Last week I spent 5 days in a hospital. We were in Virginia visiting my daughter and family. I needed a haircut, so I went to a barber that I had been to before. The difference this time was a woman that cut my hair and did quite agresively around my ears and and the back of my neck. That night my ear swelled and turned red as did my cheek. I went to a first care facility first. The doctor took a photo and sent it to other doctors. I was then told to go to the emergency room. Immediatley I was put on an IV with antibiotics. Bottom line is I got a strep infection from the barber. Next time you go to a barber, insist that they sterilize all scissors, electric shavers etc. Had I not gone to the first care, it could have killed me.
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I’m glad it didn’t. Good reminder. Maybe I’ll grow a skullet and be a long haired freaky fellow.
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“And the sign said long-haired freaky people need not apply”
- The 5 Man Electrical Band
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My SIL was a long hair until genetics caught up with him and now my grandson is a LHFF.
Oh my gosh, that’s horrible! So sorry it happened and so glad you’re okay. Maybe the local health department should be informed.
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Glad you are OK, and the antibiotics worked. I’ve been fighting a staph aureus infection on my leg since Labor Day and it looks like it finally has given up, fingers crossed.
When I lived in Norway a long long time ago, barbers gave what were called “razor cuts”.,using a long bladed razor like in the 1800s. One very cute barber was chatting with me and my friend and she accidently cut off chunk of my ear. Bloody he!!. I’m very cautious about barbershops ever since.
Andy, I got an anti-biotic resistant staph infection in my torn left rotator cuff. Treatment was high dosage IV anti-biotics through a PICC for 5 weeks. It was fortunate you got it in time. Visitors had to wear surgical gear.
Sounds like erysipelas.
Cut my own hair since covid - hated going to the barber shop anyway, but that is another good reason not to.
Glad you are OK.
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Yikes. Yes, glad you’re okay.
Not a pleasant story. Might even run it by legal for damages.
Going to an old time barber shop use to be a pleasure. I use to go to a man who’d been doing it 50 years, scrupulously clean in all his procedures. He past away unfortunately. These days of “Super Cuts” salons, it is all about high volume turnover. Hence the stylists are often pressured, like truck drivers, to take on more and more. Hygiene and safety fall by the wayside. If not health department licensing.
My wife does a nice job, but even if she didn’t, I don’t play roulette.
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Andy was a real Barber Shop or like a Sport Clips? A lot of women only have a Beautician’s license, not a Barbers license and in a lot of states there is a big difference in standards and training. That why I always got to a Barber shop and I am very picky about them.
The barbers were, I believe, Vietnamese. I had a haircut there once before and had no issues. 2nd time a woman cut my hair and was quite aggressive around my ears and the back of my head. Didn’t think of it at the time but she did not clean any of the electric razor blades. Just swapped them out.
The doctors noticed an abrasion behind my ear. That’s when I was certain the the strep came from the barber.
I’ve gone to Great Clips for a few years but will pay close attention to their cleaning procedures tomorrow.