nurses and erections question

[Ladymarmalade]

I have heard more than once that if a male patient gets an erection, the nurses are instructed to flick it.

This can't be true. Can it?

[willthekittensurvive?]

nvm

[kombatminipig]

I'd heard this anecdotally from a friend. He got a flick on the balls by a nurse (in the US) while getting a rectal exam. Not enough to inflict any pain, just enough to minimize embarrassment for all parties.

[DrFidelius]

Oh, nevermind. I must have misread. You said "flick."

(I have to stop watching those types of movies so much...)

[Machine Elf]

Originally Posted by kombatminipig

I'd heard this anecdotally from a friend. He got a flick on the balls by a nurse (in the US) while getting a rectal exam. Not enough to inflict any pain, just enough to minimize embarrassment for all parties.

How does being flicked on the balls minimize embarrassment for anybody (or did a whole lot of sarcasm just fly over my head)?

[jjimm]

My mother, a nurse during the 1960s, said she and her coworkers used to carry a metal teaspoon around the wards with them in a pocket. A quick whack of the back of the spoon to the bell-end, and no more stiffy.

[WhyNot]

This is not currently taught in my school. In fact, when we were learning how to place Foley catheters, we specifically asked several teachers what to do "if", and there was no answer other than, "wait".

Anecdotes abound, however, of experienced nurses who know some magic "flick", but none have been willing/able to teach us.

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

Originally Posted by jjimm

My mother, a nurse during the 1960s, said she and her coworkers used to carry a metal teaspoon around the wards with them in a pocket. A quick whack of the back of the spoon to the bell-end, and no more stiffy.

Wow, really? Whatever happened to "taking care of your patients"?

[Fake Tales of San Francisco]

I'm fairly certain, through rigorous experimentation, that neither a spoon nor a flick would help me in this situation. I'm kind of surprised it has any effect on other people too, but I guess you really do learn something new every day.

[willthekittensurvive?]

I thought the OP was asking about this

Dutch nurses are to launch a national campaign against demands for sexual services by patients who claim it should be part of their standard care.

[Mangetout]

I've got quite a few friends who are or have been nurses or doctors and I've heard them mention or discuss this a number of times - describing either a flick with a wooden tongue depressor, or a sharp tap with a spoon or a touch from the cold metal handle of a pair of scissors or forceps.

If it's true, and if it works, I imagine it's at least much a psychological effect as a physical one - for most men, being tapped sharply on the penis might be a bit like a signal that this is certainly not a sexual context.

[Hypno-Toad]

Originally Posted by Mangetout

for most men, being tapped sharply on the penis might be a bit like a signal that this is certainly not a sexual context.

But for some, it means the opposite.

[WhyNot]

Originally Posted by Mangetout

... and if it works...

Come on, man! Do some research for us, in the name of Doper Science!

(I, sadly, am lacking in the proper equipment.)

[Joey P]

Originally Posted by Mangetout

I've got quite a few friends who are or have been nurses or doctors and I've heard them mention or discuss this a number of times - describing either a flick with a wooden tongue depressor, or a sharp tap with a spoon or a touch from the cold metal handle of a pair of scissors or forceps.

Getting anywhere near that area with a scissors would certainly do the trick for me.

[Khaki Campbell]

Originally Posted by Mangetout

If it's true, and if it works, I imagine it's at least much a psychological effect as a physical one - for most men, being tapped sharply on the penis might be a bit like a signal that this is certainly not a sexual context.

Amazing that it may even exist.

I would imagine the lawsuit if a male gynaecologist "flicked" the vulva of a woman who was getting wet.

[Chefguy]

Originally Posted by jjimm

My mother, a nurse during the 1960s, said she and her coworkers used to carry a metal teaspoon around the wards with them in a pocket. A quick whack of the back of the spoon to the bell-end, and no more stiffy.

Well, your coffee is just not going to taste the same afterwards.

[picunurse]

Are you kidding me?!? Grow up.
When one is seriously ill, sex is not in the forefront of one's mind. Just telling a man that he needs a catheter takes the "fun" out of any handling.
I was never taught any trick or technique to chase away an erection. I was taught to have a professional demeanor, that worked just fine.
And yes, I was a "hot" young nurse.

[WhyNot]

picunurse, forget about sex for a minute. How about priaprism? A coma patient with an erection? An erection from stress, utterly unrelated to sexual thoughts (as I hear is a common young male worry during, say, algebra class)?

Frankly, none of us in clinicals were worried about sexy erections; we're wondering if pathological or stress erections can be "deflated" quickly.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Originally Posted by WhyNot

Frankly, none of us in clinicals were worried about sexy erections; we're wondering if pathological or stress erections can be "deflated" quickly.

Pathological erections are by definition not real amenable to rapid detumescence by most interventions. Inserting 16 or 18 gauge needles and aspirating out the blood is certainly the quickest and most dramatic way to do so. Otherwise, cold compresses and pseudoephedrine may be helpful, but take time.

Inconvenient but non-pathological erections should be addressed by just leaving them alone.

"Flicking" or slapping it is just silly.

