# Does working in the medical field ruin one's libido? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 19, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088 "2014-11-19T16:59:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/1 "2014-11-19T16:59:28Z")
I thought about putting this question in General Questions but IMHO seemed more suitable: Do people who work in the medical field - and especially, surgeons - have a ruined libido because of seeing so much blood, organs, traumatic injuries day in and day out? Basically, do they start to consider the human body to be nothing but a collection of bones, skin, ligaments, organs, blood, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/2 "2014-11-19T17:12:50Z")
I used to be in the medical field and based on my sample size of 1, I’d say just the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/3 "2014-11-19T17:20:10Z")
There are lots of videos on the Internet that say it is not the case with nurses. 😉 Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/4 "2014-11-19T17:54:59Z")
I have been married to a surgical nurse, the stories she tells about surgeons would suggest the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/5 "2014-11-19T18:12:09Z")
I almost forgot, one of my favortie exchanges from Friends. > [@](#): > > Dr. Franzblau (OBGYN): No, it’s hard enough to get women to go out with me. > Rachel: Right, yeah, I’ve heard that about cute doctors. > Dr. Franzblau: No, no, really. I… I suppose it’s because I spend so much time, you know, where I do. > Rachel: Oh. > Dr. Franzblau: I try not to let my work affect my personal life, but it’s hard, when you do… what I do. It’s like uh… Well, for instance, what do you do? > Rachel: I’m a waitress. > Dr. Franzblau: Okay, all right. Well, aren’t there times when you come home at the end of the day, and you’re just, like, “If I see one more cup of coffee…” ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/6 "2014-11-19T18:20:58Z")
No what kills your libido is being a cop working SVU (under whatever acronym your agency uses). ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/7 "2014-11-19T20:57:37Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > No what kills your libido is being a cop working SVU (under whatever acronym your agency uses). I would guess that crime scene investigators, coroners, and crematorium workers have lower libido, too. ---
**Author:** ![dofe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ba0ec/32.png) [@dofe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dofe)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/8 "2014-11-19T21:11:02Z")
No (cite: my emergency room doctor SO). ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/9 "2014-11-20T04:18:31Z")
I always wondered how gynecologists could come anywhere close to a vagina at the end of their work day. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/10 "2014-11-20T04:37:57Z")
Friends quotes aside, a vagina at home is much different from the vaginas at work. For one thing, it’s hopefully attached to a person you have some sort of relationship type feelings for. The guy who slings burgers all day is happy to come home to a steak dinner. 😉 I think the \*hours \*may be something of a libido killer, however, particularly for students and in the early years of practice. I love my husband to pieces, but full time nursing work and classwork for my Bachelor’s in Nursing is killing me. I’m afraid I haven’t been up for sexyfuntime in some while. I’d rather take a nap. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/11 "2014-11-20T04:52:12Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I always wondered how gynecologists could come anywhere close to a vagina at the end of their work day. What about their own vaginas? 😛 I used to live in a town that had a female urologist who specialized in treating erectile dysfunction. :eek: I wasn’t the only one who wondered what her sex life was like (her husband was an anesthesiologist). 😃 If libido is affected by a job, it’s because of job stress and not the job itself. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/12 "2014-11-20T05:57:46Z")
I had a friend who was engaged to a guy in medical school. She said that their romantic activities declined during the quarter he had GYN. It sort of made sense to me when I thought about what that course might entail. I figured after one learns the basic anatomy and how stuff is supposed to work, the rest of the course is about infections, diseases, and other maladies that can affect that area. So I guess I can understand that sort of thing happening until one gets their perspective back. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/13 "2014-11-20T06:22:17Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I used to live in a town that had a female urologist who specialized in treating erectile dysfunction. :eek: Did she have any hands-on experience? Sorry, we all saw that one comin’. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/14 "2014-11-20T14:56:32Z")
As others have noted, there are plenty of cases of libidinous doctors to oppose the OP’s thesis. I suspect most people can decouple their sex drives from their daily work. But a quote from Mark Twain’s _Life on the Mississippi_ is appropriate here. I’ve cited it on this Board before, and I don’t apologize for its length, because it is extremely well-written, and makes a cogent point that is relevant to this thread in its last paragraph: > [@](#): > > The face of the water, in time, became a > wonderful book–a book that was a dead language to the uneducated > passenger, but which told its mind to me without reserve, delivering its > most cherished secrets as clearly as if it uttered them with a voice. > And it was not a book to be read once and thrown aside, for it had a new > story to tell every day. Throughout the long twelve hundred miles there > was never a page that was void of interest, never one that you could > leave unread without loss, never one that you would want to skip, > thinking you could find higher enjoyment in some other thing. There > never was so wonderful a book written by man; never one whose interest > was so absorbing, so unflagging, so sparkingly renewed with every > reperusal. The passenger who could not read it was charmed with a peculiar > sort of faint dimple on its surface (on the rare occasions when he did > not overlook it altogether); but to the pilot that was an ITALICIZED > passage; indeed, it was more than that, it was a legend of the largest > capitals, with a string of shouting exclamation points at the end of it; > for it meant that a wreck or a rock was buried there that could tear the > life out of the strongest vessel that ever floated. It is the faintest > and simplest expression the water ever makes, and the most hideous to a > pilot’s eye. In truth, the passenger who could not read this book saw > nothing but all manner of pretty pictures in it painted by the sun and > shaded by the clouds, whereas to the trained eye these were not pictures > at all, but the grimmest and most dead-earnest of reading-matter. > > Now when I had mastered the language of this water and had come to know > every trifling feature that bordered the great river as familiarly as I > knew the letters of the alphabet, I had made a valuable acquisition. But > I had lost something, too. I had lost something which could never be > restored to me while I