was the hardhat raped or not? At first glance, it seems to me that he's a homophobe. But I think he might also have been in the right. My mother once went to a doctor for some dizzy spells. By and by, he puts on the rubber glove, to which Mom responds, "Doctor, my inner ear isn't down there."

And who, btw, was the first to think, "Hmmm...I'll bet I could check for spinal injuries anally"? Counterintutive, to say the least.

Actually, checking rectal tone is a standard examination for spinal injuries in the case of trauma.

Also, one of the most common causes of dizziness is anemia caused by gastrointestinal bleeding. The initial workup for this would be. . . checking for occult blood in the stool by digital rectal examination. Most dizziness is not caused by the inner ear.

Thanks entdoc.

aeschylus, when you have finished Medical school and completed several trauma rotations, I think I will, at that point, listen to what you think is counterintuitive. I don't know what you do for a living, but I will tell you that being an "expert" in Medicine does require some degree of Medical education. Since you appear to have none, I would suggest that you keep your diagnostic opinions private.

I wasn't questioning the validity of the procedure. I was making the observation that the connection isn't obvious to the layperson (My mom's doctor, e.g., did just that instead of going in guns blazing, and she eventually gave him the green light). Hence my wondering about the first person to think, "Head trauma? Quick! Check his butthole!"

Thanks for confirming my suspicion that at least half of the world's MD's are humorless pricks with god complexes. Schmuck.

Yes, but you are making commentary on diagnostic maneuvers that you know nothing about. That is the point at issue here. When I see a trauma patient, we are not going to discuss Dostoevsky or Shakespeare's love sonnets. If you come into any Trauma bay, you are getting your clothes cut off (fact) and a finger inserted in your rectum (fact). Try it some day and you will see. This is ATLS protocol, not open for discussion with a SCHMUCK like you.

A CBC (complete blood count) would be a better indication of GI bleeding. Where did you go to medical school? Pervert U?

i'm not sure a cbc would ncecessarily be a better indication of gi bleeding , and it would tell you nothing about spinal cord injury.

also, i'm fairly certain the majority of doctors don't enjoy performing rectal exams any more than patients enjoy receiving them, but it is part of proper medical care in certain instances. stop trying to twist this into something dirty.

A CBC only tells you if anemia is present. It doesn't tell you why the anemia is present. A patient could be anemic for any number of reasons. One of the most common is GI bleeding. So, if a patient comes in with a low hemoglobin the next, simplest thing to do is. . . a digital rectal examination looking for occult blood in the stool.

Where did you go to medical school? Nowhere.

I don't need to go to medical school to know that occult blood can be checked in the stool, also. No need to stick a finger up the butt. Actually it has come out recently that when occult blood is done by rectal exam it is very inaccurate.Most doctors do it just to pad the bill. Hope you stay current, unlike many of your greedy collegues.

I am well aware of recently published studies. And I think, if you actually read the studies critically, some statistical questions can be asked. And, for your information, you don't get paid any more for performing a rectal examination.

Getting paid more for a rectal exam? Not so.

Whoever this poster is has no idea about a) a complete physical examination, b) appropriate use of diagnostic tools, c) medical billing. This leads to the conclusion that marinmom is just one of those semiprofessional doctor bashers. Well guess what? Come into the trauma bay with a head injury and you will receive a rectal. Guaranteed.

The extra money is not in the money for the evaluation.It is in the lab fees for the ridiculous occult blood test that runs about $175.00 apiece (doctors usually make sure they do three so that the lab bill is about $525 for that they will go ahead and traumatize the patient). There are many forms of rape. Doctors are rapists and most of them don't even know why they do the things they do.

Why is it that when you get a head injury in another country no one sticks a finger up your butt? Because it's B.S. Thats why.

What is your trauma experience in other countries and in what other countries are you familiar with the trauma services? Also, what developed countries have the trauma facilities and utilize ATLS protocol like American hospitals? You are assuming an equivalence of care in trauma hospitals which is rather ridiculous commentary. As other posters have shown, occult blood in the stool is not the primary reason for the rectal. Since you are not a doctor and you don't appear to read other posts, marinmom, are you one of the researchers for Michael Moore's next movie?