“I’m just so embarrassed about this!” is a phrase that most doctors hear often. I always offer some reassurance, but it’s disheartening to know that for every patient who does speak up, there are likely numerous others who are risking their health by failing to mention these issues to their doctors. The topics that tend to give patients the hardest time are those related to the rectal area or genital area. I wish patients realized that, for doctors, these areas might as well be an elbow or a knee! If you have a health complaint affecting one of the following parts of the body, do yourself a big favor and tell your doctor…

• Rectal area. This includes bowel habits. I recall a 37-year-old man who didn’t come to see me with his frequent diarrhea until he suffered 30 episodes in one day. He had been feeling lousy and having frequent bowel movements for several months but was “mortified” to talk about it. By the time he came to my office, he was severely dehydrated and malnourished and had to be hospitalized for several days. It turns out he was suffering from Crohn’s disease, a serious inflammatory bowel disease. Ordinarily, it can be controlled without hospitalization—as long as you consult a doctor in the early days of the illness. So please see your doctor if you have any significant change in bowel function (including diarrhea or constipation…or frequency), which lasts more than a few days—especially if it’s accompanied by pain, vomiting and/or fever. Such changes may also indicate infection or cancer—both of which can be fatal if not treated promptly.

Another common condition is frequent rectal itching. Dietary habits, par­ticularly consuming too much sugar (which promotes inflammation and yeast) or coffee (which is drying to tissues), often cause this uncomfortable condition, but it’s best to be evaluated by your doctor to rule out infection, allergies or other causes. There’s also rectal bleeding. The cause may be something simple such as hemorrhoids or intestinal tract irritation from drugs (including laxatives or antibiotics) or organisms (such as Salmonella and other bacteria sometimes found in food). But rectal bleeding can also be a red flag for cancer, so talk to your doctor immediately if you experience it. (If you have hemorrhoids, let your doctor know if bleeding lasts for more than a couple of days.)

• Genital area. While a number of conditions can affect the genital area, among the most common are jock itch and vaginitis. It’s unfortunate that so many patients are reluctant to bring up the telltale symptoms—itching and a rash in the groin area can signal jock itch…itching near the outside of the vagina and an abnormal, sometimes smelly, generally white discharge often mean vaginitis. Both conditions often have a common cause—yeast, which is usually treatable with a simple natural remedy. My protocol for yeast: Until symptoms subside, completely avoid foods on which yeast flourishes, such as bread, pasta and desserts…and take a probiotic supplement—at least 6 billion live organisms per dose—twice daily for at least a month. Also: Apply a white vinegar/water solution (two tablespoons of vinegar in a pint of water) topically to the yeast. Men can spray it directly on the area of jock itch three times daily until it’s gone…women can use a vaginal douche nightly until the yeast infection is eliminated, usually within three to five nights.