Behind the duckbill pliers, the invisible pain of women

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2024-06-03 20:56Posted on the official account of Beijing characters

Have you ever suffered from the fear of duckbill pliers?

Not long ago, we launched a call for "Painful moments in gynecological examinations thought of by duckbill pliers", and within an hour, we received more than 400 responses, thank you for your trust and sharing. Of the 1,188 questionnaires eventually recovered, the word "poke" appeared 40 times, making it almost the most frequent verb. Behind this verb, it is the person who feels that he is being treated roughly.

Ninety-nine percent of the readers in the survey said that the duckbill pliers gave them a bad physical sensation - "cold", "pain", "tearing" and "bleeding" frequently. The feeling of a foreign body, pain, and fear caused by duckbill pliers lingers in many women's lives.

Compared with the physical discomfort caused by duckbill pliers, more than half of the readers mentioned that the interaction with the doctor also directly affected their mood during the gynecological examination. When the examinee exposes their private parts and the doctor is indifferent and unwilling to listen to them, their nervousness increases and their pain increases.

Uncomfortable, undignified feelings bring long-term pain and hurt to women and affect their future lives. A very simple detail is that in all the replies to the letter, more than 20 readers mentioned that every time they have a physical examination, they should save the gynecological examination for the end, leaving themselves enough time for psychological construction. There are even people who are afraid of sex, hesitant to give birth, and lose control of their health because of their bad gynecological examination experience.

Fortunately, there are still some readers who have felt the temperature from the gynecologist - @于小鱼 I remember that when she couldn't get off the ground after gynecological surgery, a doctor once pulled her, and she couldn't forget the emotion at that time. @潇潇 was carefully taken care of by the male doctor during the examination.

In fact, when they are vulnerable, women have the right and freedom to cry out in pain, and when they are uneasy, what they need is scientific guidance, understanding, care, full respect and tolerance. This time, we choose to present the experiences and feelings of women in gynecological examinations truthfully, so that pain and hurt can be spoken and seen. These experiences and experiences may not be the whole story, but being heard and seen may drive more positive change.

(Note: This article does not contain any medical advice, if you feel unwell, please seek medical attention in time)

Text: Ling Yi

Osprey

"It doesn't matter if you don't say you're all women,

Everyone has the right to protect their privacy."

In the questionnaire collected, nearly 100 readers mentioned that their privacy was not properly protected during the gynecological examination. In many cases, the exam room is just an enclosed space separated by a curtain that allows people outside the curtain to hear themselves talking to the doctor and even see their area to be examined. This makes them nervous and scared from the first second they lie on the examination bed.

@x 20 years old                       

When I was in junior high school, I went to the gynecologist for vulvar itching. The environment was terrible, the doctor chatted with others casually, and the room for examination was only blocked by a curtain. The doctor casually "jokingly" asked me if I had come to the gynaecologist because of a problem caused by sexual activity, which caused laughter from the group of people next to me.

@可可 27 years old

Have not had a gynecological examination before getting married. At that time, I was inexperienced, so I seemed scared and scrambled, and I was laughed at by the people waiting for the inspection. The doctor looked nervous and asked if I wasn't having sex, and I said no. The person waiting for the check-up next to him smiled even more happily and said that he had no sex to do any gynecological tests. I felt as if I had done something humiliating, and when I got home, I cried.

@那夏 27 years old      

I did the examination side by side with another girl, and after the doctor examined me, I checked the other one, which was very streamlined, and I couldn't interject during the whole process, let alone cry out in pain, so I could only endure it.

@KK 35 years old      

Even if the hospital has a calling system, the entrance of the consultation room is often crowded with people waiting for treatment. During the examination, he hoped that the doctor would let the crowd withdraw and close the curtain, but the doctor was not salty or light, and said that people ask for privacy, so please retreat.

@Cling 26 years old

I once met a doctor who took an intern to do a gynecological examination. I felt like a dead specimen, with everyone looking inside of me. No one asked me about my wishes before the test began, and no one asked for my consent.

