I feel like everytime I shave my legs I am taking my life into my own hands!

I am fairly new to TIP (it will be a year in May). I am not so new to being clumsy and accident prone. So, everytime i shave my legs I feel like i am putting myself at risk. I need to shave my legs...this is not for my husband but for me. I refuse to give in to TIP and let it change my way of life. I hate for my legs to not be smooth but I am looking for some alternatives. I tried waxing but it created bruising and I tried very and gave myself minor chemical burns (remember I said I am accident prone). I am open to any and all suggestions! Thank You! God Bless!
Mandy

Hi Mandy, no doubt you will receive several replies.
I've had ITP for 13 years and tried several shaving options. As an older woman my legs aren't as smooth as they once were and nicks result in an awful mess! So . . . eventually I tried using my Dad's old electric shaver and while not a perfect result, it certainly makes the maintenance job easier and stress free. Hairy forearms are tidied with a hair trimmer.
Best wishes, mj

MJ
Thank you so much for your input! I will try to find an electric razor to try out! this forum is so nice and it is so reassuring to know i am not alone!
Thanks!

How about something like "Neet"? It's a cream lotion that you put on, let it sit for a couple of minutes then just rinse off.

How are your counts? I really don't think you'd bleed to death from a shaving nick. If you cut yourself, put pressure on it. The bleeding will stop. I never stopped shaving when counts were down.

I tried very and managed to give myself chemical burns ...i think I left it on top long but i am afraid to try it again...

I never thought about it until i cut my ankle and bled through about 4 bandaids. It is a small concern and a huge annoyance...

I am currently at 52 but i keep fluctuating like crazy!

Antsonparade wrote: I tried very and managed to give myself chemical burns ...i think I left it on top long but i am afraid to try it again...

I am unfamiliar with "very" but there are depilatory creams like Nair that are sold over the counter that would be the safest and don't involve any blades that may cause nicks. You only leave the cream on for about 3 minutes (the exact times are on the bottle), and then wipe/wash it off. Easy peasy and no chance of bleeding. The only way you could possibly get a chemical burn would be if you were to leave it on WAAAAY past the time on the bottle. A minute or two more is no big deal, just set a timer on your phone.

Even when I've had my lowest counts, I've had some bleeding after shaving, but nothing that didn't stop after a relatively short time. But this was with counts around 20 or below. In the 50s you should be just fine, but the creams are the way to go if you are worried. Good luck.

Thanks so much! Yes, it was supposed to say VEET but my wonderful autocorrect changed it to very...i missed a spot when I removed it and it ended up leaving some chem burns...my skin is also super sensitive so i am not sure if that played a role. Right now I am just scared of anything that could cause bleeding. And i manage to cut myself everytime I shave. I may give the cream another try and be extra vigilant about taking it all off at the right time.

Mandy - I know the bleeding might seem scary but it's a superficial cut and will stop. The real worry would be nicking an artery or vein which is impossible while shaving and really, even people without ITP could bleed to death from that. That would take a serious injury like a car accident or chain saw incident. The body has other clotting factors and people with ITP tend to have large platelets that work well, even though there aren't that many.

I could never use Nair or Veet either....my legs would burn and I'd get a red rash.

Sandi,
Thank you so much for your reassurance on this...these are simple little things that you don't think of until you go through this scare. I was diagnosed after nearly bleeding to death in April and now I am terrified everytime I cut myself!

What happened in April?
I understand the fear, but the more you learn about ITP the easier it gets. The biggest danger is internal bleeding but that is very, very rare. Most of us have been under 5k and have been just fine. Small cuts can be controlled.

In April I had my period for 14 days. I was under immense stress...i work at a school and one of our students was suffering from DIPG and not expected to live much longer. I attributed my problem to stress and for lack of better explanation lost track of how long it had been. I started passing out and was rushed to the ER. I passed out several times while there. I was found to have a hemoglobin level of 4. I received 5 units of blood, 3 units of platelets and had an emergency D&C. I have been as low as 10 and hospitalized again in May foe IVIG. The worst part was that my first hemotologist was not vigilant and worked on scare tactics. My new dr is much better and supportive and explains things. I am working on getting through my fear but it still lingers.

I see. We've had a few people here over the years who began their ITP experience that way. My beginning was much less traumatic.

A good Hemo makes all the difference in the world. When a person starts out with one who acts with fear, they tend to be much more afraid. Mine was always calm and made jokes so I was more relaxed about it. Once when I was around 8k, I asked him when we were going to start treating (not that I was anxious for that). He said, "We have pregnant women at 2k who are walking around just fine". While I didn't appreciate the minimization, he took the scare out of me. Oddly at the end of our 8 year relationship, he tended to worry more than I did.

We are always here if you have questions.

Thanks so much for your support! It was very traumatic for me and my family! Yes, my current hemp is light hearted, funny and jokes with me, he is also super patient and answers all of my questions calmly and reassures me that this may be a big thing for me but not for him! My first one made everything into a problem...including a cat scratch that i had on my hand...she was concerned it could have caused a lot of blood loss...it has been a difficult path but finding this forum makes me realize I am not alone in this.

Too bad you didn't find us sooner. I've been here daily since the Forum started in 1998. I've seen it all.

Your first Hemo sounds like she's never had an ITP patient before. What a bad start you had!

Yeah honestly I wasn't sure what to do or where to turn. I found the forum and did use it as a reference point. I am so glad to have found It! In t is such a wonderful source of real world info!

The PDSA is a great resource and is involved with the top ITP specialists. The site has the best, most current info.

I've had ITP for over 10 years now and shave my legs with the Venus razer and cream. I'm very careful not to do sports that I know will cause me bruising, I went skating with my grandkids and that was a huge mistake for me. Other than that I do not let ITP run my life or scare me.

For the shower creams, please try a small area first for bare minimum of time to test for allergy issues and to avoid possible “burning/heat” effect of too long kinda like overprocessing from dying hair. I can use Neet on one part and Nair on another part of my body, but for both of them I have to be extra cautious of the time due to how sensitive my skin is and to avoid the burning/heat which for me can easily lead to eczema and heat rash. The creams can be messy and slippery, so be extra careful. I like how the creams lasted a little while before “shaving” again, but they do add up money wise even quicker than simply using good razors - at least for me. I’d love to hear recommendations on other rinse off creams.

Now for razors:
I flat out refuse to use cheap razors - just not worth the knicks and razor burns (i.e. for my lazy/too quick via basically a dry shave). Yes, avoid dry shaves - almost never ends well. The razors I use are the disposable Venus Platinum and the other Venus ones at Costco. The men’s razors are the same thing but sometimes cheaper. It’s a moisturizing and blades reason - along with how the handle fits in my hands.

I tried hot wax once and never again. Painful with the strip pullings and then ended up with heat/razor rash pretty much immediately afterwards.

For knicks, I have learned I personally am better off simply using a damp wash cloth to allow pressure and act as the bandage to avoid bandaid sticking to new scab in the making from the knick. Hence, it is quicker to heal with damp cloth than bandaid and helps me avoid eczema. If you are going to use a bandaid, then please put a&d ointment or aloe vera gel on it to help the knick scab from sticking to the bandaid. When my legs are extra sensitive thanks to my ITP, I avoid shaving them.

I hope this helps some.