Watch Out --- Aspirin & Shaving

[Sebright]

I usually shave in the evening, doing it in the morning is just too hard with my schedule. Last night I shaved and I was bleeding pretty bad from some minor cuts. I kep using my septic stick and NB aftershave and it would not stop till 1-2 hours later. I could not figure out why it took so long to stop bleeding.

Then, later in the night I realized I took my 325mg of Aspirin with dinner, and this caused my minor razor cuts to bleed out so long. I usually take the standard 81mg aspirin, but once a week I take the bigger 325mg dose. Watch out if you take aspirin.


Sebright

 

[S&P]

Thanks for the warning about the asprin.

If you haven't already, you might try:

-an ice cube to really close your pores.

-sticking your face in the shower (the pressure from the water helps close the nick/cut so it stops bleeding)

- ~60-120 seconds with pressure from a napkin (only problem is that sometimes it takes the scab with it)


I SWEAR I don't cut/nick myself as often as this is making it sound

 

[Duckster]

I take an 81mg aspirin daily with no excessive bleeding problems.

Why take the bigger 325mg dose once a week if I may ask?

 

[BigRich]

Good to know. Thanks for the advice.

 

[1969Fatboy]

Had the same problem and it is tough to stop the cuts, the weepers are easier to subdue. There are many blood thinners that need to be looked at as well. I had a hangover the other day and after taking 2 BC powders my half *** shave resulted in a nasty cut which literally had to let scab over for it to finally stop bleeding. Learned my lesson.

 

[ThePossum]

I had been on an 81mg aspirin for several years and had no problems with nicks and weepers.

Now on coumadin after complications from open heart surgery. I continue to just shave away but very carefully so that I don't get the big nicks or cuts. Did get a couple weepers on Monday but a quick shot of the styptic pencil and the bleeding was stopped.

I find that I have to change my definition of a BBS shave now, do leave a couple places with some very minor stubble just so I do not get a weeper that may not stop bleeding quickly. Despite the chance of long bleeding I continue to shave with the DE and sometimes a GEM SE simply because I can never see myself using an electric that will not give me a good shave and which will only irritate my neck if I go for a close shave.

 

[Zach V.]

I usually shave in the evening, doing it in the morning is just too hard with my schedule. Last night I shaved and I was bleeding pretty bad from some minor cuts. I kep using my septic stick and NB aftershave and it would not stop till 1-2 hours later. I could not figure out why it took so long to stop bleeding.

Then, later in the night I realized I took my 325mg of Aspirin with dinner, and this caused my minor razor cuts to bleed out so long. I usually take the standard 81mg aspirin, but once a week I take the bigger 325mg dose. Watch out if you take aspirin.


Sebright

+1

Aspirin thins the blood. I have encountered excessive bleeding while on aspirin when I used to get cuts or scrapes while doing construction work. The bleeding never seems to stop.

If one must shave while on aspirin, be very careful and consider yourself warned.

 

[GoTeeGuy]

I kep using my septic stick...

Heck... you're lucky you didn't get some kind of nasty infection!! I'd try using a styptic pencil instead next time!

Good post re: aspirin... I never thought about that before!

 

[Sebright]

I take an 81mg aspirin daily with no excessive bleeding problems.

Why take the bigger 325mg dose once a week if I may ask?

My cardiologist (YMMV) said the 81mg just was not enough to take everyday. He said it was a good idea to take one larger dose once a week and the 81mg the rest of the time. I take it as a preventative. I do not have any heart problems except an unusual heart beat every so often. Last year I failed a stress test with mild tachycardia at 156bpm, also my heart's electrical system is a little odd as well. I went for a catherization(sp?) and the Cardo Doc said I was fine thank god.

 

[M. McCord]

I went for a catherization(sp?) and the Cardo Doc said I was fine thank god.

I work in Cardiovascular Cath lab so I'm glad to hear that.

If anyone here has to have a coronary stent placed, be careful, most will be prescribed Plavix for a number of months post procedure. Plavix is like a supercharged aspirin and will cause lots of oozing if you're nicked while shaving. I had a patient switch back to his (oh no!) electric razor until he was done with the Plavix. He said he'd bleed all day long if he cut himself.

 

[PolieCat]

Good thread for me to read. I just started taking the 81mg aspirins based on my doctor's advice given the heart disease in my family.

 

[AZShaver]

Styptic powder actually works better than pencil, hard to find though.

 

[doctorsimon]

Aspirin inhibits platelet function, permanently. The only way to recover some functioning platelets is to grow new ones. Hence a single 75mg aspirin taken before a long-haul flight has been known to cause a two week vacation of nose-bleeds in a friend of mine.

Beware if you are taking aspirin and clopidogrel following angioplasty, do not stop these drugs unless advised by your cardiologist. Stopping them prematurely, even if before an operation on the advice of your surgeon, can cause some stents to re-occlude.