@zanzan 32 years old       

The first gynecological examination left an indelible psychological shadow on me. As soon as I entered the door, the doctor asked me to take off my pants, I wore a lot in winter, and I was afraid that the doctor would be in a hurry, so I had already stripped off before I had time to do a good job of psychological construction for myself. At this time, another aunt came in for a physical examination, standing next to me and watching me check. The door was not closed, and the small talk of a man and a woman in the hallway was close to my ears. I was very upset, but the doctor didn't seem to be aware of any of this, and asked me in front of my aunt if I was married or if I had done it. It's so embarrassing. Then I used duckbill pliers, and I felt a lot of pain in my lower body and asked the doctor if I could lighten it. The doctor was very impatient and said that you have never done it, and you are still so hypocritical when you do it, and it will be fine in a while. I don't know how long I'll have to endure and I don't have the courage to ask again. After that, the doctor kept emphasizing not to be nervous, and the more nervous you are, the more you can't see clearly. But that's not something I can control.

Later, the doctor was impatient and asked whether he could do it or not. I didn't want to endure it anymore, so I said I wouldn't do it.

During the dressing period, the aunt and the doctor were still talking coldly and attacking each other. As expected, I was out of the door, and everything that was going on inside was clear to me, and I was locked in by three or five women, pointing at me and laughing at me. Later, when I took a urine test, I found that the urine was mixed with blood, and I was still in tears in the cubicle of the hospital bathroom.

@芋圆 24 years old

Every time I do ultrasound in the back, the patient who is doing it on the bed is completely exposed to the eyes of the people in line, but the abdomen, if the front is doing yin ultrasound, her private parts will be all exposed to the eyes of others. It doesn't matter if you're all women, everyone has the right to protect their private parts.

@嘉嘉 25 years old

In a private hospital in Beijing, the doctor talked to his colleagues about the private life of the examiner. Behind the lack of humanistic care is a strong sense of sexual shame and misogyny. It was later reported that the doctor was suspended for a month.

@小D 32 years old

When I had my first gynecological examination a few years ago, I went out of the examination room and handed the sample to the examination window, and when I stood in the hallway, tears were about to flow out.

Overall malaise is due to:

1. I don't know anything about gynecological examinations, let alone duckbill pliers, I didn't even think that doing gynecological examinations is to be looked at people in such a posture with my legs crossed, and I am completely unprepared;

2. There was a female doctor in his forties and fifties leading a young male doctor. Although I knew that the male doctor was doing his job in a scientific manner, it was both shocking and uncomfortable for me to have a gynecological examination for the first time.

3. The doctor's humanistic care is really not enough, because I was very nervous, the doctor kept telling me to relax, saying, "You have to have a baby in the future, the child's head is bigger, how big is this";

4. The process of sending the sample to the examination window is very troublesome, if you are doing a gynecological examination alone, you have to carry a bag, hold a lot of documents, hold a lot of test tubes in your fingers, and first find a social security card, find a machine to pay, take a payment receipt, and then hand over the test tube and payment receipt to the window. There is no place to put things at all, and I am worried that the test tube will fall, so I can't wait for four hands to help. The whole time, you just take your own private secretions in a test tube and shuttle through the crowd.

5. The attitude of the staff at the window is not good.

After the inspection that day, I found a nearby café to rest and burst into tears. I hope that the hardware equipment can be improved, and I can consider it from the perspective of patients: how to easily pick up so many test tubes, and how to find the medical insurance card to pay for the machine while taking the test tubes. In addition to the gynecological examination, the toilet where the urine test is done does not have a round hole for the urinary tube, and the girl must hold the urinary tube in one hand and carry pants and wear pants in the other. These are obviously easy to upgrade from the hardware, but many hospitals do not take them into account.

Photo source movie "Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always"

"As soon as I heard the sound of the iron box,

The whole person began to tremble."

Duckbill pliers are a kind of gynecological examination instrument, which comes in different models, large and small, plastic and metal, as well as surgery and examination. Duckbill pliers may cause pain to the user, lower abdomen may be swollen and painful due to the intervention of duckbill pliers, and the lower body may have bleeding. Someone in the exam room starts to tremble when they hear the sound of metal colliding, and someone faints during an exam.

