Girls at the Pediatrician

I know when I was little and went the doctor my Mother would always go in with me, when the doctor did his exam. But as I got older and into my teens I didn't want her in there with me but she would still insist on going into the exam room with me, which would embaras the crap out of me because there were things I wanted to discuss with doctor without her there.

Maybe the reason why a lot of women don't remember their pediatrician visits is because their gyn appointments are more interesting lol

@MissAmy1980

I kind of doubt it. Gyno exams seem to be pretty standard and somewhat mundane since they have been discussed here so many thousands of times.

Everything off, gown on, breast exam sitting or laying, lay back, feet in the stirrups, pelvic exam, usually a pap, and sometimes a rectal or rectovaginal exam.....

How exciting!!!! (sarc) Not to mention the fact that every woman has come to expect exactly that. The beauty of the pediatric exams is the aspect of the unknown-- changing bodies, presence or lack of a parent, the different types of exams necessary based on development, etc.

Pediatricians looking at little girls butts and genitals? Excuse me who takes the temp? Nurses or techs. Doctors don't do it and nobody gets off on it.

When I was a young girl we went to a family doctor. Everyone called.him by his first name, and he was the cool suave type that was always overly flirtatious with the nurses (who were all young and beautiful). Anyway, most of my exams for school/sports were basically height and weight checks and signing off that I didn't have any allergies.

But we were moving to another country when I was 13 and I recall needing a more detailed form filled out for the visa paperwork (there was another exam done by a consulate physician after, this was just preliminary).

My mom was present and I remember the nurse asking if I'd be more comfortable if she stayed with me and my mom waited in the waiting room. After she left, the nurse did my height and weight. The doctor came in and began. I wasn't asked to change into a gown, but he did a pretty good head to toe exam. He checked my head and scalp, ran his hands down to my neck and asked me to swallow (which I didn't understand st the time and thought was strange).

I had not begun menstruating yet and my breasts had just barely begun to form. He asked me to lift my shirt and he looked at my bare chest and listened to my heart and lungs. I don't think he touched my "breasts". I thenjoy laid back and he pushed on my belly. He lifted the waist band of my shorts and left my lower abdomen and peeked down my shorts. I was super confused, but thought that if the nurse wasn't saying anything, it must be normal. He had me hop off the table, touch my toes, rotate my upper body right and left and that was it.

It was so unmemorable that I don't think I've ever thought about it until I saw this question.

La Fille: I'm at a loss at the usefulness of some of these checks. Swallowing? Peeking down your shorts? Rotating?

Nodules on the thyroid can be felt when the patient swallows. At least, that is what that has come to mean to me as an adult who usually visiits a midwife versus a physician- midwives in my area routinely give a small dixie cup of water and feels the front of the throat while you swallow. I'm only speculating that this was the reason the GP did it.

Looking down my shorts- who knows. My kids pediatrician does this, but they are boys and I think it's to peek at their testicles and make sure both are descended. For my exam, who knows. Maybe he was looking for pubic hair or maybe he was a pervert.

The rotating....maybe a range of motion test or perhaps some strange version of a scoliosis exam?

Having the patient swallow while palpating the thyroid is a way to assess thyroid size and also to feel for thyroid nodules which can be malignant. Rotating is a way of assessing range of motion of the back and thus spinal health.

La Fille: I'm at a loss at the usefulness of some of these checks. Swallowing?

If you ever have a thyroid condition, the examining doctor will ask you to do a lot of swallowing ... I suppose possible 'abnormalities' are better visible?

And if I not mistaken, I believe the thyroid plays a role in growth and if a child were below normal height, a look at the thyroid might be in order ... just surmising though.

The thyroid secretes thyroxine. It controls or has an effect on nearly every organ in the body. It is not the primary arbiter of growth. That is mediated by the pituitary through human growth hormone or HGH.

Ah yes, I was confused I suppose, since disorders in either gland will get you sent to the same specialist: the endocrinologist ...

@francobaresi Why on earth would you be watching your cousin's child's exam??

La Fille,

If the doctor suspects thyroid problems, he will more than likely view your genitals. However, you mentioned that this physical was for your visa, so he may have been checking your development. It always strikes me that despite variances in exams, the one constant is the genital exam.