# Do you get dog hairs in your skin?



## 0hmyd0g

While grooming I sometimes get dog hair slivers in my skin, mostly between my fingers and the inside of my elbow. This often happens while using my clipper on a terrier. I sometimes need to use tweezers to get it out, and it hurts. None of the other groomers I work with get this, but it happens to me almost every day. Does any one else experience this? Should I be afraid of infection?


----------



## jesirose

Wear gloves?


----------



## Graco22

Your aren't alone..I get them too..Daily...Cockers are the worst, but terriers, shavedown labs, etc...terrible. I get them in the exact same places...between fingers, and inside elbows. Sometimes I will get one in my fingers, and those really hurt..the others don't hurt usually though, just gross. I have to tweeze them out too. Other groomers have told me they use duct tape, etc..but I have never gotten duct tape to pull anything but my live hairs..lol I think the risk of infection is small, but sometimes, if the hair stays in there for along time, the body makes it into a "pearl" and makes a hard little ball..you can dig that ball out, but it leave a permanent tiny pocket in your skin where it was..I have one on my palm from that and I know another groomer with one on her finger like that..Hazards of this job....along with Groomer's Lung.


----------



## Inga

LOL Not with my dogs but I did when I had my little Doberman foster. She had picky hair and I was forever having allergic reactions to her fur. I loved her anyway, but am now enjoying my softer hair dogs.


----------



## TheDogLuver90

Yeah ive gotten them. and they do sting just like a wood sliver!


----------



## Graco22

> Wear gloves?



In my opinion, a groomer cannot do an efficient job grooming with gloves on. Not to mention you cannot "feel" the dog for lumps, bumps, etc. that you need to be on the lookout for. And any thin glove like surgical ones won't help. These are hair slivers from the cut shards of dog hair, and they will penetrate a glove and then be smashed in even farther in your skin. Dusting with gold bond powder, cornstarch, etc. helps them not to stick and go into the skin, but I don't think clients want to go home with a dog covered in powder. Hair slivers are part of this job for most groomers. The ones under my fingernails are the worst ones for me...ouch those hurt, and are so hard to get out when they are white or light colored.


----------



## GroovyGroomer777

Graco22 said:


> Your aren't alone..I get them too..Daily...Cockers are the worst, but terriers, shavedown labs, etc...terrible. I get them in the exact same places...between fingers, and inside elbows. Sometimes I will get one in my fingers, and those really hurt..the others don't hurt usually though, just gross. I have to tweeze them out too. Other groomers have told me they use duct tape, etc..but I have never gotten duct tape to pull anything but my live hairs..lol I think the risk of infection is small, but sometimes, if the hair stays in there for along time, the body makes it into a "pearl" and makes a hard little ball..you can dig that ball out, but it leave a permanent tiny pocket in your skin where it was..I have one on my palm from that and I know another groomer with one on her finger like that..Hazards of this job....along with Groomer's Lung.


I get hair splinters in the same places mentioned above. I shaved down two lab mixes recently....I had to go into the bathroom and stuff toilet paper in between my breasts and my bra because I had a hundred sharp hairs stuck on my chest...that was really bad, not so much painfull as itchy!!

Graco - what is groomers lung? Do you think grooming may be the reason I have such bad sinus issues?


----------



## Graco22

Groovy, "Groomer's Lung" is kinda a nicknamed term by groomers who have a chronic type of bronchitis, etc. Basically, we inhale millions of tiny particles of hair, dander, etc every day, and some of this gets into our lungs, and it doesn't come out of course. Over many years, this can buildup and cause chronic lung problems. Here is a link to a discussion by groomers about it and their experiences. 


http://www.groomers.net/discus/messages/29/38533.html?1194009135


----------



## Love's_Sophie

I often get those nasty 'splintery hairs' in my arms (and other places) it's so annoying, but usually a hot soak in the tub and a good sponging over those areas gets rid of them


----------



## pamperedpups

I guess I must have "thick skin." I rarely get splinters.


----------



## pugmom

YES!.....I get them in the heel of my foot. I will be walking around the house barefoot or in socks and feel this pain, I got to look and its always a small black hair from my boston sticking half in/out.....sucks!


----------



## Line-of-Fire

I don't get them with our Shepherds... But I have seen my step-mom get them, and I've had a couple as well. They're not fun.


----------



## HersheyPup

Yes, I get them, too! If the dogs hair is very coarse they tend to lodge in my pores in certain areas. Sometimes it feels like a piece of glass! Very annoying, to say the least!

I can't wear gloves for grooming, only bathing, so I just live with it. Hazard of the trade, unfortunately!

It could be worse, my husband is a C-10 Electrical Contractor and he gets a jolt now and then. Some worse than others, I think I'd rather have hair stuck into my skin than get an electrical shock!!


----------



## bbgee

I need help! pet hair sticks everywhere in my skin, under and around my nails, ON MY FACE, my legs and my arms. I cant remove most of them and some are becoming very sensitive. I need help, advice, whatever


----------



## amberly

I get them all the time too. I have extra towels I wipe my arms and face down constantly at work during certain dogs. I have gotten bad eye infections from hair getting into my eyes and not being able to get them out. I wear goggles every time I blow dry a dog now reguardless of breed or hair type. I have masks laying around for certain ones to cover my nose and face. I wear tank tops so i'm not wearing cloth tshirts under my smock which sticks even more hair, at least for me when i wear tshirts its worse. the hair gets embedded around the neckline and arms. I wear smockes that have collars and zip up to my collar bone. I don't wear v-neck smocks because I get lil hairs there and irritation and rashes pretty bad. I can normally pull the lil hairs out but I have needed tweezers a few times. I also have gotten hairs in my socks thus in my foot. its harder to pull em out of your feet! i wear sneakers and not crocks ect and sometimes it still happens.
all i can say is constantly wipe your arms down during the grooms of terrier type dogs or shorter cuts?


