The war on pubic hair must end

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http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2011/04/war-pubic-hair.html

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By Emily Gibson, MD

I must have missed the declaration of war on pubic hair.

It must have happened sometime in the last decade because the amount
of time, energy, money and emotion both genders spend on abolishing
every hair from their genitals is astronomical. The genital hair
removal industry, including medical professionals who advertise their
specialty services to those seeking the “clean and bare” look, is
exponentially growing.

But why pick on the lowly pubic hair? A few sociological theories
suggest it has to do with cultural trends spawned by bikinis and
thongs, certain hairless actors and actresses, a desire to return to
childhood, a misguided attempt at hygiene or being more attractive to
a partner. Surely human beings are not so naïve as to be susceptible
to fashion trends and biases.

It is a sadly misconceived war. Long ago surgeons figured out that
shaving a body part prior to surgery actually increased rather than
decreased surgical site infections. No matter what expensive and
complex weapons are used—razor blades, electric shavers, tweezers,
waxing, depilatories, electrolysis—hair, like crab grass, always
grows back and eventually wins. In the mean time, the skin suffers
the effects of the scorched battlefield.

Pubic hair removal naturally irritates and inflames the hair follicles
left behind, leaving microscopic open wounds. Rather than suffering a
comparison to a bristle brush, frequent hair removal is necessary to
stay smooth, causing regular irritation of the shaved or waxed area.
When that irritation is combined with the warm moist environment of
the genitals, it becomes a happy culture media for some of the
nastiest of bacterial pathogens, namely group A streptococcus,
staphylococcus aureus and its recently mutated cousin methicillin
resistant staph aureus (MRSA). There is an increase in staph boils
and abscesses, necessitating incisions to drain the infection,
resulting in scarring that can be significant. It is not at all
unusual to find pustules and other hair follicle inflammation papules
on shaved genitals.

Additionally, I’ve seen cellulitis (soft tissue bacterial infection
without abscess) of the scrotum, labia and penis from spread of
bacteria from shaving or from sexual contact with strep or staph
bacteria from a partner’s skin.

Some clinicians are finding that freshly shaved pubic areas and
genitals are also more vulnerable to herpes infections due to the
microscopic wounds being exposed to virus carried by mouth or
genitals. It follows that there may be vulnerability to spread of
other STIs as well.

Pubic hair does have a purpose, providing cushion against friction
that can cause skin abrasion and injury, protection from bacteria and
other unwanted pathogens, and is the visible result of long awaited
adolescent hormones, certainly nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed
about.

It is time to declare a truce in the war on pubic hair, and allow it
to stay right where it belongs. We owe it to our patients to
encourage them to let it be.

Emily Gibson is a family physician who blogs at Barnstorming.

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