If you had to undress in front of someone in an emergency would you be ready?

[Roggers]

Another one inspired by the emergency thread as this still mortifies me now last year I was taken to hospital unexpectedly after a car crash. I had to be topless for the ecg, and then someone helped me into a gown after. When I fake tan I usually only do my arms, legs up to the bottom of my bum cheeks, chest to nipple line and neck as that's the only bits that ever show so why would I waste time faffing doing the rest. Her face when she saw my weird tan lines was a real treat. I hadn't shaved my armpits or legs for about 4 weeks (it was winter alright) and I was also wearing the biggest, most unflattering pants you've ever seen as I'd been at the gym

Now I wonder if I should be more prepared for if something like that were to ever happen again. Although I'm sure they've seen it all and much worse before anyway so if something similar happened to you would you be embarrassed or are you always perfectly presented?

Actually, men do worry about what other men and women think, that's why it's hard for them to get tested for things like like prostate, bowel and testicular cancer. And they also don't come forward for mental health problems either.

It is also the case that women go forward for health-care and are disbelieved and denied appropriate testing, pain relief and so on.

The replies on here, I'm just glad some of you are not in charge of designing health-care interventions if you know nothing about embarrassment, shame, stress, all the things that people can end up feeling in relation to health-care even if they know it's all for the best and can laugh about it.

‘Actually, men do worry about what other men and women think, that's why it's hard for them to get tested for things like like prostate, bowel and testicular cancer. And they also don't come forward for mental health problems either.‘

How is that relevant here? I guarantee most men in an accident would not be worrying whether they had shaved or had their best pants and socks on.

Yes they have worse health outcomes because often they do not seek help, are scared of looking weak, as well as perhaps being more risk-taking etc. That’s not what this thread is about.

They might not worry about having their best pants on, but they might worry about how their privates appear to others. Or feel embarrassment at showing their hairy bum even though HCP's have 'seen it all before'.

Women might be more prone to feel embarrassment about not being cared for in terms of hairy legs, men may be embarrassed about other hairy places- and I'm guessing they probably wouldn't confess to steroid use either even if if was harming their health, though a lot of men nowadays use them to enhance their looks.

Wow Mumsnet is a weird place, one min everyone us so nice and lovely and the next they are vultures!!! Anyone with a double digit IQ can see it was a silly post, sorry they are being such dicks today

I think armpit hair would embarrass me (even though it shouldn’t). I would have no shame about pants or bras, unless I was wearing a particularly old pair of pants that actually has holes in.

Jesus people are batshit crazy here!
OP I find your story funny. I'm certainly never in a good state, thankfully haven't been in that situation but if I was I'd probably be hairy with dodgy fake tan lines too and it would make an already vulnerable situation even worse as although I'd be 'grateful to be alive' 🙄I'd also be a bit embarrassed.

This reminds me of after I'd had my hip replaced and the district nurse was coming to change/remove the dressing. I'd put on 2 pairs of pants because the first pair felt awfully baggy for some reason and rather than go through the pain of trying to get them back off and another pair on, I just went through the pain once to put a second pair on top. Both were plain black and the same style. I didn't know the nurse was going that day. She was behind me looking at the wound which came up the side of my thigh, round the back and half way up my butt cheek. I'd edged my pants down at the back enough for her to do what she needed to do but I didn't expect her to pull them back up for me and she didn't get hold of both pairs when she did that- and said "oh....oh my goodness, what's happened, what have I done?" 🙈I felt rather embarrassed with that!

I'm glad I've already had my pre ops with their ECGs because I was so worried in case I'd have to take all my top clothes off so this post would have scared me 😂 Thankfully I didn't have to, they just worked round my bra and if I ever need another one I know it's possible to do without having to remove your top half clothes!

Worked in A & E for nearly 20 years and can't remember ever seeing a decent pair of pants so I wouldn't worry! The only ones that still stick in my mind were a 102 Yr old wearing lilac bloomers nearly down to her knees😚

Love a moss stitch.

Wondering whether to get me some bloomers.

Isn’t it awful how much we have to police our bodies to make sure they’re presentable & inoffensive at all times?! I used to feel the same (to a degree) but really this is more about our fears of being exposed & naked when we feel at our most vulnerable - injured & in need of help. I know your post is meant to be light hearted OP but it’s just sad that for women - the minute we have to expose our bodies, we have to fear negative judgement of how our bodies appear & how acceptable they are to outside evaluation. Being female means to be conditioned into believing our bodies always have to be objects of desire & acceptable. Do any men feel this? Men esp younger are much more body conscious with much more gym going, getting ripped & fit & waxing & shaving. So would they feel like this if they didn’t have decent pants on & hadn’t tanned all over? I know we’re conditioned to care this much but is any of it instinctual? Is it rooted in biology? You know we have these sticking out bits to attract a mate (fundamentally, biologically/evolutionarily) & so maybe it’s innate or we’re hardwired to ensure we present in a way so as to enhance our chances of constantly furthering the species?! Even when in A&E?! I mean we give women a hard time for caring (as seen on here) but maybe some of it is innate? I mean it’s interesting how much less of a fuck women give when they hit menopause. We feel it freeing & a massive relief. Because we’re no longer being chemically programmed to care about furthering the human race. So really we shouldn’t give each other a hard time for it. We’re just acting true to type??

Menopausal musings - apologies!

For me I think some of it is control
So for my mums funeral I was panicking over what to wear and what makeup to put on, but everything was a bit too big to worry about so I was stressing about the small things?
Same with when I had cauda equina, I mean being told I needed an operation before I was paralysed.. what was I doing? My skincare routine
I washed, did my skincare and had makeup on after waking up from the op because it was some normality

So for a smear (which I hate) having nice underwear and shaved legs makes me feel "better" about it because I can control that part of it

Stripping for HCPs is one thing, but what if you had to strip in public because your clothes got covered in something like petrol or acid?

The 21st century version of always wearing clean knickers in case you are run over by a bus!

Why do so many people fake tan? What is the point? Here's a tip: it looks fake.

I couldn't give a shit what I looked like in a situation such as this. Could happen to anyone at any time.

Yeah, this is a really common occurrence. I'm going to book an all over wax and fake tan now, and do that every two weeks, just in case.

Single here and always shaved/threaded/plucked/wax... hate body hair! Personal preference of course.

For me it's not about being at the peak of perfection, just not falling below what I consider usual standards. It's all very well starting the day with clean pants or whatever, you don't know what might happen since. I had an injury which happened around midday and I was sat in a sweaty overheated A and E for many hours,being transferred eventually to a bed on a ward at 3am. Was I fresh as a daisy when at 6.30am the surgeon came round and inspected my injury, was I heck. I tried to clean up a bit but as I couldn't mobilise it wasn't possible and it was the middle of the night. Was I grateful the surgeon was with me at 6.30am, absolutely. Did I wish I had on fresh pants, had a wash and got nicely painted toenails instead of chipped ones, yes. I actually stank at that point, and he was just so lovely, I'm sure he didn't care, but a tiny part of me did want to be properly clean as that's what I would have done had I planned to have an inspection!