[Shodan]

Originally Posted by Ladymarmalade

I have heard more than once that if a male patient gets an erection, the nurses are instructed to flick it.

This can't be true. Can it?

"Let me see if I understand the situation, nurse.

My father was admitted to the hospital for treatment of his decubitus ulcer. While you were giving him a sponge bath, you hit him on the genitals - deliberately, because he got an erection. He didn't say anything to you, he didn't harass you in any way - he just got an erection.

Did that seem like a good idea to you? Because if it did, let's have a talk with your supervisor and see if she agrees.

If she does, perhaps the Licensing and Certification Division of the Department of Public Health would have an opinion on the matter."

Regards,
Shodan

[Quercus]

Originally Posted by WhyNot

picunurse, forget about sex for a minute. How about priaprism? A coma patient with an erection? An erection from stress, utterly unrelated to sexual thoughts (as I hear is a common young male worry during, say, algebra class)?

Just to clear this up: I've never experienced or heard of a stress-related erection, but rather the opposite: having an erection while sleeping, or at times while getting very drowsy. I suggest this is the most likely reason for a young male having an erection in algebra class. A close second is of course tight sweaters/skirts/a daring flash of ankle/etc. (directly or just thinking about same).

[Johanna]

Originally Posted by Qadgop the Mercotan

Pathological erections are by definition not real amenable to rapid detumescence by most interventions. Inserting 16 or 18 gauge needles and aspirating out the blood is certainly the quickest and most dramatic way to do so.

Ooo, I love when you talk medical.

[DrFidelius]

Oh grow up people. It's only a penis.

[AHunter3]

Originally Posted by DrFidelius

Oh grow up people. It's only a penis.

This.

Why the hell does anyone care if someone's penis gets erect? Just ignore it and get on with your work. Heck, as far as I know there's nothing to prevent catheterizing it when it's like that, might even be easier that way, as long as you've got sufficient length of tubing & all.

[Chefguy]

Originally Posted by DrFidelius

Oh grow up people. It's only a penis.

[Elaine Benes]"I don't know how you guys walk around with those things."[/EB]

[Sinisterniik]

I was half-expecting someone to say "well I'm a nurse, and whenever anyone starts to get a little bit aroused we all carry around photos of Joe Lieberman".

I don't know if it was stress-induced, but I used to be that kid in algebra class. I think it had less to do with stress and more to do with puberty. I mean it happened when I was watching TV, doing homework, playing sports, eating, sleeping, reading, swimming, playing cards, going to the movies, riding on a train, going hiking... Oh to be young again!

I promise to do rigorous experiments and report back my findings...

[outlierrn]

Well, I've been a nurse for 13 years and I've never heard of this. Most people that aren't too sick to have this problem don't need any help with bathing or voiding, so I don't think it happens all that often.


ETA, I have had it happen to me, just not often, and I just wait it out.

[Czarcasm]

I am astonished that this is even being asked. If a male nurse claimed that the proper way to confront a female patient with erect nipples was to smack said nipples with his stethoscope, would you do anything other than report him to his supervisor?

[Hockey Monkey]

Originally Posted by Czarcasm

I am astonished that this is even being asked. If a male nurse claimed that the proper way to confront a female patient with erect nipples was to smack said nipples with his stethoscope, would you do anything other than report him to his supervisor?

This would only make mine harder and probably turn me on.

[Czarcasm]

Originally Posted by Hockey Monkey

This would only make mine harder and probably turn me on.

Same here, but still...

[GusNSpot]

January, 1961, Ft Carson, CO.
Major outbreak of some sickness we were never told if identified.
Every bed in the hospital and spares brought in were in use.
Major changes in daily routine in the training to minimize problem as it seemed to be airborne.

I woke up in a bay full of other basic training victims.
Beautiful, gorgeous, saucy, #10 female Captain
Doctor enters room. All even half dead patients get erections.

First thing she did as she approached bed was to flick the erections.

After seeing this happen about 4 times in a row, mine & most others erections went away on their own.

Not one bit of problem for her to do, did not change her great personality or bed side manner, professional attitude nor her compassion for us poor sick slick sleeves....

Bad respiratory infections did not prevent erections.

Anticipation of pain coming your way did it seems judging by my and others reactions....

Only time I ran into it in a medical setting.

I have had several encounters with soccer balls in very cold games in late November where I spun out of danger to slow and the tip got whacked by the speeding soccer ball going by at warp 6. Slightly engorged or almost fully retracted due to the temperature, that STING will lay a man out and bring tears to his eyes. Much hilarity from the adult female players as you crawl off the pitch weakly blowing the whistle and whispering, 'half time'.......

[purplehorseshoe]

Jesus. Between the bleeding horror stories in the LadyDoper threads (GuyDopers: don't read them. Just ... don't.) and this kind of stuff, I'm thinking it sucks to have any kind of reproductive organs.

[Nancarrow]

Originally Posted by Qadgop the Mercotan

Inserting 16 or 18 gauge needles and aspirating out the blood is certainly the quickest and most dramatic way to do so.

Though just threatening this probably also works most of the time.

