Saturday, July 07, 2007

Brazilian turns into a close shave

A sexy Brazilian-style bikini wax almost cost a 20-year-old Melbourne woman her life.

The woman suffered a near-fatal infection after she was left bleeding by the hot-wax hair removal procedure, performed by a trainee waxer.

Less than a fortnight later, possibly because of a lowered immune system arising from diabetes, she came down with extreme pain and a fever. She had also broken out in a rash stretching from her groin to her chest, arms and neck.

She was not correctly diagnosed until doctors from the Austin Hospital examined her under a general anaesthetic. The infection was treated with antibiotics.

She then presented again with a similar condition a few months later, this time after shaving rather than waxing.

"This didn't occur just once, it occurred twice," Austin Health director of infectious diseases Professor Lindsay Grayson said.

Professor Grayson warned sufferers of poorly-managed diabetes and others with compromised immune systems to think twice before undertaking waxing treatments.

He added that the woman would have died without appropriate medical care.

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