Mr. Harry the Excessive Hair Patient

Nurses General Nursing

Updated:   Published

Yup you guess it, this post is all about pubic hair. I've been in the game for almost 10 years and I have no idea why CNA's or nurses ignore pubic hair or excessive hair in general! I had a nurse ask me to get an IV on a patient once who literally resembled Chewbacca. Fortunately I had success in his hand which is frowned upon at my institution but heck what else was I going to do? Oh but thats not the half.... What about when I have a patient whose on golytely or diarrhea??? The last thing I'm tryna do is fidget with 7 inch longs hair. I'm wondering if its OK to provide lil snip snip?

Specializes in TBI and SCI.
Dirt? Hmmm.

haha... ok I'm not saying dirt has fallen on this pt or dust is floating in the air.. I mean the dirt that accrues on us throughout the day- sweat, linen hasn't been changed yet, clothing, anything... One of my pt obviously gets his trach tie changed everyday.. OMG when I change it in the morning, it looks as if he has had it on for 5 days it's so dirty.... I know it was for sure changed 2 days prior, that was my last shift.. but he just sweats a lot...

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Specializes in Transitional Nursing.
Just a random related question, because I am honestly curious what everyone thinks...

What happens when poop is in the lady parts? Do you all go digging with a washcloth? Get a toomey syringe and try to wash it out with saline/water? Leave it in, hoping natural secretions will wash it out eventually? We start everybody on the vent on tube feeds unless they had abdominal surgery/pancreatitis, and many of them have constant diarrhea. I've had diarrhea puddles so large it's well up the patient's back, dripping on the floor, and squeezed up through the inner thighs all the way to the anterior thighs... and if it's puddling in the triangle between the pubic areas and the anterior thighs, 99% of the time it's in the lady partsl canal too.

I have some coworkers who will just leave it be but I usually try to go fishing with a washcloth. I don't want anybody getting any nasty lady partsl infections from retaining poop in their lady parts.

I do by best to clean it all off/out with a wipe or washcloth. If you put the legs in lithotomy it helps access everything. I could never leave it, but I also don't go 'digging', usually get it all with that method. If it's really bad there is always the shower.

The peri bottles I see maternity use would come in handy but I don't ever remember seeing them on other floors.

In regards to trimming pubic hair......no. Just, no. If its not medically necessary its just not something anyone has any business.....just, no.

One time I did have to trim a mans pubic hair when applying a condom catheter, but I *had* to in order for it to not hurt him.

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
Bucky, where does OP state that they are an aide?

Her name

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

Where is the snowflake pot stirring smiley? Didn't someone make that awhile ago? Still waiting for the OP to come back but I suspect a hit and run.

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Where is the snowflake pot stirring smiley? Didn't someone make that awhile ago? Still waiting for the OP to come back but I suspect a hit and run.

How may I help you ktwlpn?

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

Was just wondering if you read the great information given to you on this thread.The greatest difference between a CNA and a nurse has been perfectly illustrated.You just don't know what you don't know.Every patient has his or her unique cultural,religious,generational beliefs.A nurse knows that and honors it.

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

A monkey could probably be trained to start an iv or roof my house or cut my hair too. Doesn't mean I'd allow it

Everywhere I've ever heard of, CNA means certified nursing assistant. I see no reason why a CNA, with training, could not be delegated to initiating IV access.
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Specializes in Nurse Scientist-Research.

Man, I tried to read all the posts, as a responsible AN member, but I just didn't have the patience after the derailing about sexual assault and job description.

Anyhow. . . I did clip pubic hair once on a very nice lady. She had come into the ER in fulminant CHF, near arrest, gotten herself a femoral triple lumen and the tape was all over the place. She and I both understood that the femoral line had been necessary at the time and would be gone as soon as possible, but the tape situation was making it to where she was afraid to move due to "tugging". I decided the needed a fresh dressing and asked her permission to do some extensive clipping. She was very happy about that and situation resolved.

Also, with regular IVs, I've had the Chewbacca patient. I would find the vein I wanted and explain things to the patient. "Do you want me to shave your arm hair where this IV is going. It will likely make the tape stick better, the IV last longer and be much less painful when it's time to remove". Never had one patient say no. Even if I missed and just left a bare patch, they were happy I took their comfort in consideration.

ETA: I did work with big hairy people a long time ago, but with babies the big issue is scalp IVs. We will shave as needed if we are desperate for an IV. We do not ask permission, we never put in an IV "just in case", it's always necessary. We will keep the shaved hair, stick it on a piece of tape and give it to the parents. Some of the more creative nurses will make a cute crafty sign with pretty writing, a footprint and the caption "My first haircut"!

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Some facilities let CNA's do IV's. Some have to get additional training, though.

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

Yep, so some seem to say. None will be poking me however!

Some facilities let CNA's do IV's. Some have to get additional training, though.
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Yep, so some seem to say. None will be poking me however!

Silly. I'd take the aide with years of IV experience over the new grad RN who barely got any IV exposure in school. They are way more likely to miss. Experience trumps (for me).

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Specializes in Surgery.

I add my condolences, my sympathy AND my empathy for your circumstances, and those of every other victim of such a heinous crime. I can speak clearly and thoughtfully to those who have been so treated, as I am one of you, and I agree with every word you said in relation to it, wholeheartedly. Now I'm not saying any of this to elicit pity, sympathy or condolences from anyone else, but only to add my level of deep understanding of your feelings to the cause.

I have been wondering during this whole line of response, because I spent 15 years working in surgery, and am curious regarding the surgeon's possible preference card directions, or any standing orders that may have (or had not) been in force for this patient's procedure?

Rarely are patients shaved/prepped outside of the OR unless it's something the patient may have done on their own prior to coming in for their surgery.

Patients are no longer purposefully admitted for a surgical procedure the afternoon or evening before just for convenience, to control their NPO status, and to do all the labs and prep work in advance, so there is no longer an opportunity for an individual healthcare worker to be totally alone with an A&O patient in their hospital room behind a curtain around the bed, doing any kind of skin prepping or body part shaving. All that is done in the OR to cut down on the amount of time that any potential skin injury could become infected, given the addition of immediate antibacterial skin wash and (possibly) paint, and IV administration of antibiotics during the procedure, if required.

And, except in the case of procedures done under local, spinal or epidural anesthetic, preps are done after the patient is asleep, meaning they are also NOT ALONE while it's being done. So, any pubic shaving on the patient by any particular member of the staff would certainly be witnessed by several people, considering the amount of work it takes to do this to an unconscious patient, with positioning and cleanup prior to the actual skin prep and draping of the surgical area. If this were a totally inappropriate thing to do in her case, in regards to her procedure, the opportunity for several people to call it in to question, including the anesthesiologist, the scrub nurse or CST, the circulating nurse, if he/she were not the one doing the prep, and anyone else in the room prior to the beginning of the case who had knowledge of the procedure about to be done, and the surgeon doing it.

Since we really don't know what procedure was performed, and the physicians orders regarding prepping for same, it's difficult for us to judge the level of appropriateness of the "extra" prep work that was done on the patient. If the patient was disturbed and surprised by that level of preparation, I would certainly have investigated more thoroughly into just who ordered such a procedure be done and why, if I were not already cognizant of it myself, if for no other very important reason than to give the patient some reassurance that they had not been inappropriately and unduly exposed and handled that way without some medical reasoning behind it.

To know that ones personal privacy had been invaded in such a fashion while asleep and unable to consent to, or even be aware of, such handling is extremely unnerving to a person who does not have the medical background that may allow them to understand why it was done that way, and could certainly make one feel as if they had been assaulted.

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