----------



## mom24doggies

0hmyd0g said:


> While grooming I sometimes get dog hair slivers in my skin, mostly between my fingers and the inside of my elbow. This often happens while using my clipper on a terrier. I sometimes need to use tweezers to get it out, and it hurts. None of the other groomers I work with get this, but it happens to me almost every day. Does any one else experience this? Should I be afraid of infection?


Oh yes, I got them all the time when I was working. And I have had them get infected, too. Usually, that happened when I light colored hair (couldn't see it) got stuck in my cuticle/in between my nail and skin. It hurt for a while, then a bubble formed, I popped the bubble and the infection went away...I'm assuming that when I popped the bubble it dislodged the hair splinter. I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's mainly just uncomfortable. When you're clipping a wiry haired dog (terriers, labs, etc.) try not to touch the rest of you with your hands, and don't sit down on your table.  I tend to rub my nose sometimes, and so I would end up getting splinters in my nose..those really hurt!! Not to mention the fact that it makes your whole face itch...


----------



## TorachiKatashi

When I was still working as a groomer, this happened to me on a daily basis, especially between my fingers. I hated it. Sometimes I could get it out with tweezers, but other times it was deep enough that there was nothing I could do.

My boss always joked that when she dies and they do an autopsy, they're going to find 10lbs of dog hair.


----------



## Indigo

I wonder if liquid gloves would help. If that stuff can withstand gardening it might work to keep hair from poking you too.


----------



## Amberbrenn

Hair slivers are my mortal enemy. I get them very badly between my fingers from all breeds. Sometimes they are so tiny I cannot pull them out. Rubber gloves don't help the hair sticks straight through them and you can't feel the dogs skin and coat properly. I currently have one that has gotten infected and I had to go to a dermatologist to get it cut open, flushed out and they biopsied out to find out what type of infection is going on and what out actually is. So from all that I have 3 stitches in my hand. And I haven't gotten the biopsy results back yet. I had to see 3 coherent doctors and none of them have heard of this before. I first saw my family doctor who referred me to the dermatologist then the dermatologist had to ask the surgeon what he thought. So I am trying to come up with a way to prevent this from happening again. So at least you have to pull out the hair slivers and make sure you keep them clean. I will post my biopsy results when I get them.


----------



## Kpenn

When I first started grooming I thought I was growing chest hair. Turns out I just had hair slivers in my cleavage. I've never gotten them between my fingures. More just my arms and elbows. They're never fun though.


----------



## Amberbrenn

Amberbrenn said:


> Hair slivers are my mortal enemy. I get them very badly between my fingers from all breeds. Sometimes they are so tiny I cannot pull them out. Rubber gloves don't help the hair sticks straight through them and you can't feel the dogs skin and coat properly. I currently have one that has gotten infected and I had to go to a dermatologist to get it cut open, flushed out and they biopsied out to find out what type of infection is going on and what out actually is. So from all that I have 3 stitches in my hand. And I haven't gotten the biopsy results back yet. I had to see 3 coherent doctors and none of them have heard of this before. I first saw my family doctor who referred me to the dermatologist then the dermatologist had to ask the surgeon what he thought. So I am trying to come up with a way to prevent this from happening again. So at least you have to pull out the hair slivers and make sure you keep them clean. I will post my biopsy results when I get them.


 I recently received my biopsy results and its disgusting. They actually found hair in my tissue sample and the infection was a bacteria only found in urine amd it's not mine because they said I. would have to have a bladder infection in order for that and I don't. Let my experience be a lesson to everyone. Pull them out and keep them clean. The hole it's still there and we are hoping it can heal on
it's own otherwise I will have to have surgery on it but that could cause scar tissue that could potentially cause mobility problems with my hand. I'm hoping for the best.


----------



## Millersmum

I get them all the time too. I just recently started grooming and mostly get them in my wrists and forearms. My friend is a hair dresser and has suggested i get rubbing alcohol to get them clean.
Other than that still searching!


----------



## Amberbrenn

I use peroxide. I have also heard soaking in warm water and epsom salt for 15 mins will loosen them up.


----------



## Luna'sOwner

Inga said:


> LOL Not with my dogs but I did when I had my little Doberman foster. She had picky hair and I was forever having allergic reactions to her fur. I loved her anyway, but am now enjoying my softer hair dogs.


I'm sorry I just have to say this: your dog is freaking stunning. How'd you get the picture in your signature like that? I wanna show off my Rottie, too


----------



## dhunter25

Hey, just made and account on this site because of this. I have had this happen before a few times. For the last three days I had this strange foot pain and couldn't figure out why... so today i was looking at the bottom of my foot and saw one of my dogs hairs literally stuck in my skin... freaking weird... it hurt really bad and I was curious as to how it could even happen... either way I pulled it out and its all better now. Just really strange.


----------