[Hypnagogic Jerk]

Originally Posted by AHunter3

Why the hell does anyone care if someone's penis gets erect? Just ignore it and get on with your work. Heck, as far as I know there's nothing to prevent catheterizing it when it's like that, might even be easier that way, as long as you've got sufficient length of tubing & all.

I've heard my mother recount the time she was catheterizing a paralysed patient. He got an erection, my mother looked at him and he seemed to be completely unaware of anything. She just shrugged and kept on doing her work; she may have mentioned that it made it easier if anything.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by Qadgop the Mercotan

Pathological erections are by definition not real amenable to rapid detumescence by most interventions. Inserting 16 or 18 gauge needles and aspirating out the blood is certainly the quickest and most dramatic way to do so.

Isn't injecting saline solution another way to do it?

[Malacandra]

Originally Posted by Hockey Monkey

This would only make mine harder and probably turn me on.

*rummages in closet*

*reappears wearing white coat and carrying stethoscope*

Sorry, where were we?

[Mangetout]

Originally Posted by Czarcasm

I am astonished that this is even being asked.

The problem is not that the myth exists, but that it appears (in my experience) to be kept alive by medical people.

[DrFidelius]

Originally Posted by GusNSpot

January, 1961, Ft Carson, CO.
Major outbreak of some sickness we were never told if identified.
Every bed in the hospital and spares brought in were in use.
Major changes in daily routine in the training to minimize problem as it seemed to be airborne.

I woke up in a bay full of other basic training victims.
Beautiful, gorgeous, saucy, #10 female Captain
Doctor enters room. All even half dead patients get erections.

First thing she did as she approached bed was to flick the erections.

After seeing this happen about 4 times in a row, mine & most others erections went away on their own.

Not one bit of problem for her to do, did not change her great personality or bed side manner, professional attitude nor her compassion for us poor sick slick sleeves....

Bad respiratory infections did not prevent erections.

Anticipation of pain coming your way did it seems judging by my and others reactions....

Only time I ran into it in a medical setting.

So, anyone with civilian anecdotes less than fifty years old? There were many things done in hospitals a half-century back which are no longer standard prodecures.

[Mangetout]

Originally Posted by DrFidelius

So, anyone with civilian anecdotes less than fifty years old? There were many things done in hospitals a half-century back which are no longer standard prodecures.

Well, the people who told me about it, or mentioned it within my earshot, would be talking about the 1990s onwards. Doesn't make it true, of course.

[Khadaji]

Funny how ubiquitous that is - I've heard that story too. I'm not sure where, but I've heard it.

[Sampiro]

I read somewhere that you straddle it until the only words the patient can say are Garp and good.

[wolfstu]

Originally Posted by WhyNot

Come on, man! Do some research for us, in the name of Doper Science!

(I, sadly, am lacking in the proper equipment.)

What, you don't have any spoons?

[wolfstu]

Originally Posted by DrFidelius

So, anyone with civilian anecdotes less than fifty years old? There were many things done in hospitals a half-century back which are no longer standard prodecures.

I have no personal experience, but a friend once told me that this happened when he got an erection during the ultrasound that came with his category 1 aviation medical exam, in 2000. The nurse gave him a whack on the glans and that was the end of that. I can't vouch for the veracity of this story.

[elfkin477]

Jeez, half the people in this thread can find out for themselves if being flicked with a spoon will deflate an errection, and no one is willing to try it? When thinking about what I'd do if I have a penis for a day while reading this book, science experiments was one of the first things that came to mind

[TubaDiva]

My mother was a nurse in the 1960s-70s and she says yes, she was taught this technique but she was also instructed if someone got "rambunctious" she could call for an orderly and let them sort out the situation. She also says she never encountered this problem and so has no practical experience and no good stories to share, at least not in this department, anyway.

[TreacherousCretin]

Originally Posted by jjimm

My mother, a nurse during the 1960s, said she and her coworkers used to carry a metal teaspoon around the wards with them in a pocket. A quick whack of the back of the spoon to the bell-end, and no more stiffy.

This is what I heard anecdotally as a teenager in the early 60's, from someone who supposedly knew the whackee. The nurse was all business and matter-of-fact about it, patiently delivering two or three sharp but mild whacks to the friendly weapon, which quickly got the message.

.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Originally Posted by tdn

Isn't injecting saline solution another way to do it?

One must get fluid out, not in. Irrigating with saline can help flush out clots if they're present, but the fluid pumped in must still be aspirated out. Otherwise, increased pressure will accelerate the rate of penile infarct.

[Rysdad]

Whack my peepee, I tweak your nipple.

Fair's fair.

[Muffin]

Originally Posted by Qadgop the Mercotan

"Flicking" or slapping it is just silly.

And it is assault.

[hellpaso]

LOL! RN for 30 years, here. Never taught the "flick" thing (but I did hear of this anecdotally--it must have happened way before my school in the 70s, tho). Putting in a foley, you just ignored it. In order to really stop an erection (with patients with penile implants, etc., reasons to avoid erections), we were taught to use ammonia capsules. Just one sniff------