadow on the earlier one -- the shadow was my nipple).

On the other hand.... back in the day when there were docs who never let you leave the office without a shot.... the "OK sweetie, drop 'em and bare it for me" was alot more welcome.

My wonderful gyn actually talks to me before I undress for the exam. This last time he said "Alright you go ahead and take everything off and put the gown on...opening in the front is usually easiest..." hehe

That's so true Srg rik. Doc tells me that up in NY no one wants to show any skin at the doctors office, and here in Ohio we feel like we haven't been given proper care unless we are made to show some skin at some point during a doctors visit. Strange the differences between states even, not just generations.

Mashie

In all the years to the present day it's never really changed or varied here.

As a child a visit to the GP took the same role every time . I mostly went for chest related issues so it was always coat off , then top layer off to my vest . Sometimes he would auscultate with the vest held up by my mum , dad or as I got older myself , other times the Dr would ask for it to be taken off.

An abdo exam would be lie on the exam bed . Then my top half would be pulled up and my bottom half adjusted . Anything that needed examining below the waist and the trousers or skirt would come off but my pants would remain on . Obviously if it was the genital area then the pants would come off too. But I was never completely naked.

A visit to a peaditrician would only happen if you had been referred for something that your GP couldn't fix and he wanted a more expert opinion . Those visits again were similar to the GP . You were weighed and had your height checked clothed. Just my coat and shoes were removed.

When you went in to see the Dr just the part that was being examined was exposed. Again mine was mainly chest issues so it was always my top half that was removed including the vest .

Once I hit puberty and wore a bra , the Dr would work round and under the bra . It wasn't until I met my new chest consultant as I moved from peads to adult that I was asked to remove my bra for auscultations.

Today it is very much the same . I see my respiratory consultant weekly at the minute. He enters the cubicle with the nurse ( if she isn't present , he always asks if it's ok to continue) . We chat , then he asks me to remove my top clothes layer. He auscultates as much as he can . Then I'm asked to go behind the screen , remove my bra and sit on the exam bed . He always auscultates again with me sitting and then lying down . No gown or cover up is offered . It doesn't bother me in the slightest . I'm comfortable with it.

Taking my girls to the pead remains the same as it did when I was a child . They just expose what needs looking at . Height and weight is done in the exact same way too .

The only time we get gowns is in Accident and Emergency ( ER) and for tests and procedures . The day I had my first Uro/Gynae visit and he did a complete exam I was given a gown .

Last week I had an MRI scan of the kidneys, bladder and pelvic area . I wore nothing with any metal in but still had to wear a gown. The funny thing was the radiographer said to me " remove everything but your pants " . Just thought that it was funny seen as that area was being scanned , yet I had to take everything else off but could leave my pants on.

My usual pediatrician when I had office consultation asked me (I usually was with my mother) to remove everything except underpants (lowered or removed for the Last part of the exam), in a very few cases she allowed me to keep on the t-shirt but always trousers and socks off. The doctor that used to come for home visit used to start the exam making me remove the lower part of the pijama and underpants for abdominal and genital exam and then pulled up or removed the upper part for the heart and lung exam or sometimes I was asked to remove everything and stay completely nude from the beginning of the exam

During my childhood doctor visits, I never had to strip. The doctor would simply have me lower my pants and shorts to the knees to do the genital exam. Our current family doctor has our boys completely undress, one of the reasons being to check for melanoma.

I think this was the case when parents took there children to the pediatrician from the 80' on down. I think in the 90's and up today, doctors don't have children undress. When I was a child in the 70's and in my teens in the 80's. I always had to get undressed to my undies back then and back then the common undies were tighty whities. In my experience the doctor thoroughly examined my genitals and did the tanner stage on me and most of the time my mother watching the exam in the room. I don't think this happens today in any exam.

I always had to undress to underwear only or underwear and a t shirt

When i was younger as a kid i was always in just my underwear no gown or anything but when i turned into a teenager it was underwear and a gown covering me and its the same to this day underwear and gown

My folks weren't real big on physicals, and the schools didn't check so from Kindergarten to eighth grade I never had a physical. I was about to enter the eight grade when my folks got a letter that was sent to all parents saying no kid could get back in school until there immunizations were up to date and they got a physical. I never minded seeing the doctor and I hadn't had a shot in years so I was a little excited, I found the prospect of an injection exciting.

The day of the exam my mom told me to make sure I took a good shower, the doctor would be checking everything, which made me both embarrassed and nervous. Then on the ride there my dad told me that I was getting older and the doctor would probably have me pull down my pants and might ask me to get undressed, he told me it was normal and to just do as the doctor asked. Now I was really nervous!

