15 Awkward Doctor Moments That Feel Scripted for Sitcom Scenes

Not all doctor visits go as planned. These stories take awkwardness to a whole new level. They're full of cringe, laughter, and those "Did that really just happen?" vibes. Dive in and prepare for secondhand embarrassment—and a good laugh!

• First physical of my life. I drop my pants, and the doctor says, "Turn your head and cough." I hear, "Turn your head and crawl." I cannot explain the levels of confusion and awkwardness that followed. @doublej308 / Reddit

• I smashed my left pinky toe into a door frame, hurt like a mother. Went and got it X-rayed and, yep, fractured. A month later I’m at a routine podiatrist visit, and my toe is swollen, purple, and the toenail is black. I’m explaining to the doctor that I fractured it. He looks closely at my mangled little piggy and says seriously, “Yeah, you’re going to lose that toe.”
  What??!!! In about 3 seconds, I went through the shock of losing a toe, acceptance of losing a toe, and determination to continue living without a toe when the doctor says... “Sorry, I mean toeNAIL. You’re going to lose that toenail.” Gah! @Dads***8 / Reddit

• This is my misunderstanding of what the doctor was trying to have me do. He said, "Hold your breasts," so I did. He said, "No, hold your breasts."
  I was young and not sure what type of exam this was, so I was moving them in different ways to try to, I guess, position them the way he wanted, and he then said, "HOLD YOUR BREATH." I passed away that day. @Informal-East5515 / Reddit

• Me, with red curly hair, at the ob-gyn:
  “Your hair is so pretty! Is it natural?”
  “The color or the curl?”
  “I’ll find out about the color in a minute.”
  We both died laughing. She didn’t mean to say it, but OMG, it was hilarious. @M********** / Reddit

• I was with my dog at the vet's office, and the vet nurse called my dog's name, "Bean." I stood up as two other people did. We looked at each other confused. The vet nurse just said, "The dog Bean."
  The woman with the guinea pig sat down. I was still standing there with this older lady and her poodle. The vet nurse then said, "The big Bean." The woman sat down, and I dunno why I still smile when I think about that. @Unknown author / Reddit

• My wife and I had our child late in life and knew we were going to be one and done, so a vasectomy was gonna happen. Where I live, you need a doctor's referral to get one.
  Coincidentally, my appointment to get said referral was the same week that I started my paternal leave. At my appointment, the doc walks into the room and says, "You've been on pat leave for 2 days, and you already want a vasectomy!?!" @phil_in_t_blank / Reddit

• Was looking to get a breast reduction, and the plastic surgeon lifted up my breast and dropped it, looked at me, and said, “Yeah, they’re heavy.” @nope123ee / Reddit

• We had one woman come back again, and her chief complaint was constipation. Going into her chart, I saw that she had been previously given some suppositories to take, and in the triage note, she said her meds weren't working and she wanted some different ones.
  So the doc is asking her questions, making sure nothing else is wrong, and they get to the part about the meds. She says, "Well, yeah, the pills I got last time were huge! I have to break them in half to swallow them!" @mamblepamble / Reddit

• I arrived at my doctor's office for a routine physical, and everything was going fine. My previous conditions had all gone away, and we were wrapping up when my doctor (female, by the way; I am male) told me that she was "going to need to check me for an enema."
  She turned away for a moment to put on some gloves; as she did so, I stood up, took off my pants, and bent over. I misheard her. One does not "check" for an enema. One check for a hernia.
  The moment she turned around, I heard, "Oh, what!" and I immediately realized my mistake. @JustHavinAGoodTime / Reddit

• This happened to a friend's mother:
  She was trying out a new OB-GYN. Post-examination, she was given a cup and directed to supply the office with a sample. Upon arriving in the bathroom, she saw that it had no door!
  Friend's mom just assumed that this new, freewheeling OB-GYN office didn't have bathroom doors and all the patients did their business in the light. So, nervously, she proceeded to create/collect the sample as people walked by in the hallway outside. I imagine they pretended not to notice or gave her strange looks, but it wasn't until she was leaving the bathroom that she noticed the fully retracted sliding door. @imascientist / Reddit

• I'm a PhD clinical psychologist, so not a physician. A patient came in for an emergency appointment. He filled out ALL our paperwork (so many questions about mental health history) and sat in our waiting room. I can't tell you how clearly this is a psychological services clinic.
  Finally, he gets back to my room, sits down, and pulls up his pants. Starts taking off his shoe. My man had ankle pain. Me: "I'm really sorry you have been waiting for so long, but unless you want to talk about how your ankle pain is making you feel, there isn't anything I can do."
  It took a little convincing that I wasn't holding out on him. I'm not convinced I successfully explained the difference between a psychologist and a physician. He was freshly 18 and not the brightest bulb.
  He eventually limped off to the nearest urgent care. Poor kid. Hope he's okay out there! @roomforathousand / Reddit

• I went for my annual eye test and to get a prescription for the next year’s supply of contact lenses. I usually meet the same optician, and he gave me a warm welcome to the big machine that tests your eyes. He started the test and was very surprised to read the results.
  In great excitement, he came up to me and said, "Ma'am, we have only come across this in theory, and I never knew this was really possible. Your power has corrected completely! You don’t need contact lenses or glasses anymore!"
  I actually believed him for a moment before sheepishly replying, "Are you sure you negated the effect of the contact lenses I am wearing?" Turns out, I was supposed to take them off for at least 30 minutes before testing my eyes, oops. @moto-chuchu / Reddit

• The last time I was at my doctor's office, I was kept waiting in the exam room for a really long time. Like long enough to go through all three magazines in the room. Eventually, severe boredom set in, and I started looking for other things to do.
  There was a scale in the corner, so I thought, "Let's weigh some stuff." I started with my shoes and eventually moved on to the magazines and my clothes. When I ran out of personal stuff, I surveyed the room and decided that I would like to know how much a chair weighs, so on the scale it went.
  This is the exact moment the doctor and her resident decide to enter the room. There I am, wearing nothing but a hospital gown and socks, balancing a chair on the scale... @linds360 / Reddit

• Not me, but my roommate once went to the doctor because his hands were literally turning blue. He was born premature and has always had horrible circulation. So he went to the doctor, and the doctor was so puzzled as to what's happening that she consulted other specialists.
  Then she returned back to the room with alcohol swabs, and the blue started coming off. It turned out he had not washed his new jeans, and the ink kept rubbing off on his hands every time he put them in his pocket. @raybanomics / Reddit

• I went to the ER in seriously bad abdominal pain. I couldn't explain it since everything was seemingly *ahem* running fine. Scant, but fine. As it turned out, I was still massively backed up, almost to the point of impaction.
  The doctor, who was a good, goofy guy, said, "Ma'am, sorry to tell you, but your diagnosis is that you're full of poop."
  I cracked up and said, "How long have you been waiting to use that one on a patient who won't complain?"
  Him: "FOREVER." @ChaoticF******Good / Reddit

Want to add a bit more cringe to your basket? A man’s heartfelt moment took a hilariously awkward twist when his nerves got the best of him—accidentally asking his girlfriend’s dad to marry him instead. The cringe-worthy slip left everyone in stitches and has since become an internet sensation you don’t want to miss!