Thread: My Doctor Advised Me To Stop Shaving With a Straight Razor!

Last week I had a stent put into one of my arteries that was blocked. The procedure went great and I feel amazing afterwards. But at one point my cardiologist and I were discussing hobbies and wet shaving came up. Because I am going to be on two different blood-thinners for the next year or so, he thought that shaving with a straight might be too dangerous, as a serious nick would bleed and bleed. He went so far as to ask me to go out and buy an electric razor.

I understand his point and I think my doctor is great, but I didn't even tell him I'd think about it. In fact, my quote was "Ain't gonna happen. I'll be cautious."

I hear the lumberjack look is on its way back into fashion Or you could get an early start for Movember '17...and'18.

All jokes asides, blood thinners are no joke, depending on what you're on so if you insist on straight shaves, slow and steady wins the race.

And you may want to stock up on some band aides just in case.

Be careful and IF you do get a nick...ice with direct pressure for minimal 10 mins without peaking (I'd go 15-20 mins of direct pressure).

disclamer: I'm not a MD, but the Navy has given me the privilege to practice medicine with just a GED and 13 months specialized training
(got prescription pads and the whole shebang...pisses some of the MDs off, but then again they would never agree to deploy to some of the places I've gone with only the medical supplies I can hump in).
Jer

As a medical professional, I say listen to your doctor. Give your stent time to settle in. It's not forever. I wouldn't stoop to an electric, but a DE for a few weeks might be a good idea. The best to you my friend.

Hank Jr., George Jones, Willie, and Johnny Cash all sang, 'There are more old drunks than there are old doctors...'

It all depends on how proficient you are shaving with a straight razor.

In my case (using a straight razor almost daily), I haven't suffered anything worse than a small nick in a long time, and even the more profusely bleeding cuts in the distant past did not happen while I was shaving, but after a shave when I was drying the scales and oiling the blade. Since I have long figured out how to avoid this sort of mishap, I consider the risks very low.

We also may want to allow for the fact that many people, not familiar with a straight razor, consider a straight razor a scary, dangerous tool and sometimes even refer to it as "cut-throat razor", a ridiculous term that is thankfully not in use around here.

So in the end, I would base my decision on the number of times I cut myself in the last 6-12 months.

If you want to play it safe - and as mentioned before - a safety razor might be a good compromise. It is not quite the same pleasure, but is clearly preferable to a cartridge razor.
Safety razors with the Mühle open comb head (R41 and similar) give shaves that are comparable to a straight razor. I still have one for those trips where carrying a straight is not practical.

Hope you won't have to take the medication for too long and the stent can be removed.



B

Maybe take the passes down to one to minimize risk. By your join date you've been SR shaving for nearly two years. You're probably good enough now to get by with just one pass for awhile. As said, blood thiners are no joke. I once was on them for six months after my coronary artery stent. (High blood pressure, stress test, angiogram, angioplasty, stent). Every time I slightly bumped something I'd bruise terribly. All is good now with BP meds, but as a truck driver, I can only get a one year medical card because of it.

BTW, that stent ain't coming out till the autopsy.

Originally Posted by beluga

It all depends on how proficient you are shaving with a straight razor.

And that's where I'm pretty confident. My technique and my liberal use of shave oil have worked out to where my nicks are minor and so infrequent, I don't know if I have seriously nicked myself this year. Knock on wood!

Just to be on the safe side, pick up some Wound Seal powder.
It stops bleeding in cuts in about 5 seconds, deep punctures in about 30 seconds.
I think it is sold over the counter now at most drug stores..

Or have your doctor recommend a wound sealer

Just keep a buncha duct tape and super glue on hand!