Really?! You have to look? Well check question.

[EmilyK]

But, this doesn't even matter because neither of these types of cancers are caught by looking at external parts.

 

I think stripe was making a point about how our feelings about certain body parts keeps us from getting appropriate medical treatment. Or diagnostic viewing.

[KidsHappen]

I think those of us who have had things discovered have a different sense of the costs and benefits of 'invasive' treatments.

 

Incidentally I was just reading that the most lethal form of cancer in sub Saharan African women is cervical cancer. It too involves embarassing and invasive examinations. As does colon cancer. But avoiding looking "down there" at all costs does have repercussions. It really does.

 

Yes, and the examinations for those two cancers would certainly be logical in sexu@lly active or older adults. I have no problem with that. As I said, I had cervical cancer and had to undergo many invasive procedures to get rid of it. I gave birth in front of God and everybody (you would be shocked how many people were present). I certainly have no issue with myself or anyone else looking "down there" with my consent Totally warranted in these situations, not so much in a presexu@l teen or child not presenting with any problems.

 

I will even conceed that a hernia check would be legit as a standard physical for a boy or young man because so many of them do get hernias and apparently don't catch them theirselves but I just can't imagine what a dr. would be looking for in examining a presexu@l young girls genitals and I have yet to get a good answer in this thread. Labial fusion - should have been checked at birth, secondary sex characteristics (not even sure why they would need to know this unless the child was onviously very late) - can be determined by looking for breat buds or underarm hair, signs of sexu@l abuse - I don't see how forcing them to undergo an exam of their private parts is going to help them without psychological preperation, skin cancer - extremely rare on covered body parts in young children.

 

If someone gave me a legitimate, logical reason why this would be necessary as a matter of course then I may reconsider my position but I have as yet heard such a reason. I also know that family pratice drs. usually don't do this, not all pediatricians do this and a great deal of children don't even go for well child checks and we aren't hearing of a rash of problems due to lack of child genital checks. I am not seeing a ton of agreement within the field that it is necessary nor am I hearing of disasterous consequences due to lack of exams from public health officials. I personally would err in favor of protecting my child's privacy unless given a very good reason to do otherwise.