I hate the daily grind of shaving. I shave my armpits but I am a very reluctant shaver of anywhere below the belt. So this piece of health information is coming with some glee on my part.

As grossed out as you might feel about not shaving your armpits, not shaving will not make you ill.

Shaving on the other hand can make you sick if you don’t take some precautions.

Think about it; shaving is often done while taking a warm shower. If you use a reusable shaver, you rinse it off and leave it in the shower caddy for your next use.

The heat and moisture in the shower lead to humidity. Increased humidity leads to faster bacteria growth.

You pick up this bacteria-laden shaving stick during your next shower and sustain some micro-cuts from the repetitive shaving motion. The bacteria that already hang out on your skin take advantage of the tiny break in your skin and go right through.

You then develop little crops of boils in the area you shaved; now you need some form of antibiotics to treat the skin infection.

There is an easy solution for this problem thankfully; store your reusable shaver somewhere else, somewhere dry. I use a toothbrush holder.

About the author

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Dr. Bola

Family physician. Works for the "man" by day, wife & mom 24/7.
Loves the work of translating "medicalese" to plain english.

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