www.incontinentsupport.org

Hi all,

The following message is TMI, but I need some help.

I am bowel incontinent and, after a couple of recent extremely messy accidents, I finally gave up and decided that I needed to shave my private area. I was having considerable difficulty in cleanup due to feces embedded in my pubic hair. I had put this off even though it seemed the logical thing to do.

Fortunately, those accidents were at home rather than away. This is a nuisance at home but not a big problem as I can use a hand shower for a fast clean-up. However, it made the point of how difficult a good cleanup can be after a bowel accident when away and on-the-go. I particularly was concerned about being away and having only a limited number of wipes in my change kit. I was worried about the problem of odor lingering in my pubic hair even after the cleanup and diaper change.

I am using a beard trimmer and getting acceptable results. However, I am having difficulty seeing what I am doing, particularly re the hair on the scrotum and around the anus. I am using a hand mirror, but really need a third hand as the other hand has the razor and I seem to need to hold my privates while shaving. I know from the old messages that some of you shave and have experience in this area. Any suggestions?

--JD

Hi JD,

Although I am not bowel incont I can't help but put my 2 cents in. As for the pubic area, I would recommend not to shave it al the way off. In my experience shaving bare can be problematic with ingrown hairs and some over the top itching. I have gotten to where sissors will be as far as I will go. As for the hair on your backside, I don't have much to offer there. If cleaning is proving to be a"pain in the ass"(come on now, that there is funny) maybe you need to add some stuff to you diet to change the consistency some.

Hope this helps.

Rope_Wrench,

The (attempt) at humor is appreciated.

Due to a medical defecation disorder and constipation caused by pain meds, my doc has me taking Miralax to soften things up.

Seriously, thanks for the advice.

--JD