@程梓鸣 35 years old  

Meat wrapped in iron, cold, painful

@李娜 43 years old      

It hurts, and I feel that the curvature of the pliers is particularly inappropriate. 

@小C 32 years old

If you have had an ectopic pregnancy before, you must have a salpingogram to try to get pregnant again. I remember that day when the sun was shining outside, I went in and lay on the imaging table, and my whole body was shaking when the duckbill pliers were put in. In order to put in the tube that creates the shadow fluid, the angle of opening of the duckbill pliers felt larger than that of the previous gynecological examination, and I felt that I was about to faint.

@跳跳 27 years old

When I saw it for the first time during the marriage examination, it hurt, it hurt my heart, I was covered with cold sweat, and I felt trembling when I walked out of the hospital.

@小格 32 years old

I've used duckbill pliers and had a very bad experience. Once, it was a disposable transparent plastic duckbill pliers, and at the moment of opening it, it broke inside me, and the doctor took out the fragments, replaced them with a new one, and continued to stuff them in to open it for examination, and my heart was very broken.

@阿述 28 years old      

When I gave birth, I was infected with Escherichia coli. After taking anti-inflammatory drugs for more than ten days, I thought that the fever would be reduced, but I didn't expect to go back less than a week after being discharged from the hospital. After the second hospitalization, I almost never stopped using the duckbill pliers, and I had to open and clean them every day. The whole process is very painful, especially when using non-disposable duckbill pliers. The cold object stabbed into the body, tugging and tearing. If it weren't for the thick nerves, I would have to cry every time I had an examination.

Later, as soon as he heard the sound of the iron box, the whole person began to tremble, and his legs were reflexively weak. Half an hour after the examination, they still didn't fit together. In fact, I didn't feel particularly ashamed, it was more of a psychological torture.

Photo source: The second season of the drama "London Life".

"It's still so hypocritical when they're all married."

Because of the special way of gynecological examination, it is related to the psychological state of the examinee. As a result, some readers joked, "There should be another psychological counseling room next to the examination room." In addition to the fear of facing duckbill pliers, some doctors will ignore the nervousness and pain of the examinee, and "endure it and it will pass", and accuse them of being "hypocritical" and "squeamish". These words discouraged the examinee. Lying on the gynecological examination bed, some subjects will feel that they will be examined in all aspects – from sex life to age, from appearance to smell - will be judged and degraded.

@小野 39 years old      

Before using the duckbill pliers, I asked clearly: Can I change to a small one? But the doctor ignored me, and without saying a word, he told me to take off my pants and lie down. In this stiff atmosphere, as you can imagine, I couldn't completely relax, which caused her to be in unusually painful pain when she turned the duckbill pliers.

@大敏 25 years old

The first time I felt pain, I told the doctor that I was in pain. The doctor was silent for a while, and when I continued to cry out in pain, the doctor said, "Oh, we're checking, don't you see, there are a lot of people in the back." I was getting more and more nervous and just wanted to hurry up and finish the check-up. After the check-up, my boyfriend at the time asked me what was wrong and heard me crying out in pain outside. I cried very aggrieved all of a sudden, and the tears couldn't stop flowing.

@米拉 30 years old      

My little sister told me that her obstetrician and gynecologist looked at her nervous at the time and said lightly: What's so nervous about this, didn't you give birth to an 8-pound baby. 

@阿言 35 years old

Once it hurt so much that I said that the trouble was light, and the doctor said: They are all married and still so hypocritical.

@蒜蒜 25 years old

At the age of 22, he had a duckbill pliers and a colposcopy. Those doctors felt that it was like holding a thermometer under the armpit, and everyone should endure it and not squeak in pain. But the pain was real, and I really wanted to refute her at the time, but I was afraid that she wouldn't do it for me, so I endured it and didn't speak.

