School Medicals

[OldPete]

Re: School Medicals

I remember school medical in grammar school. We had a school nurse who did them. She was in her 40's and all the boys fancied her. She did the cough and drop test as well. Happy days!

[spuggybridge]

Re: School Medicals

Bloody hell I remember the Nitt nurse, the teeth inspection with the tablet that showed all the plaque and the cough and drop.

[wispa lover]

Re: School Medicals

I had the 'daisy' needle once in school. Had the 'real' needle a month later in the infirmary. Is it me or are needles smaller and a bit painless than they were before?

[marc]

Re: School Medicals

Bloody hell I remember the Nitt nurse, the teeth inspection with the tablet that showed all the plaque and the cough and drop.

The tablet that showed all the plaque!!!! I had forgotten about that. I think we had this done twice. I remember them telling us that these tablets could be bought from the chemist, they should be used has often has possible. Don't think we ever did buy any.

[Peter64]

Well, I've done a thorough search of the forum and I can't find this topic discussed. Can't quite believe no one's brought it up. So here goes.

My first experience of this was in the sixties at about the age of six - so a bit outside the remit of DoYouRemember.

But in secondary school, at around 13 years old, medicals came around again. Class by class, boys in one room and girls in another, (I think we used unoccupied offices) everyone undressed and put on a dressing gown. The doctor then called us one by one into his room and examined us. I seem to recall that he looked at our eyes, ears and fingernails, before the dreaded request to drop our underwear.

It was all over quite quickly and in the playground later, everyone compared notes as to what the doctor had actually 'done' to them. I can't imagine why we were so fascinated to hear the accounts.

For some reason, school medicals seemed to be a really major thing back in the seventies. Were they memorable for anyone else?

[Peter64]

Yes we had that medical in 1979 we had to line up in the big hall in our underpants in a long que and wait to be look at.

[George 1978]

Thank you Peter for bumping this thread up that I don't think had existed originally.

Despite having a few "accidents" when I was at school (you know, what those try to pass over their heads and refer to as "accidents"), I was mostly sent home, or driven home by a staff member on their free period if I need first aid or some TLC. However, such school medicals were the BCG vaccination I had in the Infants in May 1984 (the one that I had a sugar lump with). Also, the traditional "have you got headlice?" nit nurse thing from around the same time, and other routine stuff.

Am I so glad that coronavirus wasn't around when I was at school? On the other hand, it would had meant a nice long "holiday" out of school if it had.

[darren]

Yes i can remember having them feeling a bit nervous having a stranger check u out.

I REMEMBER GETTING AN INJECTION A BOOSTER I THINK.

Not sure if its done anymore.

yes we had that medical in 1979 we had to line up in the big hall in our underpants in a long que and wait to be look at.

[George 1978]

Just thought that I would also add that my Comprehensive School had a Medical Room. but most of the time it always seemed to have a note on the door saying: "CLOSED - ANY EMERGENCY TO THE SCHOOL SECRETARY".

Now, first of all, if someone was indeed ill, what could they have done? If one had reported an illness or an "accident" to the school secretary, then would the secretary would be able to do anything constrictive about the situation? - i.e. administer First Aid? Do a job in lieu of a school doctor or nurse as if they were qualified to do such a thing? The moral of the story was: don't get ill or don't have any "accidents" on the school premises, for you won't get what you need for what had happened. Can you imagine a GP surgery or hospital which was conveniently closed when one desperately needs them?

The Health and Safety Executive would have had a field day.

[TonyX]

I remember this vividly It happened to me in 1974 I was 11 The nurse requested I strip to my underwear She measured my height and weight then sat on a chair asked me to stand in front of her and pulled down my underpants She then asked me to look up and cough whilst she cupped my testicles When she had finished she pulled up my underpants and told me to get dressed and leave

[George 1978]

Why do I think of the Matron and Kenneth Williams in the Carry On films when I read that previous post?

Fascinating insight into what went on in a 1970s medical room, Tony! I am relieved to say that I don't remember at all anything like that when I went for my medicals - indeed, I don't think that I can remember any medicals when I was 11 at all - probably it was an indication as to how healthy I was back then..

[beccabear67]

We had a permanent nurse's room in at least two schools I went to. They were closed unless there were vaccinations, but were also opened if a student was sickly or even hurt, to lie on the cot in there (this was me after fainting once), then someone was called and would arrive before too long. My one visit the nurse was grilling me about blood in my stool and I had to figure out what was meant by stool, once I did I could say definitely not. I was prescribed iron pills.

Vaccination days got to be old hat pretty quickly, but one when we were younger everyone was thinking we'd get the jab and instead it was a sugar lump (polio vaccine?)... what a relief. I never heard or knew of anybody questioning vaccinations (me, the lone Lord's Prayer abstainer at one time)... the only thing was when my father had to get a vaccination for polio (I think it was for polio) to visit Holland circa 1975 because they had people who refused that vaccination on some kind of religious grounds. Now I read the other day that even leprosy is back, in Florida, U.S.A. I guess I'd be the evil tyrant that would force vaccines upon people and their children?

[George 1978]

As I found out from my own experience: make sure you are sick whilst at home rather than at school - medical assistance i.e. a GP's surgery is easier to contact whilst outside school, and the staff are better qualified than a school nurse, and are certainly more qualified than the school secretary.

[andrec]

I remember at Junior and maybe infants school the dentist, optician and nit nurse coming to examine us. In, I think, the 2nd year of secondary school we had a test for, I believe, TB, and depending on the result we were vaccinated. We also had a medical examination, possibly the same year - this would be the mid 70s. Funnily enough, I hardly recall what the doctor actually did in the examination.