Pubic hair

[nurseJLoo]

My female patient wants me to shave her pubic hair, she cant do it herself she only has limited movement of one arm . Should I do it? (I would rather not) any advice? Update-this is a LTC Vent patient who is not going home. Believe it or not this isn't the first patient that asked me to do this I had another patient with ALS ask me to trim hers with an electric razor because she said the hair gets caught in her underwear and pulls. I had got "pulled" to her unit and she asked me to do it -had her own electric razor-so me like a fool assuming the nurses were doing it for her went ahead and did it then i found out that only a few people would do it for her. What do I look like? the personal pube trimmer? also she was a real pain in the butt about how it was trimmed, I dont want to relive that nightmare!

[Miss Calculation]

Once worked with this male nurse in ICU - he told us the tale about how a male patient tormented him in another hospital to shave his 'anal' hair. He didn't really want to, but the man kept bugging him, saying it would help with 'bottom cleaning'.

Well, he finally gave in - and when he came back the next nite, the patient refused to have him as a nurse!:roll

If time permitted, I would shave legs or faces - but no pubic hair - and no toenails!

Well, dearie, men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability. But you can't blame them for that, can you?

George Bernard Shaw

[Darth Nightingale]

I would have a family member tatke care of the pubic hair trimming. I don't cut hair unless it is on the face-and sometimes legs. No haircuts, no pubic hair removal......

Thanks all for the suggestion. I think that the general feeling is to have a family member do it.

I'll have to remember this tact when I'm face with similar issues as a nurse.

[HeartsOpenWide, RN]

They make nair for pubic hair, it is different than regular nair....they make different kind for facial hair too.....I was not referring to the regular nair.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

The quoted warning i copied was directly from a bottle of the Nair bikini formula.

Warning reference available at http://www.naircare.com/products/products_bikinicream.aspx .

[jule]

I agree that this is a very personal and unusual request.

But as for NaKat, for me the pt´s dignity is one of the most important things in nursing.

For many young women shaving pubic hair -and even more shaving legs or armipts- is part of their normal personal hygiene.

I think you can not keep pt´s dignity if you always stick strictly to your job description.

A solution could be the offer to arrange a the visit of a professional cosmetician, if the pt will not be discharged.

[leslie :-D]

I think you can not keep pt´s dignity if you always stick strictly to your job description.

i'm not understanding this statement.

i do understand upkeeping underarms, legs, face if it bothers the pt. and so, that would be preserving their dignity by acknowledging any self-consciousness.

but grooming/shaving pubic hair, would be more an issue of vanity. if you want to preserve their dignity, ensure that they're covered as much as possible.

leslie

[sabRN2b05, BSN, RN]

Legs? Nah, I won't do legs, either. Anyway, I hear ya, I recently cut a wrinkly guy's face after he insisted repeatedly on being shaved. He called it off mid-shave.

Not to mention the CRAPPY, CHEAP razors most hospitals stock don't help with this . When I was a nursing asst, I would let family members know how cheap the razors were and ask them to bring in something better (i.e., if there was an involved family member, no financial issues, etc).

Can't say I have ever been asked to shave legs and/or pubic hair. Can't say I would feel comfortable doing either. :uhoh21: To agree with a previous poster, a body part is a body part, but I get nervous just shaving a man's face (which I don't get much practice doing anymore now that I am an RN - our PCA's take care of this). I'd also have to agree with the infection control issues, possible sexual harassment issues....would have to defer that request to a family member if possible.

[sabRN2b05, BSN, RN]

i'm not understanding this statement.

i do understand upkeeping underarms, legs, face if it bothers the pt. and so, that would be preserving their dignity by acknowledging any self-consciousness.

but grooming/shaving pubic hair, would be more an issue of vanity. if you want to preserve their dignity, ensure that they're covered as much as possible.

leslie

:yeahthat:

[firstaiddave907]

that is just werid i think i would feel uncomfortable doing it . i would pull a family member asied and ask them to do it if worse comes to worse.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Not to mention the CRAPPY, CHEAP razors most hospitals stock don't help with this

I hate using those to prep a surgical site with. Couldn't imagine OTHER areas. :stone

[ForensicRN99]

I should add that 24 years ago they would shave pubic hair on women who were in labor, the nurses acted like it was no big deal, it was a part of their job. I don't know when the practice stopped, because three years later I had another son, and thank fully wasn't shaved!

[panamama]

this thread is hilarious. :rotfl: i sure hope i'm never asked to do this when i get there (nursing)!