Do you ever offer to shave female patients?

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

I had a female patient Sunday who had quite a bit of facial hair. I have never offered a female patient a shave, but I thought of it. I didn't know how she handled her facial hair situation, she didn't have a full beard, just that post-menopausal goatee. Her post-menopausal daughter came in and had the same situation.

I've never brought up the subject with female patients, probably out of a false sense of politeness. How do you all handle this aspect of personal grooming with your female patients?

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Peds/O.R./Legal/cardiology.

jlsRN,

Hmmm.... I don't think I'd go there. :lol2:

ebear

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I admit I've thought about it, but I've never had the nerve to go there either lol.

I suppose if they asked...

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Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.

I don't really have to deal with this working in the ER, but.... like others have said- I wouldn't go there. You're risking offending this person &/or hurting their feelings. If she wants it shaved, I'd wait for her to ask for a razor, etc....

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

OK, that was my attitude too. I didn't want to acknowledge that I had even noticed the goatee, although how obvious is it when you are flat on your back in the ICU? I mean, the woman was having non-stop diarrhea oozing out of her, you'd think the barriers would've been broken down between us already. Yet somehow female facial hair is taboo, is that what I'm hearing?

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Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.

Yup- I wouldn't say a word about it.

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Hmmm...In LTC we have the time to develop a relationship with our pts. We do shave facial hair.

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I once had a husband offer to do his wife's goatee shave. She was in the ICU, he said his wife would be very upset if he let people visit her with her chin hair showing. Very compassionate, I say.

Use your judgement about the situation. If she removes the hair at home, she might want it removed in hospital.

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Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.

I don't have any "abnormal" facial hair, but this makes me think, maybe in my advanced directive, I should make provisions to have my eyebrows waxed every week or so! :)

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OK, that was my attitude too. I didn't want to acknowledge that I had even noticed the goatee, although how obvious is it when you are flat on your back in the ICU? I mean, the woman was having non-stop diarrhea oozing out of her, you'd think the barriers would've been broken down between us already. Yet somehow female facial hair is taboo, is that what I'm hearing?
Strange, huh?

I've offered to help patients shave their legs. Not sure why helping with facial hair would be so uncomfortable.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

I have a bit of chin hair myself now that I'm 50 years of age. If I were incapacitated, lying flat on my back in bed with my chin exposed to the world, some chin hair removal might be considered a part of patient grooming and care, don't you think?

Once we got the lady's electrolytes back in order, she did feel good enough to put the HOB up, thankfully, which made the goatee less obvious.

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I have PCOS, which means that I have excess facial hair, a few years ago before laser hair removal, I was due to be admitted for surgery and I paniced about my facial hair, and asked my aunt to use wax strips to remove it, even if I was in ICU!

My friend Angie and her sister are both nurses and they are menopausal and have a pact with each other to pluck their facial hair if either of them are hospitalised!

I think that there are more women out there who are concerned about how their body hair is handled when they are hospitalised.

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