Infection - keep your razor clean

It's been awhile since I posted on here, but I wanted to pass on a warning that I hope helps others.

The other day I cut myself shaving with a Feather / Slant combo because my daughter was trying to talk to me while I was shaving. It was a fairly small cut - I put a styptic pencil on it, went to bed, and forgot about it. This cut was slightly behind my ear on my neck.

Two days later I went to scratch my neck and it was swollen. The cut got infected and apparently it was a Staph. infection. So, now I'm on antibiotics and wishing I had soaked my razor in Alcohol every time, because I'm pretty sure I probably got it from the razor...

Has anybody else had an infection from a shaving related injury?

macabrem said:

Has anybody else had an infection from a shaving related injury?

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never had this happen to me but I always sterilize my razors before use

I wouldn't necesarrily say it was the razor or the blade. It could have been something else after the cut.

Carlin said:

I wouldn't necesarrily say it was the razor or the blade. It could have been something else after the cut.

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Yeah, that's true. I definitely wouldn't want to spread the infection though, so I'm definitely cleaning my razor after every use - plus I've been dipping it a few times in alcohol while shaving until this clears up.

macabrem said:

It's been awhile since I posted on here, but I wanted to pass on a warning that I hope helps others.

The other day I cut myself shaving with a Feather / Slant combo because my daughter was trying to talk to me while I was shaving. It was a fairly small cut - I put a styptic pencil on it, went to bed, and forgot about it. This cut was slightly behind my ear on my neck.

Two days later I went to scratch my neck and it was swollen. The cut got infected and apparently it was a Staph. infection. So, now I'm on antibiotics and wishing I had soaked my razor in Alcohol every time, because I'm pretty sure I probably got it from the razor...

Has anybody else had an infection from a shaving related injury?

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Did you put a bandaid on it? If not, I would bet you got the infection from your pillow or something in your bedroom.

Staph is a normally occurring bacteria on our skin. As long as it doesn't get under the skin it does no harm. Your cut was the point of entry. This is why it is important to only shave a freshly washed face and the use of alcohol based after shave as they help sanitize the skin post shave. Washing the face reduces the bacterial load thus reducing the chance of infection due to micro-cuts from shaving. I also soak my razor pre-shave in rubbing alcohol and then a quick dip post shave to get the water off the blade.

Regardless of the cause, a staph infection is nothing to be taken lightly. Glad you caught it early.

A fellow member recommended to me to wash my face with antibacterial soap to help clear up stubborn razor bumps. It helped a lot and kills bacteria as well.

+1 on the alcohol based splash

gone down south said:

Did you put a bandaid on it? If not, I would bet you got the infection from your pillow or something in your bedroom.

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raditzer said:

Staph is a normally occurring bacteria on our skin. As long as it doesn't get under the skin it does no harm. Your cut was the point of entry. This is why it is important to only shave a freshly washed face and the use of alcohol based after shave as they help sanitize the skin post shave. Washing the face reduces the bacterial load thus reducing the chance of infection due to micro-cuts from shaving. I also soak my razor pre-shave in rubbing alcohol and then a quick dip post shave to get the water off the blade.

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+1
You cut yourself with the razor, and got an infection from somewhere. The chances of it being a washed razor is pretty nil.
Lots of other more likely sources as mentioned above.
Sorry to hear of your misfortune, hope you have a very speedy recovery my friend.
For any noobs reading this thread, don't become paranoid about your razor. Men have been shaving with these devices for 100 years +, and it is a safe, effective and great way to remove facial hair.

No, I didn't put a bandaid on it - it quit bleeding and seemed to "seal" up pretty good after the styptic pencil.

I also want to encourage newbies to not be afraid because of my misfortune. I would say this is a rarity - but also use common sense about cleanliness and the general approach of touching a blade to your skin.

I was bitten by a brown recluse spider on my left hand and got a staph infection in the wound, which swelled my hand to almost twice normal size -- I'm glad you caught yours early, and I wish you a full and speedy recovery.