But the doctor became more and more fierce, saying why I didn't urinate and was not honest, I reluctantly said that I had urinated, and she pointed to the screen and said: Look! But I just don't feel the urge to urinate, what can I do? She also said that I was not cooperative, and I didn't want to check it out. I couldn't bear to speak. She said that no one else was like that, and that they could hold back.

At that moment, I remembered that when I was a child, I went to Lanzhou to see a doctor, and the doctor injected injections into the knee sockets on both sides of me, so deep needles that they pricked down, and I cried out in pain and couldn't stand. The doctor said: Are you still crying? Such a small child does not cry.

When I grew up, the exact same scene reappeared, and I still couldn't solve the problem. Shouting pain is considered hypocritical, despised and despised. Struggling is not cooperative, only by enduring, silently enduring can meet everyone's expectations, no matter how much it hurts, it can't be screamed, no one will empathize.

Of course, there are many people who are not so sensitive to pain, but do they have to be people who can't bear the pain with the stigma on their backs? As a woman, I felt the stereotypes and pressures from women and society as a whole at that moment. I hope that everyone will not be treated like this, that it is not a shame or a bad thing to be unable to bear the pain, and I hope that at least someone will understand that crying out for pain is not hypocritical, but really uncomfortable. 

Photo source movie "Kim Ji-young born in 82"

@小米 29 years old

After work, I had a gynecological examination in the school hospital during the physical examination, and she was an older doctor, and her medical knowledge was a little backward, so she would say in a strange tone every time: You have some cervical erosion, little girl. Every time I hear the tone of "erosion", including the word itself, it makes people feel very uncomfortable, as if I am a person who behaves inappropriately.

I remember that in the popular science book "Only Doctors Know" written by Dr. Zhang Yu, as well as the popular science of the Internet celebrity six-story doctor, it was mentioned that "cervical erosion" is not a disease, but your "cervix" shape is not smooth, but folded. At this year's check-up, she said again, and I said, "Oh, I know," and she didn't do anything else. 

@小葵 25 years old

The first time you use the duckbill pliers, it's very nervous, it's cold, and it's hard, like a piece of iron stuck down your throat. The doctor was very impatient, and many patients waited, so the doctor was very short-tempered, which caused me to dare not ask more about the way to take the medicine. At that time, I didn't understand anything, so I didn't hear the doctor's words in a panic and shame, and the way of taking the medicine was wrong, which led to the further aggravation of the condition......

@小天使 38 years old

I was too resistant to doing gynecological items for physical examinations, and now I simply say that I will give up these items for menstruation.

@四月天 22 years old

When I went to the TCM hospital to see menstrual cramps, a doctor was surrounded by six or seven interns, including men, accompanied by my mother. When the doctor asked, "Do you have sex?", I froze for five seconds and said, "Yes", and my mother's expression instantly became uncontrollable. The next question is, "Have you ever been pregnant?" Have you had sex in the last six months?" Then a group of interns pulled out their phones and took pictures of my medical records. After walking out of the consultation room, I found a corridor and cried for half an hour. It can only be said that the gynecological clinic/gynecological examination without privacy protection is very hurtful, and I have never been willing to go into the gynecology department since then.

Photo source drama "Mr. Love"

"One doctor once handed me a hand and pulled me by the hand, and she knew I had trouble getting up."

Of the 1,188 questionnaires, less than 40 people shared with us their decent gynecological examination experience. In these experiences, the examination space is private, the doctor checks in on the sensation before going a little deeper, and the probe head is warm, "giving me a respite between every step." There were also those who felt the doctor's respect for themselves – they left plenty of time to prepare, watch their breathing, and adjust their movements when they felt unwell. In many cases, it is not the update of technology that makes people comfortable, but the process of being respected and cared for makes people feel comfortable and uncomfortable.

@周女士 32 years old

It happened to be a check to do in the past few days of the online controversy. The examination with duckbill pliers was uncomfortable, but the doctor's attitude was very good, and he always guided him to relax, without forcing himself, and if he couldn't stand it, he could stop.

