Getting ready for colonoscopy day and wondering if you should shave down there? It’s understandable to feel embarrassed about pubic hair during a procedure that involves your nether regions. And you may wonder whether body hair makes colonoscopies unclean. However, it’s important to focus your colonoscopy prep on cleaning out your colon.
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In the days before and the morning of your procedure, there’s already enough to think about, including the clear liquid diet (avoiding solid foods). You also need to ensure you get all the prep solution down. Worrying about body hair can add unnecessary stress, and shaving can make things worse.
Learn more about the risks of shaving before a colonoscopy and curbing embarrassment or self-consciousness about your body during the procedure.
Why People With IBD Get Colonoscopies
A colonoscopy is a routine medical procedure for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Colonoscopy and endoscopy are important for the initial diagnosis, assessing disease severity and looking for signs of healing from treatment during follow-up. Furthermore, regular colonoscopies help with early detection of colorectal cancer, which makes subsequent treatment easier. If your doctor sees something abnormal during the colonoscopy, they might take a tissue sample for a biopsy.
How often you get a colonoscopy depends on how long you’ve had symptoms and your disease progression. For example, according to Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, people who have had IBD symptoms for eight years or more should typically get a colonoscopy every year or every two years.
Colonoscopy Prep Is About Cleaning Your Insides, Not the Outside
Colonoscopy prep (also called bowel prep) is a commonly dreaded aspect of living with IBD. “I am getting a colonoscopy done tomorrow. And the dreaded part begins now, aka the prep drink!! Just the idea makes me wanna vomit. God help me,” one MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam member lamented.
“The prep for a colonoscopy is probably the worst part of the test,” another wrote.
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Colonoscopy prep generally involves some sort of laxative, oftentimes a large amount of liquid solution (such as Golytely), or an alternative prep solution (such as Miralax mixed with Gatorade) as recommended by your doctor.
Clearing Out Your Colon Is Important for an Accurate Reading
Clearing out the intestines by encouraging your body to have multiple bowel movements is important for making sure the doctor can clearly see the inside of your colon. As unpleasant as it can be to drink the prep solution and spend your time going to the bathroom all day, it’s critical to make sure the doctor can accurately identify any polyps, inflammation, or other concerns.
The focus of colonoscopy prep is making sure your insides are cleaned out. Shaving body hair, such as pubic hair, out of embarrassment or wanting to feel clean, need not be a concern as you prepare for a colonoscopy and may cause more harm than good.
It’s More Harmful Than Helpful To Shave Before a Colonoscopy
Because a colonoscopy involves a close-up look at the anal region while you’re under some sort of sedation, it makes sense to wonder whether pubic hair might get in the way. While it may seem like pubic hair could be a nuisance during the procedure, it’s actually harmless. In fact, pubic hair should be left alone to avoid infection and skin irritation.
Shaving Risks Infection and Irritation
It’s best not to shave pubic hair before your colonoscopy, as shaving increases the risk of getting an infection in the shaved area.
For example, shaving can cause the hair follicles (what the hair grows out of) to become damaged, which may then become infected with bacteria, usually staphylococci (staph). This type of bacteria is always on the skin, but if it gets in the skin through an open wound, such as skin damaged from shaving, it can cause issues like an infection. This is called folliculitis — inflammation of the hair follicles.
Symptoms of folliculitis in the shaved area may include:
- Itchiness
- Pain and burning
- Tenderness
- Bumps or pimples clustered together
- Blisters full of puss that can ooze and crust over
Razor bumps caused by ingrown hairs are also common after shaving in the groin area (also called the bikini area). Although these bumps aren’t an infection, they can still be painful. Given that colonoscopy prep can already cause irritation in the anal region from wiping a lot, it’s a good idea to avoid adding any skin irritation in the area from shaving, especially because it’s unnecessary in the first place.
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All in all, rest assured that you don’t need to worry about the hair down there, even if you think there’s a lot of it. If the colonoscopy care team needs to remove or trim hair, they will use clippers or scissors and will only do as much as necessary for the procedure. You don’t have to stress over that.
It’s Normal To Feel Embarrassed, But Remember Your Doctor Won’t Be
It’s understandable to feel embarrassed or self-conscious about a colonoscopy, knowing the doctor will see your private body parts. Embarrassment is a common experience of living with IBD, and recognizing you’re not alone may help. “I will probably never get over the embarrassing things that happen, but I also try not to let them rule my life either,” one member shared.
Keep in mind that doctors and medical professionals are used to seeing all parts of the human body, including the genital and anal regions, as part of their. It might help to think of them seeing your nether regions as nothing different than seeing any other body part, such as a hand or foot.
And pubic hair is just another part of the natural human body. It need not be something to fuss over, especially because shaving only increases the risk of infection during the procedure. Shaving can also cause irritation and bumps in the area, which is not only uncomfortable but can also make you feel self-conscious about that too.
Focus on Taking Care of Yourself
Trust that your doctor or gastroenterology team won’t care what your groin area looks like. They are there to get the job done and will take care of the hair if necessary. Try to stay focused on taking care of yourself through the prep to help it go as smoothly as possible and prepare to help yourself recover from the procedure, such as with easy-to-digest meals and a healthy dose of self-care.
When in doubt, talk to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about colonoscopy prep and recovery to help you feel more confident going into it, both physically and mentally.
Talk With Others Who Understand
MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam is the social network for people with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease and their loved ones. On MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam, more than 181,000 members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Have you considered shaving before a colonoscopy? What helps you feel less embarrassed about the procedure? Share your experience in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.
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