After an eternal wait, which was much too short in the reception area the lady nurse took me back and checked my vitals and stuff then told me to undress completely, even my underpants then have a seat on the table. At first she didn't move, I was afraid she was going to stay and watch! I said okay and she left me alone to strip down.

I had just turned thirteen and had a total of three pubic hairs, limp, pathetic little things I thought of as Moe, Larry and not at all Curly! I knew it was normal and a sign of growing up that I should be proud of, but they looked so weird I felt embarrassed about them. Still I did as asked and took off all my clothes and hopped up on the table to wait for the doctor. A few minutes later the door swung open and in strolled the nurse, I dove behind the exam table which was high enough to hide my behind, and my front, but I knew I was to slow and she saw everything! The nurse smiled and said she was just checking up on me and the doctor would be in shortly.

The exam was fairly uneventful and after it was done I was told to dress and the nurse would be back to give me my shots. I was so embarrassed I blushed the entire time I was getting my shots and couldn't look her in the eye. She told me there was no need to be embarrassed, she was a medical pro and saw all sorts of people naked every day, then told me to bend over and unbutton my pants, the last three would be in my butt.

On the way home my dad asked how it went, then said he heard about the nurse walking in on me and I started blushing all over again. On that day my MedFet began.

Later

Dan

I’m based in Australia & have never put on a gown unless I’m having surgery.

Being naked in front of the doctor is a real non-sexual buzz, but I never get aroused. It’s the complete opposite actual.

At my regular doctor’s annual check up, she has me undress to my underwear for most of the examination. I then remove the underwear for testicle and prostate exam.

For my 6 monthly dermatologist exam I remove my upper clothes first. Once my upper body has been examined my doctor will ask me to remove all of my lower clothes. She suggests that I put my shirt back on but I always decline as my business shirts are long which will cover most of my mid section. So the lower body examination, including my bum & groin are done completely naked. While sitting naked I even had a conversation with my doctor about patients being reluctance to be fully examined. As I have 1 medium sized and 3 very small mole on my scrotum, I figured it was important to keep an eye on them.

Both my doctors are female. I’ve been seeing them for many years and they both cautious when asking me to dress and undress by either turning away or pulling a curtain.

The pediatrician I was always naked and had embarrassed. The visit was worst when moving joints and saw everything too intimate parts

I had an interesting occurrence with the nurse at my current doctor's office this year. In previous years, it's always been a somewhat more experienced nurse (at least 40) who would get a gown out and say something like, "put the gown on with the opening in the back and the doctor will be in shortly." This year it was different. The nurse i had was much younger, I'd guess around 28 or so. She went through all the preliminaries and then said, "ok, let me get a gown for you so she can do the skin check." She handed me the gown and left without any other instructions. The doctor doesn't really do a "skin check." The main reason for putting the gown on is for the genital and prostate exams. It seemed as though the young nurse was embarrassed to tell a man to get undressed. I hope for her sake she'll get over this. It was no big deal as I knew what to do and what was coming, it just seemed a bit awkward.

You think nurses get embarrassed? I very much doubt it. It's just business to them and it's business to us as well.

You think nurses get embarrassed? I very much doubt it. It's just business to them and it's business to us as well.

My take is that the whole of society, be it nurses or tinkers, tailors, soldiers, spies, is becoming more prudish as the years go by. It just seems to be part of the social trend these last years. I wish I could point to any specific reason why. Maybe the intransigent nature of present day religion is partly responsible, maybe the economic hardships of the world in general, maybe other things.

But in any case, compared to several decades ago, the 70s and 80s especially, many societies and countries are becoming more and more intolerant and disapproving of many things associated with sexuality. And nudity is one of those things.

While nurses should certainly know that nudity is just part of their business and if asked will undoubtedly say so - because it is the expected answer - personally they may have different views, been brought up in a prudish or extremely religious household or have recently perhaps found that Someone who changes their lives ... whatever the case, nurses bring emotional and personal baggage with them to work too. Not all do, not the majority, but undoubtedly some do. And it might reflect in such small ways.

I think Dr's and nurses see it all the time. Seeing old, ugly, winkled bodies can't be erotic. I think it's all just part of the job to them. WE are the ones who get excited seeing nude people. I've watched 50 colonoscopies and only one was pleasant to view; a 30 something female. All I saw was the scope approaching some lovely cheeks. They all had a drape over their nude bodies. Only the Dr. saw the entrance (and me staring at the TV screen) It was only a couple seconds. Everyone was draped from beginning to end. Once the scope was inside, they all looked the same.