I had been thinking about doing this anyway, but your experience has made it a definite decision: I'm heading over to Sally Beauty Supply and picking up a jug of Barbicide and a Barbicide jar. Keeping my razors in that will not only look old-school and nice (IMO), but Barbicide works as a germicide, viricide, pseudomonacide, fungicide, and, if applied internally, can even be used for a homicide.

Woodrobin said:

I was bitten by a brown recluse spider on my left hand and got a staph infection in the wound, which swelled my hand to almost twice normal size -- I'm glad you caught yours early, and I wish you a full and speedy recovery.

I had been thinking about doing this anyway, but your experience has made it a definite decision: I'm heading over to Sally Beauty Supply and picking up a jug of Barbicide and a Barbicide jar. Keeping my razors in that will not only look old-school and nice (IMO), but Barbicide works as a germicide, viricide, pseudomonacide, fungicide, and, if applied internally, can even be used for a homicide.

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Multi-tasking is what it's all about these days.

Woodrobin said:

Keeping my razors in that will not only look old-school and nice (IMO), but Barbicide works as a germicide, viricide, pseudomonacide, fungicide, and, if applied internally, can even be used for a homicide.

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Does the Barbicide affect the blade at all? Would you need to take the blade out before putting the razor in the Barbicide?

I picked up a Barbicide jar last week at Sally's. Mostly an impulse buy becuase I think bathroom's just look cool with the jar. Anyway back to the point... They had a coupon for a free 16oz bottle of Barbicide with the purchase of the large jar. I then also ordered the medium size jar and manicurist table jar to complete the whole set. I mean.. I can't have one bathroom with a jar and one with out...

I think there was a thread here about barbicide floating around if you decide to go that route.

raditzer said:

Staph is a normally occurring bacteria on our skin. As long as it doesn't get under the skin it does no harm. Your cut was the point of entry. .

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THIS. A thousand times this.

Intact skin is an important barrier, and one of the most overlooked parts of what we call your "innate immunity."

A certain small percentage of cuts, whether razor inflicted or otherwise, gets infected. Period. There's no way around it. Every cut introduces bacteria into the skin, and in most cases your body kills the bacteria off and heals up just fine.

Going all germaphobic about razor cleanliness isn't the answer. Avoiding cuts is the most important part. When you do get cut, wash it well right away. For a significant cut you should consider applying polysporin and keeping the cut covered with a band-aid until it heals. (Note that I'm not talking about shaving in this section, unless you got a pretty impressive cut.)

macabrem said:

No, I didn't put a bandaid on it - it quit bleeding and seemed to "seal" up pretty good after the styptic pencil.

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im not sure on styptic as ive never used it or looked into it really, but is it possble the styptic could spread the infection? afterall you are touching it to youre cuts and face and unless im missing something its not really washed or soaked, or is it just inhospitable to that sort of thing?

I am going to Sally Beauty Supply and picking up the cool Barbiside container for the den. The wife will have to just deal with it,lol.

aquilla said:

im not sure on styptic as ive never used it or looked into it really, but is it possble the styptic could spread the infection? afterall you are touching it to youre cuts and face and unless im missing something its not really washed or soaked, or is it just inhospitable to that sort of thing?

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I doubt it. I feel like I die a little inside everytime I have to use a styptic pencil, I doubt germs, viruses, etc, could survive such extreme pain.

mretzloff said:

Does the Barbicide affect the blade at all? Would you need to take the blade out before putting the razor in the Barbicide?

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It's also a rust inhibitor, so it would have an effect on the blade, but the effect would be a positive one.

Like others have said the bacteria were probably on you not on the razor. I normally clean cuts using 70% ethanol and never have any issues. The styptic might not be a good idea on an unclean cut.

Hope it heals up fast.

Daughters in the bathroom are a safety hazard, my 4 year old caused my only real cut from my straights