So those of you on aspirin/clopidogrel please shave carefully.

 

[rickw]

I had two stents put in in March 2006. My understanding is that the plavix will be permanent. I also take a normal aspirin on a daily basis. My card wants to keep my blood thin. People should be aware that fish oil, and St Johns Wart among many others are also blood thinners.

 

[Raj]

Aspirin inhibits platelet function, permanently. The only way to recover some functioning platelets is to grow new ones. Hence a single 75mg aspirin taken before a long-haul flight has been known to cause a two week vacation of nose-bleeds in a friend of mine.

Beware if you are taking aspirin and clopidogrel following angioplasty, do not stop these drugs unless advised by your cardiologist. Stopping them prematurely, even if before an operation on the advice of your surgeon, can cause some stents to re-occlude.

So those of you on aspirin/clopidogrel please shave carefully.

Agree with doctorsimon when he says, "do not stop these drugs unless advised by your cardiologist". By the way 75 mg of aspirin taken daily is enough according to the European recommendation. I know that the Americans use much higher dose and I guess those of you (Americans) using higher dose would be prone to bleed more easily or longer. By the way the picture is not that simple, because I am sure that some of us are "more responders" while some of us are "lesser responders/non responder", specially when talking of Clopidogrel (Plavix) in clinical practice. In simple terms it just means that the same dose may not have the same magnitude of effect from these drugs.

 

[rickw]

I think that I heard that 20% do not respond to the blood thinning of aspirin. There is a simple lab test available to tesst for this.

 

[M. McCord]

My understanding is that the plavix will be permanent.

Depends. The type of stent, bare metal or drug eluting is a factor. The practice that I work with routinely prescribes Plavix for a minimum of one month for bare metal stents and at least a year for drug coated stents. The purpose of Plavix post coronary stent placement is keep the blood thin enough to prevent platelet aggregation on the metal surfaces until the stent is endothelialized and the intimal layer of the arterial covers it.

A drug eluting stent is coated with a medicine that prevents cell proliferation that could cause restonesis. The drug is gradually released over a period of months, during which the intimal layer forms over the stent, but at a slower rate. The Plavix is taken continously while this happens. Again, for at least a year. Bare metal stents are just that, bare metal and do not have anything preventing cell proliferation. That allows the intimal endothelialization to occur sooner, so the Plavix can be taken for a shorter time frame.

Sorry to be so long winded. Bottom line, if your physician says take your Plavix, take your Plavix! Just be a little extra careful shaving!

 

[rickw]

Depends. The type of stent, bare metal or drug eluting is a factor. The practice that I work with routinely prescribes Plavix for a minimum of one month for bare metal stents and at least a year for drug coated stents. The purpose of Plavix post coronary stent placement is keep the blood thin enough to prevent platelet aggregation on the metal surfaces until the stent is endothelialized and the intimal layer of the arterial covers it.

A drug eluting stent is coated with a medicine that prevents cell proliferation that could cause restonesis. The drug is gradually released over a period of months, during which the intimal layer forms over the stent, but at a slower rate. The Plavix is taken continously while this happens. Again, for at least a year. Bare metal stents are just that, bare metal and do not have anything preventing cell proliferation. That allows the intimal endothelialization to occur sooner, so the Plavix can be taken for a shorter time frame.

Sorry to be so long winded. Bottom line, if your physician says take your Plavix, take your Plavix! Just be a little extra careful shaving!

My card is Chinese so we use the Chinese system of payment. So long as he keeps me well, I periodically pay him. If he fails to keep me well, then the payments will stop.

I had a bare metal stent placed in 1995 and was on cumiden for a month. The latest stents are of the DES variety. There wasn't a lot of material available when I first researched the subject about five years ago. At that time, I didn't go directly to a manufacturer. Your explanation filled in some gaps in my knowledge.

 

[M. McCord]

I had a bare metal stent placed in 1995 and was on cumiden for a month. The latest stents are of the DES variety. There wasn't a lot of material available when I first researched the subject about five years ago. At that time, I didn't go directly to a manufacturer. Your explanation filled in some gaps in my knowledge.

Bare Metal has been around about 15 years or so. The first DES was the Cordis (Johnson & Johnson) Cypher stent circa 2003. Then Boston Scientific introduced the Taxus Express in 2004. Finally last month Abbott Vascular released the Xience. Each DES was built on an existing BM stent with the only change being the drug and the polymer used to attach it to the metal.

Glad to help.

 

[koso]

My card is Chinese so we use the Chinese system of payment. So long as he keeps me well, I periodically pay him. If he fails to keep me well, then the payments will stop.

"Doctor gave a guy six months to live. Guy couldn't pay his bill. Doc gave him another six months."

Ba dump bump.

Is this thing on?