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 Surgery.
Don't be weary. Be leery:sneaky:

Or even be wary! :o

Specializes in Hospice.

Better yet, don't worry, be happy :lol2:

Specializes in CVICU CCRN.

@SurgTech: our pre-op unit usually does most of the routine and expected shaving (like for a total knee). Our policy is to try to do the bulk of the shaving outside the OR because loose hair gets everywhere....Like, for example, your back table. Lol usually the shaving we do in our OR is either touch up for missed spots or super dense hair, or for prep of an area that isn't routinely shaved but needs to be if we go open... That we do in the OR. Some patients do a peri area shave at home if they are having a gyn or other type procedure. We still end up doing a fair bit of trimmage, no matter our best intentions.

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
@SurgTech: our pre-op unit usually does most of the routine and expected shaving (like for a total knee). Our policy is to try to do the bulk of the shaving outside the OR because loose hair gets everywhere....Like, for example, your back table. Lol usually the shaving we do in our OR is either touch up for missed spots or super dense hair, or for prep of an area that isn't routinely shaved but needs to be if we go open... That we do in the OR. Some patients do a peri area shave at home if they are having a gyn or other type procedure. We still end up doing a fair bit of trimmage, no matter our best intentions.

Same here. Our policy actually states that clipping hair is not to be done in the OR unless done it's a life or limb case and it's truly a quick swipe through the incision site.

If that is all you get from this thread you are sorely missing the point ,which seems to be exactly what the OP is doing

i gave up reading them when we started talking about who could start an IV. I was shocked when the thread kept showing up on my feed and there were 118 comments. You could say I got distracted

Specializes in Reproductive & Public Health.
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).

Seriously. I can guarantee that a CNA who is trained and experienced in IV starts will do a MUCH better job than me, graduate degree and all. I know all about the theory and clinical implications of IV access, fluid balance, parenteral meds etc. Heck, as a CNM I can order IV access and fluids/meds. But I haven't started one myself in at least a year, and when I was on the floor I did maybe one or two a month.

You don't need to know the pathophys of electrolyte/fluid balance to start an IV. Just like a nurse doesn't need to know the details of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in order to keep a patient's BP within parameters.

Properly trained assistant personnel can safely do many of the rote skills needed for patient care. Knowing when and why to implement said intervention is a different story.

Words to live by.....Still waiting for the OP to acknowledge she has read the responses.Want to hear her opinion on cultural,generational hygiene practices....

I'm back ktwlpn, thanks for waiting! About thirty minutes ago before my computer died, I promise you I wrote out the longest reply in reference to your statements about the difference between a nurse and tech in regards to respecting patients cultural and religious preferences. lmaooo But fortunately for you my computer did die so the world will never know how ignorant I think your comments are. I suggest you do a little research to find out how much education Certified nursing assistants receive about topics such as ethics, cultural, and religious preferences before you make a silly assumptions. No one is Holding a patient down with out their consent to give them a Brazilian wax - at least not me. For a incontinent patient I think it is a good idea to trim pubic hair so I can clean them properly instead of the hair holding a strong odor or a poop ball being lost amongst the madness. If I'm starting an iv I prefer not to stick someone aimlessly because thick corse hair on their arms. If the patient does not want me to do it I wont do it. Thank you for your patience in waiting for my response! I hope I have answered all of your questions, if not I know you know where the reply button is.

Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
I'm back ktwlpn, thanks for waiting! About thirty minutes ago before my computer died, I promise you I wrote out the longest reply in reference to your statements about the difference between a nurse and tech in regards to respecting patients cultural and religious preferences. lmaooo But fortunately for you my computer did die so the world will never know how ignorant I think your comments are. I suggest you do a little research to find out how much education Certified nursing assistants receive about topics such as ethics, cultural, and religious preferences before you make a silly assumptions. No one is Holding a patient down with out their consent to give them a Brazilian wax - at least not me. For a incontinent patient I think it is a good idea to trim pubic hair so I can clean them properly instead of the hair holding a strong odor or a poop ball being lost amongst the madness. If I'm starting an iv I prefer not to stick someone aimlessly because thick corse hair on their arms. If the patient does not want me to do it I wont do it. Thank you for your patience in waiting for my response! I hope I have answered all of your questions, if not I know you know where the reply button is.

