The fact that people still hold such firm beliefs that certain health conditions are taboo is a great concern

Dr Ian Banks. Men's Health Forum

But while 65% of men said they were not, over one in 10 said they would feel embarrassed to buy tampons.

Embarrassment

The survey of 300 people was commissioned by Anusol, the makers of UK's leading piles treatment.

It found when people were asked to rank what conditions were most embarrassing to talk about, they put body odour top (18%) followed by thrush (14%), pubic lice (12%) and piles (10%).

When they were asked where they would turn to for advice, only 2% said they would go to their pharmacist, even though simple treatments for these conditions were available there.

And just 8% said they turned to their mum for help over such problems.

Most men are embarrassed about buying sanitary protection

The older people are, the more reluctant they are to talk, with over-45s the age group the most likely to be embarrassed.

Views on what was embarrassing varied across the UK, with people in London and the Scottish Borders deeming halitosis the most embarrassing condition, while in the Grampian area, sexually transmitted infections and periods were the health issues people least wanted to talk about.

When people were asked specifically about piles, just under one in five said they found the condition embarrassing, despite the fact one in three suffer from the condition.

Over a third said it was because the bottom is an embarrassing part of the body, and another 35% said it was because the media would not discuss the subject.

Media coverage was seen as the best way of breaking the taboo over these kinds of health problems.

Breaking the taboo

Just under 60% thought HIV and Aids were the biggest health taboo to have been broken down over recent years.

A third thought that was because of the media coverage.

Dr Ian Banks, president of the Men's Health Forum, said: "The fact that people still hold such firm beliefs that certain health conditions are taboo is a great concern.

"While men appear more prepared to talk about embarrassing health issues, they are less inclined to take action and seek help."

He told BBC News Online talking about these 'taboo conditions', plus more coverage in the media, would reduce the embarrassment associated with them.

He added: "Some of these embarrassing conditions could be something serious, so people should talk about them."

Dr Simon Fradd, Chairman, Doctor Patient Partnership said: "There are many myths surrounding certain medical conditions such as head lice liking only dirty hair - it's simply not true!

"As people understand more about the reasons conditions develop and what can be done to treat them so these myths are broken down and they become less embarrassing."