When i am undressed in front of a doctor, i can't avoid asking myself if he is looking at me as a patient or also as a woman. I am shy, so the thought of him looking sexually at me is scaring

I can understand a young nurse being embarrassed to tell a patient to get undressed. Especially if the patient is male. The last two times I have been told to get undressed, the first nurse was older but not old. Without any hesitation, she told me to undress to my underwear for the exam. The other recent time, the nurse was younger and told me with some hesitation to take everything off and put on the gown that she laid on the exam table. Maybe some nurses have to practice telling patients to get undressed? Is this taught in nursing school?

Do people really think a nurse is going to be embarrassed telling a patient to undress? When they place Foley catheters in men, give enemas and change peri pads and do peri care? I'm sorry but they see it all. For myself as a physician, I've never been embarrassed even when I was a green medical student. I was too worried about doing things correctly. This is just projection.

Next, we're going to be told how embarrassed the mechanic is when he raises the hood on your car and looks at your engine. Got to keep those imaginations busy.

Quincy you reminded me of an apocryphal story I heard in med school. An anatomy group cut the penis off a cadaver and stuck it in the vagina of a female cadaver. This to embarrass the female student who was dissecting it. When she removed the drape she exclaimed "Well! Someone was in a hurry to get out of here last night!"

Do people really think a nurse is going to be embarrassed telling a patient to undress? When they place Foley catheters in men, give enemas and change peri pads and do peri care? I'm sorry but they see it all

Trying to think on this I can imagine a difference in situational dynamics between treating a patient who is already in bed, probably weak or helpless, maybe after a surgery or during an illness. In such a situation we can say that all 'power' (for want of a better concept) lies with the nurse. Nurses can direct the flow of what happens.

When a patient has just come in, he is not really yet subjected to the hospital or medical routine. By asking a patient to undress, there is also an element of asking the patient to surrender control, to make himself vulnerable. Sort of like - as a very exaggerated example - when a prisoner is first introduced into a correctional facility. And it is not unheard of for new patients to react in an exaggerated manner because of any number of reasons: apprehension, nervousness, mistrust, medical anxiety.

And if a nurse had previously encountered such kinds of patients, I can very well imagine them to be on their guard when telling new patients to undress. It may come across as being shy, but may very well be wariness or treading carefully on the part of the nurse.

These are just some thoughts, but I am proceeding on the assumption that people misread other people's feelings and intentions almost all the time ... we still haven't learned how to read each others emotions correctly in the main.

So I don't really see this thread as having to do with seeing private parts as such, but more with the differences in situation that patients find themselves in. In a hospital bed they are helpless most of the time and must perforce go with the flow of hospital practices. But when they are just being admitted as patients, they have more alternatives to choose from, can more easily refuse to do something. I'm certain that medical personnel instinctively sense this and will therefore act differently according to the situation.

Hence what I mean about situational (authority) dynamics.

I would just add that most of my patients walk in and this must undergo the transition. Our nurses are experienced. They simply don't ever have such problems with seamlessly adjusting to it. It's projection to think you know what we're thinking when you are a layman. Trust me on this one. I've been doing if for forty plus years. I can well remember having a nurse being astonished at a Mormon patient needing to have his underclothing burned because she removed it from him when he was having a heart attack. "I want them naked in a gown so I can treat them the way they should be treated!" She said ruefully.

It's projection to think you know what we're thinking when you are a layman.

Just for the record, while I didn't follow any medical training, my wife did and so did many of my close friends and her close friends, many as full-fledged doctors, some as nurses. It's not like I am unacquainted with at least some peripheral aspects of the medical profession and can't discuss certain things on a more personal basis.

The situation the OP describes reminds me in a way of something similar I once experienced. I was 25 or 26 and went to a day clinic for surgery on an infected ingrown-toenail (oh, the ignominy!). I remember the nurse being a bit nervous when she handed me a gown and told me to undress completely. Especially when I replied that it was only a toenail for goodness sakes and surely pulling up the leg of my pants would be sufficient ... ha ha. I think she was not shy, but hesitant to go up against what was a reasonable observation on my part or didn't want me to get worked up or whatever (I didn't btw).

The last example is again what I mean by being in different situational dynamics.

And even aside from all the sociological talk, everybody has a different personality. I'm certain that not all nurses react the same in the same situation.

Mashie, I will be moving back to Ohio (Cleveland area) in a couple of months, do you know of any doctors who still do a thorough naked exam or any good medfet doctors?

I unfortunately have never been fully undressed at the doctor. Usually they maneuver around my clothing.