Deep breathing, meditation, positive visualizing and listening to calming music within an hour of a medical exam can help reduce your nervousness and anxiety. Caffeine can make people more jittery and cause their minds to race, which tends to make nervousness worse. As such, refrain from drinking coffee, black tea, colas and energy drinks at least 6 hours before medical exams.
Having a third person of the same gender in the exam room with you can greatly ease your issues with having to wear a gown and expose some of your body. This strategy might be particularly important if you have a history of sexual abuse or trauma. If a nurse or assistant is the same gender as you, it can help diffuse any sexual tension that may exist between the doctor and you.
Make sure to choose a larger-sized gown in order to cover as much of your body as possible to reduce your embarrassment. Some people prefer to cover their faces during exams to reduce their embarrassment, but then they won’t be able to anticipate the doctor’s touch, which can reduce ticklishness.
Avoiding caffeine, a diuretic that triggers frequent urination, for a few hours prior to the exam is also beneficial in this regard. Going to the bathroom prior to a gynecological exam is especially important because the bladder and urethra may be pressed upon directly.
If the office is exceptionally cool, ask the doctor or nurse if the temperature can be turned up for your exam. If you have to wear an examination gown or robe, ask the doctor what you can leave on to remain warm — such as your socks, underwear, undershirt, etc.
While your brain is focused on processing the rubbing or pinching sensation that you’re creating, it will have trouble registering the doctor’s touch (palpation) as ticklish. Even just rubbing your fingers together might be helpful, or scratching the side of your leg. Apply enough pressure to your skin that it’s not lightly ticklish, but not too much to cause pain.
Ask your doctor to tell you where and when they’re going to touch you before they do. Removing anticipation often eliminates ticklishness. Ask your doctor to be particularly careful of your highly ticklish areas, such as your underarms, lower abdomen, groin and/or feet. Always maintain professionalism in order to prevent any sexual or flirtatious undertones, which can cause nervousness / anxiety / arousal and trigger ticklishness.
The back (spine) is typically one of the least ticklish areas for touching, examining, massaging, etc, whereas the abdomen and feet are often the most sensitive. With thoughtful and purposeful sequencing during a physical exam, your doctor can make it easier for you to develop a level of comfort and confidence before having to endure being touched in your more sensitive body parts. A ticklish / jumpy patient can waste a lot of valuable time, so your doctor shouldn’t mind spending a little more time initially making you feel more comfortable in order to save time in the long run.
Using hand sanitizer is great for cleaning hands prior to touching patients, but make sure your doctor’s hands are dry before starting the exam. Chronic smoking and caffeine consumption often leads to poor circulation to the hands, which tends to make them feel cold. [9] X Research source
This technique seems to work because people can predict the movements of the doctor’s hand as they apply pressure to the skin, which makes them feel like they are in control more. Because it’s not possible for people to tickle themselves (the brain doesn’t allow it), the “hand sandwich” technique fools your brain into thinking the pressure is coming from your own hand, thus reducing your ticklishness. [11] X Research source
