FLVARN

Like complete unknown, I have never seen any problems with shaving, never a liability issue for any facility I;ve worked at. Nurse educator says to prep site as appropriate for IV insertion. She was clueless. We have clippers to use, safety razors are cheaper though. I still, l don't get the infection/micro-abrasion issue. The site gets cleaned then the skin is penetrated with a needle. What is a greater potential, the needle insertion or the micro-abrads? The needle of course. That is a definate, the m/a are unknown. Discharge instructions to pts. I say watch site for s/s of infection such as redness. swelling or disxharge and put neosporin or bactracin on and cover with band aid. If worse, contact MD. Standard stuff. I know that some people on here are afraid to touch a pt. And some go way too far in guarding against the remote: "pt has the potential for a meteor to strike as evidenced by them looking at the stars"

Travel nursing if you can. Look forward, not back. Learn to be on time. You are a good nurse. Get back on the horse.

So does my wife, PICU, Infant toddler, 15 yrs. She does not see an issue with using a safety razor and feels that the visualization and security of the IV site is more important than worrying about potential infections. As far as lenght of hair, average hairy guys, we are not talking gorilla hair. If you dont shave the area the op-site attaches to the hair and you need MORE tape to secure it. When you rip it off you cause more trauma to the skin than if you had shaved it. Unless I see a good peer reviewed article or a good reason to cease I am going to continue shaving with clippers and ditch the safety razor, though they are cheaper than the dlipper heads.

Okay, I am open to using clippers instead of a razor though I do not see how using a safety razor to clear a small place on an arm opens the patient, esp. an outpatient in good health, to staph infections. Someone said it was an infection control issue. HOW? I am cleaning the site after I clear the hair away. I shave my face every day with a razor just like this and my wife shaves her legs and I am not worried about staph infections! That just does not make sense. Micro-abrasions will not bloom into raging infections in a normal patient. Whould I do this in a chemo unit with compromised immune systems. Absolutely not. Plus, as previously stated, it was deemed okay to use a safety razor on the chest hair but not the arm. Still looking for peer reviewed articles but there is nothing out there about this. Also, ANA does not have a position either. So it seems to be more a matter of what you feel comfortable with and the situation. Soounds like some do not see a problem with it and some do.

Thank you for your comments. I did a quick ebsco search for journal articles but everything I came up with was dealing with surgical clipping such as prior to episeotomy, vasectomy, etc. and even that is now old school for infection purposes. There was nothing about shaving over an intended IV site. As far as using a straight razor, OMG are you thinking I am using a straight razor!! No, I am using a safety razor, like millions use eace day on their face. The same nurse who said I was wrong to do this proceded to shave the guy's chest hair for the ECG tele pads! So it is apparently okay to shave for that but not for better vein visualization and op-site adherance. One nurse I asked said to not use op-sites but use ko-ban to wrap the site. Duh! then you cannot see the insertiion site. Seems to be a lot of variation on this issue.

We are having a debate at work (VA outpatient center) When I start IVs I always go for the forearm first as my patients get moderate sedation and they frequently clutch the side rail and could dislodge an IV placed in the top of the hand. Often, our male patients are very hairy so I take a safety razor and shave a small patch over the vein. This provided a good place for the op-site to stick and is less painful when it is removed. I have done this for 15 years as an ER and ICU nurse and no-one ever had a problem with it. Today, another nurse stated this was not correct and that a patient should never be shaved for IV start no matter how hairy they are. She stated info about clipping surgical sites, which I feel is different from an IV start. Mosby's, our clinical guide at the VA, does not say you can or that you cannot. I believe that it is all a matter of what you were taught at nursing school. What is the general consensus out there?