In particular, when I have to do a biopsy, I will tell me in advance, and it may hurt a little to be prepared. Although I felt a little physically uncomfortable, the doctor's attitude and the reassurance he gave me during the examination made me feel that I could endure it.

The doctor had been watching my breathing and would ask me if I was breathing a little heavily, and that interaction was good.

@Mae 30 years old

I mainly want to share one of my gynecological check-ups in Japan. First of all, the examination space is very private, and the examination area and examination area are separate. When a woman is called to enter the examination area, she will enter the cubicle to change her clothes and wrap a towel in the examination room. After sitting in the examination chair, the doctor will draw a curtain in front of me, so that the doctor and the process of operation are not seen, and only the voice is communicated.

The doctor would check how I felt before going deeper, and the probe head was warm and soft. At the end of the exam, the doctor will tell me that I can get up, and then they will leave and give me space to tidy up. After I got back to the cubicle and changed my clothes, I went to the doctor's desk area before the formal communication began. The most comfortable thing is the sense of space, which gives me a respite between every step.

@雨凡 28 years old

The hospital I went to was not a private hospital, but a branch of a local authoritative hospital. During the gynecological examination, there was the background sound of the guqin, and out of curiosity, I asked the doctor why this music was played, and the doctor said that it was to relax our minds.

@于小鱼 35 years old

Before having a baby, there are a lot of gynecological exams. The comfort of the procedure is directly related to the doctor. Some doctors will be very anxious to urge, or let the position be adjusted. When I was lying in bed and couldn't get up, a doctor once handed me a hand and pulled me, and I was really touched at the time, she knew that I had difficulty getting up.

@潇潇 33 years old

Ten years ago, I was infected with HPV, I made an appointment with a friend in a foreign hospital, and went directly to a foreign country for examination and surgery, and the foreign doctor's consultation room has a separate examination room, and there is a bathroom in the room, the patient can first clean in the bathroom, change into clothes like a bathrobe, and lie down on the examination chair and then the female nurse will help you cover a white cloth below the waist to block your private parts, and then call the doctor to come in for examination.

During the examination, the doctor will apply lubricant before inserting the duckbill pliers, and will always check to see if you are feeling unwell. A female nurse will accompany you throughout the process.

Another point that they do very carefully, any accompanying person entering the examination room is not allowed to stand in a position where the patient's private parts can be seen directly, only by the patient's side. Doctors will also avoid letting the accompanying person see the screen directly when showing the patient the examination screen on the electronic display. I am very grateful to my doctor for reassuring me that it was not a serious illness and that I was still young and would be able to recover easily as long as I actively cooperated with the treatment. Yes, even though I am a male doctor, I fully feel his respect and care for me as a patient, and I understand the patient's anxiety about his condition.

@一只小猫 34 years old

Last year, because of overwork, gynecological inflammation was triggered, and the only deputy chief physician of the day in the third-class armed police hospital was hung up, and it was a male doctor. Fortunately, the female nurse in the consultation room spoke in a relaxed and lively tone, guided me to prepare for the examination, and even joked with me to make me relax. After asking me about my symptoms, the male doctor went out and did not come back in until I was lying down as the nurse had instructed.

During the inspection, he looked calm, his tone was calm, he took a disposable duckbill pliers, I snorted slightly when I put it in, a little uncomfortable, he immediately took it out, and said that I will change the small one for you, so he dismantled a new one, quickly helped me check it, and went out. There was no eye contact with me or gaze at me during the whole process, which made me feel that he was really good, did not cause me any discomfort because of his gender, and the professionalism was very good. He was also very calm and calm during the whole process, and his eyes were gentle, which made my medical experience very good.

@momo 24 years old

Had a good experience with a gynecological check-up. It was a middle-aged female doctor who would ask me to lock the door when I entered the door, and then explained to me what to do next: where to take off my pants, where to sit, what instruments she would use to do something, and how I might feel. Then let me relax, take a deep breath, and quickly and easily complete the check-in. I basically didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. After the examination, I asked her why my labia majora and minora were asymmetrical, and she said that it seemed normal to her, and asked me who asked me this way, why I felt like this, and it was not a big problem. I guess I'm afraid I'll be PUA by my boyfriend or something, it's very caring.

