Mr. Harry the Excessive Hair Patient

kalycat, BSN, RN · May 21, 2016

On the flip side, I had a patient have abdominal surgery and wake up with me in ICU. She was very startled that someone had shaved her pubes. She asked me why it was done and I told her that I honestly had no idea. Her surgical incision didn't go that low or anything, and ALL of the pubes were gone.
The lost pubes bothered her more than the surgical pain - just the idea that someone would shave her pubes without asking her was intolerable, apparently. She said if she wanted her pubes shaved she would have shaved them herself. Something about the whole situation struck me as really hilarious.

Former circulator here who did my share of abdominal prep, as well as lady partsl prep prior to hysterectomies.

Just regarding the abdominal surgery....oftentimes patients are shaved if there is *any chance* that the incision and surgical site will have to be extended emergently. There are specific AORN guidelines regarding how much skin must be prepped around the actual incision. Depending on what surgery and the surgical approach, even if at first glance it appears that the pubic hair is 6 inches out of the way, it still must be trimmed with electric clippers, the loose hair blotted up with an adhesive mit, and then prepped with surgical scrub or paint. Just for reference, an open heart skin prep is from neck to toes down both sides of the body due to high risk of infection. (We don't usually have to shave the entire body first, but it has happened.) Even for robotic or laparoscopic surgeries, our surgeons prefer to prep as if we would need to "go open".... And it pays to do so in terms of patient safety and post op infections.

It is unfortunate that the patient in question didn't have this covered during education and consenting for the procedure. Shaving prior to skin prep in the OR is a major chore due to all the loose hair. In most cases it is not a task to be undertaken lightly, and skin irritation is a definite risk post op. Also, despite the fact that hair is natural and serves a purpose, it is still indeed considered dirty in the context of a surgical field. Not everyone needs to be shaved, but there are guidelines for that too.

Just thought I would throw that out there.

RiskManager · May 21, 2016

All I ask is that we not leer at the patients.

nurse2be13 · May 21, 2016

You're a CNA being asked by nurses to start IV's? That's more concerning to me than any overgrowth of hair anywhere!

Aides at my facility can start IVs if they have been trained and were signed off on the skill.

mindofmidwifery, ADN · May 22, 2016

I'm super annoyed, because I just finished a PN program and even WE can't start IVs. I think it's within our scope, but we weren't taught and I don't know how to do it.
I was a CNA for many years and the hospital I worked at permitted ED CNAs who were called "Techs" to do all sorts of things. Because I was a CNA I can tell you for sure that sterile technique isn't something they're taught, and I'd be a bit weary, personally.

If it's within your scope, and the facility you work at requires you to do IVs, they will teach you.

Also, sterile technique isn't necessary for placing IVs.

NotAllWhoWandeRN, ASN, RN · May 22, 2016

I'm wary of being too leery.

Edited. Roser13 beat me to it!

NotAllWhoWandeRN, ASN, RN · May 22, 2016

I'm weary of being too wary.

I'm wary of being too weary to be leery.

MomAndSonInMD · May 22, 2016

I find this juvenile. OP, honestly. How old are you? Using correct grammar would go far in your credibility as well. Edited to add: It is disturbing that a nurse assistant would find it appropriate to have such discussions. I can understand if one genuinely wanted to learn if it was proper procedure, but this just sounds like mockery of a patient, which is not okay and is unprofessional.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · May 22, 2016

I finished up my tech job this past week. Never would I have thought about trimming a person's pubic hair. I did cath care often. I worked in an icu. I never once thought about a person's body hair. Not once while I bathed or did cath care.

My my scope of practice allowed me to draw labs. If it was initiated from iv access. I could start one. I could not touch an Art line though. That was RNs only. Most patients on my unit had art lines so it was rare I could ask to draw labs. As a nursing student though, I could clean art lines. Maybe my state is odd.

I would never think to do anything to my patient that was not necessary. Body hair falls under the not necessary area. They have so many issues, and it did not bother me to clean body hair as it is natural.

Why does it bother you OP?

Barbie8808 · May 22, 2016

Speaking of grammar Momandson, I think you should re-edit your post and correct nurse assistant to nursing assistant or nurse's assistant.

Few things:

-In the world of nursing I didn't know it was inappropriate to discuss body hair on patients

-In my original post I stated I have being doing "nurse assistant" work for 10 years so what exact patient am I making a mockery of.

-You call me juvenile, yet other members claim to french braid pubic hair?!?!

-if you dont like the post what prevents you from moving to the next?

Dogen · May 22, 2016

I find this juvenile. OP, honestly. How old are you? Using correct grammar would go far in your credibility as well. Edited to add: It is disturbing that a nurse assistant would find it appropriate to have such discussions. I can understand if one genuinely wanted to learn if it was proper procedure, but this just sounds like mockery of a patient, which is not okay and is unprofessional.

Mocking a particular patient is unprofessional. Noting common trends of annoying, funny, or gross patient behavior is a frequent topic here. If you poke around in the search bar you will get literally thousands of results for things like "funny things patients say," or "least favorite things patients say," or, "what is your most gross, yucky, disgusting nursing horror story." Seriously thousands of them. And why not? We see the sort of stuff that most people can't even comprehend, let alone handle. Who else can we tell stories about pubic hair, or that time you helped a guy out of his car and his rotting feet stayed behind, or when you were helping a CNM do an exam and the patient coughed and her water broke in the CNM's face? You can't keep those stories to yourself, and sometimes you get good advice (don't clip pubic hair without asking) that you wouldn't have gotten if you hadn't asked.

NotAllWhoWandeRN, ASN, RN · May 22, 2016

-You call me juvenile, yet other members claim to french braid pubic hair?!?!

I was trying to add a little levity to the situation. Apparently the mods found it inappropriate, because all the posts making light of personal body hair grooming have been removed. I confess to being somewhat perplexed, but I'll live.

I personally am much more bothered by people who disparage patient's bodies (OP quote "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.") for being furry than by those who crack a joke that harms no one.

NanikRN · May 22, 2016

There was a thread on here in past about hospital reported violations. One was a CRNA that evidently "popped" pimples on sedated patient and was penalized. I think medically unnecessary hair trimming would fall into that same catagory.

* I found old thread but link to report no longer works"