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First, I'm sorry if this is vulgar, but it seems that my mom's unit shaves the residents' pubic hair. I'm not bothered by this, I actually think it's cleaner, but no one ever mentioned that it happens and I'm wondering if this is a common practice at other nursing homes.


In case it matters, my mom is in a long term dementia unit where most residents wear diapers. Thanks.

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Hmmm. I have never hear of that. If anyone had attempted to shave my moms lady garden - they likely would have lost an arm.

That said - I have trimmed my sons...umm - area- in the past. It was when he either was experiencing a bout of diarrhea or when he was in school still and staff were not good at getting him to the bathroom on time. Cleaning dried on, crusty poop is a miserable experience for everyone involved - and can be painful for the person if there's a lot of tugging on the hair.

So while I've never heard of a place dealing with older folks doing it - it does make some sense to me.
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I've never heard of this practice. I would definitely ask the staff if this is normal and to see the written policy explaining why it's done.
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I have never heard of this and would be outraged if done without permission- sharing razors and all could lead to infection plus elderly women tend to not have much hair down there anyway
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And, any grow back typically itches like mad with many ingrown hairs.

Not that I'd know personally. But this is what a friend told me.
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I just have to share this - it's a story I've shared before about my mom, but MsMadge just put me in mind of it.

Mom and I were watching TV one night here at home, and there was a commercial on for a new tv show, where a 40-something woman masquerades as a 20-something woman in order to get a particular job. She makes friends with her young co-workers, never letting on how old she is. In one of the commercials, the 40-something is with two of the 20-something co-workers at the gym in the locker room, and they're all getting undressed to shower or change. The two younger women drop their undies, and the older one does the same - to gasps of horror from the younger ones.
20-Something #1: "OMG! Don't you WAX?!?!"
20-Something #2: "OMG - it looks like my MOTHER'S....."

Mom looks at me and says, "I think mine's gone BALD!"

I had never, ever heard Mom make reference to body parts like that....I just about fell off my chair laughing.

Anyway, not trying to stray from the topic, just trying to bring a smile to your face. I hope you get to the bottom of the shaving. Do come back and let us know what you find out.
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I understand why they do it. I would think a close trim would be easier and preferred to a shave, to prevent any skin irritation. I've heard others say their elders don't have hair in that area but my 103 yo grandmother still did have her hair there. To help with keeping clean and preventing UTIs, I trimmed her hair. I did it instinctively, not knowing it was a practice, because I could see how sitting in urine or feces would be more easily cleaned up if the area doesn't have hair. I've never heard of the practice in a care facility, but I think it's a worthwhile practice.
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Never heard of this. Like said, older women have lost hair. But the catheter thing sounds good but I would ask.
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Never heard of it happening, and i work in a dementia unit.
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Well, I could see how this might be practical, but it does seem like an unusual thing to do. The ALF should have your local ombudsperson's phone number posted somewhere in the facility. Try calling and talking to him or her about it, if you can. Good luck!
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I'd be concerned about sanitation... if they use disposable razors, there could be cuts... if they use electric razors there is no way to sanitize the razor.
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I thought my mothers pubic hair had been shaved off but it turned out that it had stopped growing . I had just previously never seen her down there before... actually all her body hair stopped growing- it turns out this was natural for elderly.
Obviously if this isnt your case please disregard this answer.
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Wow and nope are my responses. I can't even imagine someone doing that to anyone in a facility. The poor nurses aid has to go home and get plastered every time that has to be done.
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I have never heard of this being done.
I would strongly question why it is done.
It makes no sense to me. All procedures can be done properly without shaving. (other than some surgical procedures but this would not be done in a facility)
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If you have not seen your mother's nether regions for some time, it may be that her pubic hair stopped growing. Check to see if they are actually shaving. My family has full heads of hair, but with age every place else goes to bald or close to it.
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I'd be mad if they didn't ask for my permission. Making me think that if that's sexual abuse going on if your mother isn't coherent enough to realize what was going on. I'd be mad if they didn't ask for my permission. Making me think that if that's sexual abuse going on if your mother isn't coherent enough to realize what was going on.  If that's not the case, then your mother might lost her pubic hair like my mom did. 
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The Memory Care asked my permission to trim my LO's pubic hair. It was done for hygiene reasons. She's totally incontinent.
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That's one reason my ex-husband went to nursing home--he refused to let our R. N. daughter shave his pubes, and he was in diapers with fecal and urinary incontinence, necessitating a big clean-up job at her 2x daily visits. I myself have almost no pubic or other body hair left at age 79, and hair on head is getting thinner too.
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My my. I wish I had a dollar for every "down there" part I have cleaned. During the course of 30+ years at the bedside it never once entered my mind to shave pubic hair .
The key is preventative maintenance. Check often and wash with soap and water and rinse thoroughly to prevent sore private parts.
The only times I have ever shaved private parts was back in the 1960's when it was hospital policy to shave the pubic hair of women in labor. I do not think that is common practice anymore.
And if some health care workers think that they cannot get a patient clean without shaving pubic hair, it shoud be clipped. Not shaved.
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Grandma had hers shaved in a NH--unlike most of the posters here, evidently, she had plenty of hair and it was pretty long and unhygienic for them to clean her. I didn't witness this myself, my mother told me she had asked for them to do this, as she was not continent the last few weeks of life and cleaning her was a trial.
I'm SURE they used a disposable razor and were very careful. I had 5 C-sections and was shaved with the first 3--after that they'd determined that having hair wasn't the awful infection possibility previously thought.
The itching as is it grew back was almost as painful as the C-section incision!!!!
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My wife is in Memory Care and is incontinent and she was uncomfortable and itching- the hospice nurse suggested we trim her pubic hairs as some were growing intoner vagina. Word is Trim so with the help of my daughter we have done this and that staff have helped occasionally. It helped her. Here is a web site about Pubic hair: https://www.littlethings.com/pubic-hair-facts/
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Thanks for the laugh, SusanA43. And for the memory, Edna317. I worked on Maternity ward summers in the 1960's.

