A Letter from a Doctor

By Anonymous

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This work is intended for ADULTS ONLY. It may contain depictions of sexual activity involving minors. If you are not of a legal age in your locality to view such material or if such material does not appeal to you, do not read further, and do not save this story.
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Hi! My name is Dr. Cora Winters. You probably don’t remember me, but I gave you a check-up when you first started kindergarten. I’m a pediatrician, which means that it’s my job to give all the boys and girls at your school physical exams when they start kindergarten, 7th grade, and 9th grade. Your mother told me how nervous you are to come see me next week for your 7th grade check-up because you noticed that the form your teacher gave you has a space for me to write about your penis and testicles. She asked me to write you this letter to tell you what I’m going to have to do to examine those parts of your body. That way, you’ll know exactly what to expect and won’t feel the need to be embarrassed.

How I’ll look at your penis and testicles is no different than how I’ll look at your ears or your chest or eyes. First, I’ll look. Remember, this is my job so I can do it pretty fast. I probably will have done all the looking I need to do by the time I finish taking your underpants off. The first thing I need to make sure of is that you have one penis and two testicles. It might sound silly but I need to make sure. The main thing I can check from just looking down there is how far into puberty you are. There are two things that determine how far into puberty you are: how much hair you have down there, and how big your penis and testicles are. These things can be turned into a number called your Tanner Stage. A Tanner Stage of 1 means your privates haven’t changed at all from when you were little and a Tanner Stage of 5 means you’re finished with puberty. Most boys your age have a Tanner Stage of 2 or 3 but it is COMPLETLEY NORMAL to still be a Tanner Stage 1. There’s nothing wrong with being a late bloomer. It’s important that the school knows your Tanner Stage so if you ever decide to play a sport like football, you don’t get put in a game with boys that are a lot bigger than you.

Another thing I’m doing is making sure you don't have any bruises or strange red spots. Just like what I do when I look at the rest of your body. When doing this, I might have to move your penis and testicles gently to the side so I can see the rest of your skin under it. It won't hurt, but it will feel weird because I’m touching parts that you usually think are private. It’s totally ok if it feels weird, it’s not only normal to be a little uncomfortable, but it’s actually GOOD that you are a little uncomfortable because really, your penis and testicles SHOULD only be touched by you or your doctor.

After, I’ve done all my looking, I’m going to have to feel for lumps or bumps in your testicles. That is very important because a lump could be concerning or they could be perfectly fine and normal. I know how sensitive boys’ testicles are so I’m going be as gentle as possible, but it still might be a little uncomfortable. Still, it is important that I checks because I need to know if lumps are there to make sure there isn’t a problem. While I’m feeling your testicles, I’m going to be holding something in my other hand called an orchidometer. An orchidometer is a string of different sized wooden balls that represents the different sizes a boy’s testicles can be. As I’m feeling your testicles, I’m comparing them to each ball to find out which size is the closest. The reason I do this is because it’s an easy way for me to double check your Tanner Stage. Next, I’m going to slide my hand along in the inside of your leg beside your groin and ask you to cough. It won't hurt at all, but it will feel kind of weird. This is how I look for something called a hernia coming from your stomach, which can happen during sports or times when you're straining.

For most boys, the hernia check is the last part of the exam, but with you, I’m going to have to check one more thing: your foreskin. If you don’t know what your foreskin is, it’s the long piece of skin that covers the end of your penis. Most boys have their foreskin removed because of the problems it can cause but since you still have yours I have to check it. The foreskin check can be pretty embarrassing but I have to do it. I put my thumb on the one side of the tip of your penis and my pointer finger one the other side then slowly pull the skin as far back is it can go. At your last check-up, I couldn’t pull your foreskin back at all because it was too tight! But by, your foreskin should be able to be pulled back far enough that your glans (the red mushroom head) sticks all the way out. If it isn’t able to be pulled back that far, then you won’t be able to clean your penis and stop it from getting stinky and cheesy.

The whole thing only takes about a minute. Some things that you should remember: I know that you might feel uncomfortable. That's ok. Also, I’m not thinking about if your penis or testicles are funny looking or weird. I will just be looking quickly to be sure that there aren't any lumps or bumps or strange red spots. Because this exam involves me touching parts of your body that are very sensitive, it’s quite possible you may obtain an erection. This is quite common and is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about. I know that you want to pull your pants up as soon as possible, but it’s really important you get this done. Even though it might feel very weird to you, looking at your penis and testicles and checking for a hernia feels the same to me as looking spine to make sure it's not curved. We really only notice if something is WRONG, and I'll bet that everything is just fine! If you feel embarrassed about having to undress, just remember I’ve seen it all before, on you at your last check-up, and countless other boys.

So really, you have nothing to worry about! I’m looking forward to seeing you next week!

P.S. You’re probably wondering why the form didn’t have any space to write about a girl’s genitals. The answer is simple: girls your age don’t need to get those parts examined. As I’m sure you already know, girls and boys have very different bodies. Girls’ genitals is almost entirely on the inside of their bodies, which means that things are much less likely to go wrong. Boys on the other hand, have a penis and testicles on the outside of the body, where things are much more likely to go wrong. Plus, you’ve probably noticed that the girls in your class are more mature than you are. That’s because girls start puberty a few years earlier than boys do, so we don’t have to keep an eye on 7^th grade girls like we do for 7th grade boys.

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