Exam gown sizes

@ bethany williams what you were given for your play exam was a disposable sterile gown usually worn by medical staff when performing sterile procedures. Its blue and paper like and only has ties at the shoulders and waist single use only.

As Niknoks stated there were two types of gowns provided for women as in patients in UK hospitals, but the first one she described without the strings seems to be going out of vogue at present. All our gowns have the strings at the back at present. The trick when using those is to use 2 , the first is put on as normal with the strings at the back, the second gown is put on so that the strings are at the front; that way you are fully covered and can never be exposed . We use this method very effectively and all our patients ( both male and females) feel that their dignity and modesty is maintained at all times. We only employ this method if the patients are mobile.

As for sizing we do get small, medium and large, but we always seems to have medium and larger in our linen cupboards, with regards to length they both seem to be around the same lenght its the girth that different.

The gowns I have seen have been knee to calf length for GP's. My SO's gyno has her unbutton her shirt and unsnap her bra and gives her a psper drape to put over her lower body. They ask her to strip below the waste.

For play exams I have just finished making some gowns, and I rather like them, though I have not seen any quite like them before. My local $1 store had a ton of XXL scrub tops for a buck a pop, and I bought a bunch. I also bought a roll of sew on Velcro. I had actually wanted the stick on kind, but this stuff better. So, I took the scrub tops and ona bunch of them, slit them down the center of the front, and hemmed up the edges, and than I put on 5 little hunks of Velcro about where buttons would be on both sides.

These come down to about knee length on your average female and the hemming on both sides of the top takes the top in a few inches. They are still loose like "real" exam gowns are, and the Velcro works out well for being able to quickly open where you want to access and than cover back up again, and the scrub material makes them look very "medical". I thought they turned out very nice, as long as you don't look real closely at my stitching...

I agree, I would rather be in underwear than a gown. Mostly, the gowns tend to be paper, although I have had actual cloth gowns. With me, they tend to be more of a pain in the neck than actually cover or make me feel comfortable. I have never had a short gown, mostly go to the top of the knee when in the sitting position.

I bring my own nighty with me. My dr laughs but has never told me not to.

I have several different options at my practice, ranging from knee length cloth gowns to paper gowns. I intend on getting some front opening capes with drapes, as well as some paper gowns that are intentionally a size smaller : )

Dr Stiffler,

I have several different options at my practice, ranging from knee length cloth gowns to paper gowns. I intend on getting some front opening capes with drapes, as well as some paper gowns that are intentionally a size smaller : )

Good ideas!

Andie

The few gowns I have had led me to believe they come in one size that doesn't fit any!

And as an ancient Mad Magazine cartoon about hospitals once put it, gowns are available in three popular styles: Wide Gap, Wider Gap and Falling Off Completely! :-)

I firmly believe that gowns are designed to be as embarrassing as possible!

I've only used a gown once and it was down to the knees. I prefer the grown, it makes me feel more exposed.

If I am in my gyno's exam room I am always given a gown and a drape , my gp I have only had to put on a gown , which was plenty big enough to maintain modesty, on only a few occasions . Due to "keeping an eye" on a few medical issues I do go for x-rays and CT scans about every 6-9 months . The facility I almost always go has a dressing room ( stall would better describe it ) that has a few stacks of different sized gowns but the actual rooms are a little walk away with several chairs in a small waiting area that you must pass by . I ALWAYS grab two gowns putting the first one with the opening in the back then the second I use as a robe . No free flashes !

I think my doctor only has one size. I'm a petite and these things are huge, but I guess they have some super size patients to fit also.

In my experience, there are only two sizes - too damn small and too damn big.

They do come in sizes but most places I've worked have the default size which is large.

I guess they go to about the knees. I seldom am asked to wear them & have been oblivious to the length.

Except for when i had my knee surgery. When i was sitting in the wheelchair, that gown barely covered my crotch. i was asked to remove everything, so i know while i was on that table, all you had to do was look sideways & see me exposed. And it was a room full of people at Columbia - students, interns whatever. There was a whole cast of them, both genders.

I'm more or less a nudist. So it's not like i care.

Every time I have been to a hospital with my friend, who is 4'11", she is given one of those "one size fits no one" gowns. I have to tie them through the arm holes or there is no way for the gown to stay closed when she walks down the corridor to the treatment room. In the old days, hospitals used to let patients wear their own nightgowns, or pajamas, unless they were headed to the operating suite or delivery room.

You are right about that srg rik the hospitals did used to let you. Ours still does I believe because when I was admitted last week I had on sweatpants that I came in with. They asked me if I wanted to keep my sweatpants on or if I wanted them to get me a pair of pj pants. While I was there I did see another patient with her own robe on, not sure if she had her own nightie on or not.