lived. All the grace, the beauty, the poetry had > gone out of the majestic river! I still keep in mind a certain > wonderful sunset which I witnessed when steamboating was new to me. A > broad expanse of the river was turned to blood; in the middle distance > the red hue brightened into gold, through which a solitary log came > floating, black and conspicuous; in one place a long, slanting mark lay > sparkling upon the water; in another the surface was broken by boiling, > tumbling rings, that were as many-tinted as an opal; where the ruddy > flush was faintest, was a smooth spot that was covered with graceful > circles and radiating lines, ever so delicately traced; the shore on our > left was densely wooded, and the somber shadow that fell from this > forest was broken in one place by a long, ruffled trail that shone like > silver; and high above the forest wall a clean-stemmed dead tree waved a > single leafy bough that glowed like a flame in the unobstructed splendor > that was flowing from the sun. There were graceful curves, reflected > images, woody heights, soft distances; and over the whole scene, far and > near, the dissolving lights drifted steadily, enriching it, every > passing moment, with new marvels of coloring. > > I stood like one bewitched. I drank it in, in a speechless rapture. The > world was new to me, and I had never seen anything like this at home. > But as I have said, a day came when I began to cease from noting the > glories and the charms which the moon and the sun and the twilight > wrought upon the river’s face; another day came when I ceased altogether > to note them. Then, if that sunset scene had been repeated, I should > have looked upon it without rapture, and should have commented upon it, > inwardly, after this fashion: This sun means that we are going to have > wind to-morrow; that floating log means that the river is rising, small > thanks to it; that slanting mark on the water refers to a bluff reef > which is going to kill somebody’s steamboat one of these nights, if it > keeps on stretching out like that; those tumbling ‘boils’ show a > dissolving bar and a changing channel there; the lines and circles in > the slick water over yonder are a warning that that troublesome place is > shoaling up dangerously; that silver streak in the shadow of the forest > is the ‘break’ from a new snag, and he has located himself in the very > best place he could have found to fish for steamboats; that tall dead > tree, with a single living branch, is not going to last long, and then > how is a body ever going to get through this blind place at night > without the friendly old landmark. > > No, the romance and the beauty were all gone from the river. All the > value any feature of it had for me now was the amount of usefulness it > could furnish toward compassing the safe piloting of a steamboat. Since > those days, I have pitied doctors from my heart. What does the lovely > flush in a beauty’s cheek mean to a doctor but a ‘break’ that ripples > above some deadly disease. Are not all her visible charms sown thick > with what are to him the signs and symbols of hidden decay? Does he > ever see her beauty at all, or doesn’t he simply view her > professionally, and comment upon her unwholesome condition all to > himself? And doesn’t he sometimes wonder whether he has gained most or > lost most by learning his trade? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/15 "2014-11-20T15:04:51Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > There are lots of videos on the Internet that say it is not the case with nurses. 😉 I had to give a semen sample once. It was a very different affair than what I’d been led to expect. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/16 "2014-11-20T15:24:21Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I always wondered how gynecologists could come anywhere close to a vagina at the end of their work day. I would guess via dinner and a movie, perhaps some drinks, and whispered sweet nothings. Pretty much like any other guy. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/17 "2014-11-20T15:32:19Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > As others have noted, there are plenty of cases of libidinous doctors to oppose the OP’s thesis. I suspect most people can decouple their sex drives from their daily work. But a quote from Mark Twain’s _Life on the Mississippi_ is appropriate here. I’ve cited it on this Board before, and I don’t apologize for its length, because it is extremely well-written, and makes a cogent point that is relevant to this thread in its last paragraph: That is beautiful, thank you for sharing it. I will admit, I often find myself absent mindedly taking my husband’s pulse or listening to his breath sounds when we’re just cuddling on the couch. And I find his (retired paramedic) hand gently palpating my veins, as if searching for just the right spot for a nice 18 gauge IV line. 😃 There IS a level of health awareness that influences our not-work relationships, that is certainly true. Much like going to the theater is both enriched and slightly spoiled by noting the wires and knowing how much those harnesses hurt. I can’t see an overweight pale person break into a sweat from across the room without silently wondering if I’m seeing a heart attack about to break out. I simply make sure my cell phone is in reach if I need to call 911, though. I try not let it interfere with our actual interactions until/unless I’m asked for help or the emergency is clear. ---
**Author:** ![jonesj2205](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jonesj2205](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonesj2205)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/18 "2014-11-20T15:45:08Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > As others have noted, there are plenty of cases of libidinous doctors to oppose the OP’s thesis. I suspect most people can decouple their sex drives from their daily work. But a quote from Mark Twain’s _Life on the Mississippi_ is appropriate here. I’ve cited it on this Board before, and I don’t apologize for its length, because it is extremely well-written, and makes a cogent point that is relevant to this thread in its last paragraph: That is one of my all time favorite written passages. As poignant as it is here, it is magnified 100x after reading the steps to master the river. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/19 "2014-11-20T16:35:01Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I had to give a semen sample once. It was a very different affair than what I’d been led to expect. I’m sure she wasn’t thrilled at always having to ask for the $20 co-pay after either. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088/20 "2014-11-20T16:44:52Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > No what kills your libido is being a cop working SVU (under whatever acronym your agency uses). Not to me. But I have always had little problem leaving work at work. > [@Velocity](#): > > I would guess that crime scene investigators, coroners, and crematorium workers have lower libido, too. Seeing so many dead bodies lowered my sexual attraction to dead people. But since it was already at zero it didn’t effect me much. It has had no effect on my attraction to living people. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-working-in-the-medical-field-ruin-ones-libido/705088.md?page=2)