Embarrassing Bodies
We have an innovative ‘Solicitors for Women’ team raising health awareness and destigmatising embarrassing conditions.
The team are happy to talk about common complaints that many people would rather ignore than take to their GP. We talk on a daily basis about vaginal prolapses, incontinence, faecal incontinence, rectal prolapses, rectal incontinence, bleeding, infections, periods, discharge, sexual health, lack of clitoral stimulation or orgasms.
Throughout the last 10 years Handley Law has set out to aid people who have a variety of medical issues. These issues tend to be taboo or misunderstood.
We help our clients obtain understanding and a diagnoses of the issues, to make common sense of the legal issues surrounding clinical negligence claims especially those that are “embarrassing” or sexual. We allow clients to be understood and to debunk myths surrounding them. Our approach to tackling these issues has caused great success and has attracted large numbers of clients looking for specialist legal advice.
“The message,” Dr Victoria Handley says, “is don’t panic. Don’t be embarrassed. We can help you feel at ease talking about issues as we are so familiar with them. As for medical help sometimes you have to fight for help. Find a GP that will ask for more tests and help and yes, it may be an embarrassing problem, but when you finally talk about it you feel so much better.”
Dr Handley added “GPs, usually, are so busy they don’t have time to listen. We are trying to changing women’s views on how they communicate about their bodies and if nothing else, I want to highlight how common these problems are to other women”.
How to Cope
Some people find a trip to the doctor’s office to be nerve-racking. Some research suggests that men are embarrassed to visit a doctor for a majority of common health conditions. Additionally, many people worry that their doctor will perceive their concerns to be a waste of time. This can discourage people from scheduling appointments they need, even routine physicals.
If you know that you’ll struggle to talk about your concerns, try some alternative methods:
- Write a note at home that describes your problem and what you want to discuss before you call
- Communicate via email so that you won’t have to verbalize it in person.
- You should feel comfortable talking to us as we have encountered many of the issues that you will be experiencing and will pre-empt your concerns to enquire about related symptoms.
You can overcome your embarrassment by focusing on what is truly important: your health. While it’s common to feel embarrassed about discussing certain issues there are ways to ease the discomfort and communicate.
Over time, you may start to develop an ongoing relationship with us, who can become a trusted advisor. You’ll feel more comfortable opening up, and more confident knowing that your health and legal claim is in professional hands.
If you would like to talk to us contact Dr Victoria Handley at vhandley@handleylaw.co.uk