My 95-yr-old aunt has 'gone bald' also, but I am only 1/2 bald, and incontinent. Now to decide. hee,hee.
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Lol, Midkid! A year ago I had a radical hysterectomy- performed vaginally. When I went to the bathroom sans catheter for the first time I was very surprised to find it wasn't  just my cervix and uterus that was missing! No one had mentioned to me that I was going to be shaved as well. Good thing too, I would have been embarrassed beyond belief! They told me when I asked why I hadn't be forewarned- that woman often attempted to do it themselves prior to going into the hospital for surgery - which was something they didn't want due to risks of cuts and then infectious risk during surgery. 

But yeah - the grow back was miserable. I felt like one of my little dogs - with the nearly uncontrollable desire to scoot myself along the living room rug!
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I'm with rainmom. Even if there are some legitimate hygienic issues to discuss here, NOBODY should be shaving that area without fully informed consent and permission. I would be beyond outraged particularly if I had the POA/was guardian, anything.
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My mom lived in dementia facility which gave her a seated shower every other day, I think. Regardless, I just can't envision poop spreading very often to the hairy front area - even with diapers. I am currently an expert on this as I am now changing diapers of my little grandchild. Poop tends to stay in the back - most of the time. Rarely up front where there would be hair (in the future). And urine isn't that hard to clean. Simply wash. These places are so short-staffed that I can't see this as an efficient use of their time (if it is indeed what has happened).
Just my immediate thoughts.
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They should have notified you first . Maybe she sat in her urine or waste and they didn't know it so they had to cut her hair to clean her. Sometimes the seniors have an itch or rash so they have to examine down there and put medicine on her . All you have to do is ask without an attitude and they ' ll tell you . Inform them that you are to be notified at all times when there is something out of the ordinary has to be done to your mom. And always examine your mom when you visit. NEVER take things for granted . God bless her heart.
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I've got to say I was glad to give up diaper duty and have not had any opportunity to check mom out down below the belt since she entered the NH. I can't imagine wrestling her into bed to do a strip inspection either, some things we have to trust are being taken care of appropriately unless we have some reason to think otherwise.
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Oh my goodness, Colene! I have a sevearly disabled adult son. Rainman is about 6'1" and 180lbs. Let me tell you - and my estimate is that over the course of his life I've changed his diaper/Depends over 15,000 times - there is no comparison to the cute little poops a baby makes and the full-blown diarrhea of an adult man. Not to be overly graphic- but not only has it been in the hair up front - there have been times when it's reached from his belly button to his knees. Trust me - after cleaning up a few of those, you'll do anything to make the task a little bit easier.
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IF there is a legitimate policy of the facility (I personally don't see why this would be necessary with regular bathing) at a minimum I would request to be present. Trust no one, sorry but better off safe.
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Thanks, Rainmom. First of all, I am filled with compassion for your situation. I am old enough now that I have learned to listen to new information before forming opinions; in my mind I start almost every sentence with "I could be wrong, but ....." and end it with "but I am willing to learn." My mom's main problem was constipation so this other reality was just not in my world, and in her case, shaving would have not been a good solution, especially given her keen sense of modesty. Good luck to you & your son. He is lucky to have you.
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I would have been appalled if someone wielded a razor and used it on my mother's genitalia! Who gives this particular nursing home such authority? Good grief!
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