I think patients bringing and wearing their own gowns is becoming a thing of the past for a few reasons. First of all, these days you have to be pretty darn sick to get admitted to a room in a hospital. Usually when people are admitted they have come in in an emergent situation or by squad. They were not planning on a trip to the hospital so they were not prepared. These days people who occupy hospital beds are very sick people. Almost all of them requiring IV fluids at the very least if not other things. Having an IV with a gown that doesn't snap at the shoulders is a pain in the butt for everyone. Also back to being so sick and or injured, unlike in the past, these patients are far more apt to leak bodily fluids and more often as well. Also because the acuity of the patients has gone up so much getting home type pj's often can't be done because of the extent of the injuries or the acuity.

Also, for a long time nighties and pjs have sort of fallen out of fashion. You used to be hard pressed to find those in a store, however these days they are coming back. But people in my generation often just wear oversized t-shirts to bed. They are lose, comfortable and don't get all twisted up around your neck when you are sleeping.

So that might provide some in sight as to why people don't bring their own pj's to the hospital.

Mashie

Here in ICU you get no choice what you wear . It's a gown or naked under a sheet . However I'm on HDU . I've been here it seems like forever . In that time I've wore my own pjs , gowns , been naked under a sheet and now I'm back in my own vest top and bare bottom half . I'm in a room of my own .The consultants and nurses are fine with it . They can access my chest , lines and arms . My bottom half is always covered with a sheet but they can access my catheter and rectal temp probe.

Once I move to a normal ward we are encouraged here to wear our own pjs, nighties and robes. The only time you are given a gown is for procedures or a trip to the operating theatre.

Nikki

Exam gowns come in exactly two sizes. Too big and too small. We stock both so our patients have a choice.

As Niknoks has stated patients in critical care in the UK are all placed into gowns which have the opening at the back .Its policy on our units. As all have said we are supposed to get all 3 sizes small, medium and large . But in reality its mainly medium and large , which at times can be a bit of a task to ensure that our patients modesty is maintained.

As others have mentioned it affords fast access to the patient , while allowing access for passing the Chest leads, Iv lines, drains, catheters, temperature probes etc. and has the bonus effect of us being able to cut it off if needs be. On occasions with a hyperpyrexial patient we have used cooling packs and a sheet, but generally we prefer to use a gown. We do have hospital pajamas but generally reserve these for when they are being discharged to the ward.

@ Bridgette No free flashes ! lol Shame 😈 , it would make someone's day lol

The local hospital was offering a free skin cancer screening. I was asked if it was okay for a student to accompany the doctor. I agreed. I was escorted to an exam room by a nurse, given a paper gown and told to remove all my clothes including sock. I could leave my undershorts on (which I had not worn that day). As I was removing my pants the door opens and in walks the doctor and two students (one male, one female). I am completely naked, fiddling with the paper gown. Finally the doctor makes a comment about the gowns being troublesome. I drop the gown and get up on the exam table completely naked. The doctor comments to the students as he is examining my body.

As I was removing my pants the door opens and in walks the doctor and two students (one male, one female)...I drop the gown and get up on the exam table completely naked.

Complete nude, without a gown and with an audience! Exactly how I'd prefer to receive a full skin exam.

I have had exams done in both sizes,and shorter ones just covering to mid belly area,for my gyno exams.

Our conjoint exam is done nude. No gowns.

I get a paper gown at my current doctor. It comes down to about my knees.

The gowns during my early gyno exams were knee length. I'm five feet seven inches. I was also given a sheet to use as a drape.

The first time I was in a paper gown was at the dermatologist and it was too small and tore. I was given another one and told to put it on top of the torn one. I wish I had the nerve to just rip the torn one completely off.

At my next appointment, they didn't give me anything to change into. She only examined the rashes on my arms even though I still had rashes on my body. I guess they didn't want to waste any more paper gowns.

Hate them they're either too big or too small…sprcially the paper ones, wish they went back to the cloth ones…and they get the right size correct.

Being a bigger person, getting a undersized gown is almost comical. Had a dermatology appointment one time and had to put on a gown, and it barely covered my front side, and did not cover my rear one bit 😉

I get a paper gown at both my family doctor and gynecologist. They both come to about my knees.

My doctor gives me a cloth gown and a cloth drape. I am on the shorter size 5'5 at about 140-144 lbs so I wind up getting a shorter gown that rides just mid thigh. To get around my penis being exposed when the doctor arrives I take everything off first ( I like taking a picture of all my clothing as it makes me feel very very naked) jump up on the exam table with my bare body adjusting on the crinkly paper. Then I put the drape over my penis and then put the gown on , back facing and semi open. Most of the time my entire exam is on the table so even though my back was bare from my Achilles tendon all the way to my head the doctor really did not see very much This worked well until my most recent exam where the doctor had me stand up, my drape promptly fell down. The problem was that every time I lifted my leg up the gown rode up with my penis in full view of the doctor. She smiled slightly and said “Nothing I haven't seen before” she said as she asked me to balance on one foot and then another.