I worked as an aide for years,The facility I work in now is a recognized trading and certification center in my state.I know the curriculum.I never delved into the argument surrounding your scope of practice.A monkey can be trained to perform pretty complicated procedures.End.

You can spout that you are aware of the generational,cultural norms of hygiene and call me "ignorant" for pointing out that aspect of the issue but in your comments you clearly continue to leave the impression you'll continue to do whatever you think is "a good idea".Your immaturity shines through your posts.

I have worked with plenty of cna's and a few nurses with the same "it's all about me and what I think is right" attitude through the years.They are long gone from my current workplace-let go for making gross errors in judgement

I have performed my share of incontinence care,is there anything worse than a wrinkled,saggy old scrotum that sat in bm for hours due to dementia and violent resistance to care? Nothing here that plenty of soap,water and wash clothes can't fix.Should we shave heads because hair gets tangled and greasy? What happens if you nick the skin down there? You set a sequalae of events in motion that you can not control and you just don't get it.You really don't seem to care.

Specializes in TBI and SCI.

I actually see the OP as caring for the pt. She stated why have the pt. sit in feces muddled in hair?? Cleaning that tugs the hair... Have you ever washed junk out of your hair, or had sticky stuff on your arm/leg hair( youth years or men) and it hurt from just rubbing it off? She isn't saying she is going to start trimming ALL her patients to the bare skin, just sometimes it gets in the way or cae, personal hygiene and appeearance. Especiialy in a comatose state, patients aren't looking how they used to. As nurses and CNA's, we don't know exactly what they liked, we just make them look presentable, what we think looks nice..

Example- I have a young patient- brain injury, he is alert, but cannot communicate. (he's cute, he pulls his gown down as I'm doing his GT meds so he doesn't feel exposed LOL) anyways- his mom mentioned to me the other day that after his accident she noticed that he used to shave everything down there... Well we don't shave him now, but being that he is alert and will stare at himself in the mirror, I'm sure he can see himself in some way.... So would it be OK if I started to shave him, because that is what he used to like?? Or because he can't verbally say OK and his mom might not like the idea, I shouldn't??? If he was vocal, and I asked him, he might say yes, but he can't, so it doesn't mean I shouldn't do it.... ( I'm not saying I will, it hasn't become a problem for him just yet)

OK this is long post, and we all have been going on and on about this LOL... Basically everyone has their own opinion, and they are all valid. We aren't always going to agree with each other, but cutting one patients hair (with a purpose) isn't going to get someone fired or their license taken away....

Tell that to the two CNA's I know who were fired for that.And I know another who cut a woman's filthy ,matted hair in the hospital and was fired and still another who shaved an Amish man's beard who also lost her job.....

Yeah... Opinions that are verifiably wrong are not just as valid. Laws, policy & procedure, scope of practice... All kinds of things affect whether we can take action that affects the patient based on our opinions. Be especially wary of taking action based on what you assume looks better.

Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

I work prn in a MICU - land of c.diff, tube-feed and liver-failure related diarrhea, and never-ending secretions around ETTs and trachs.

For brevity, I will side-step all the ethical reasons not to alter a patient's appearance and focus on the nursing practices and skills involved here. Even dried secretions or fecal matter can be dealt with by use of sufficient water. Saturate the area, then change the linen. Ridiculous "wipe" products encouraged by some facilities do not clean. If you are tugging on hair to clean - you're not using enough water to soak the area.

And while it is sometimes a good idea to consider hair clipping in the context of tape adherence and eventual removal -- if you can't feel a vein because of a hairy arm, you're not nearly as skilled as you may think you are.

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