Doctors, with the help of a digital rectal exam, are able to appraise your renal function. They also check for any kind of renal tumors or hemorrhoids and if your stool has blood in it. Your health care provider, with the help of a rectal exam, would thus figure out any kind of problems with your organs and other parts of your lower belly. It is important that you let your health professional know if you have hemorrhoids. He or she will make sure that hemorrhoids are not bothered.
For the procedure you would first require to change into a gown that would be provided for the medical professional. A man is generally asked to bend forward at the waist and is examined while standing. He may also be asked to lie on his left side and pull his knees towards his chest. For a woman it is slightly different. A woman is asked to lie on her back on the examination table while her legs are in the raised position with the support of stirrups.
The outside of your anus will be examined by the doctor for fissures or hemorrhoids. He or she will then ask you to relax and take a deep breath when he/she is inserting his/her finger into your rectum. He/she will then put on a latex glove covered lubricated finger into your rectum, while at the same time pressing the pelvic area to check for problems such as hardness enlargement and growths. The entire examination takes very little time.
There is no special preparation required by you prior to the digital rectal exam. You can follow your normal routine and do everything like you otherwise did.
Most people find the digital rectal exam slightly uncomfortable, but it does not hurt. In the case of men, if there is some inflammation of the prostrate which is generally caused by a condition called prostatitis, the examination could be slightly painful. Also, there could be a need to pass urine immediately as the health professional puts pressure on the prostrate. This feeling passes off once the examination is done with. Those who have hemorrhoids or some other rectal problems may have some minor amount of bleeding once the exam is done. In rare cases you could even have a vasovagal response, where you may feel slightly lightheaded or even faint.
In most cases the test is done during a routine physical examination for both men and women. However, it could be performed for various reasons such as to screen you for colorectal cancer and before a colonoscopy to make sure that nothing blocks you rectum before an instrument is inserted.