@艾女士 38 years old

I underwent hysteroscopy because of surgery for uterine fibroids. Because of the anesthetic, the pain was reduced during the 15-minute examination, and the attending doctor at that time was a very warm person, and it was a fun experience for me to see the inside of my body on the screen, and the doctor would explain to me and tell me what to do next. When I took the tissue test, I needed to curettage the uterus, which was really painful, but because of the doctor's attitude, I felt that we were a team, and the doctor allowed me to call when I was in pain, so the pain was tolerable.

@凉面 36 years old      

I have had three gynecological examinations. The first time was when I was 26 years old, after appendix surgery, which led to pelvic inflammatory disease, I went to a community hospital, I was asked about my sex life, I answered no, and I was ridiculed by a female doctor, she ridiculed with her colleagues, she was really innocent, and she was still a virgin at the age of 26. Although she gave me a gynecological check-up, I didn't do it and left the hospital in shame.

The second time was when I was 28 years old, pelvic inflammatory disease recurred, I went to a bigger hospital to find a doctor, this time I was asked if I had a sexual history, and I answered yes, but not much. The doctor prescribed a gynecological examination, and as she sat down in that chair, she took out the duckbill pliers, and I knew I couldn't take it. Sure enough, she tried twice and I was uncontrollably dodged because of nervousness and pain, it was too painful, she said that you can't check it at all, and said a lot of accusatory words, probably not cooperating or something, and finally prescribed me some anti-inflammatory drugs.

The better experience was going to the hospital at the beginning of this year to check the estrogen levels and meeting my gynecologist. I was very honest with her about my situation. She suggested that I could do some basic screening, leucorrhea routine, TCT and HPV, and patiently explained the cause of my illness. My vigilance was dispelled at once, but I was still afraid that I wouldn't be able to stand the duckbill pliers. The doctor advised that she help me take the sample first, and if it doesn't work I don't have to pay the fee, and if it does, I'll go again. The psychological vigilance has been lowered again.

She showed me the duckbill pliers she had chosen before taking the sample, which was the smallest size, and patiently explained that it was for postmenopausal women, saying that it should be okay if she could tolerate two fingers. The process was still very tense, she helped me adjust my posture, and kept suggesting to relax, adjust my breathing, went through two times, and all the checks and samples were successful. At that time, I was really happy to finally complete the first complete gynecological examination in my life. During the whole process, she didn't blame me, nor was she impatient, she kept popularizing science and explaining, and listened to my distress to dispel my vigilance.

The final check-up results were all healthy, and she also gave me a lot of maintenance advice, and also recommended me to have regular gynecological check-ups. I always wanted to cry when I came out of the hospital, I felt that I had suffered a lot of unnecessary grievances before, and I was really lucky this time.

@jing 34 years old

In fact, it's really just a gentle, patient reminder beforehand: it may hurt a little, but quickly, take a deep breath, relax, relax, and experience it right away.

@X 39 years old                               

I'm an obstetrician-gynecologist. I fully understand the stigma and fear of instruments and examinations when patients are examined.

I don't stare at patients as they undress and go to the examination table, giving them a little time and space to adjust. After the initial inspection, I will disassemble the disposable consumables in front of them to alleviate their doubts about whether they are clean or not. I would tell them that I was going to hold up a little bit and ask them to relax and that it wouldn't be hard to be completely relaxed.

At each step, I would tell them: I'm going to brush up a little bit of the exfoliated cells now; I'm going to do an internal consultation and so on. Let them know what I'm going to do and how long it will last. Knowing the process and knowing the progress will also greatly alleviate their fears. Most of my patients wake up from the gynecological examination bed and say, "Doctor, you really don't hurt!" I would say that you are well relaxed, I am a female doctor, and I will treat my female patients well because before this capacity, I was a woman.

Photo source drama "The Life of a Witty Doctor"

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