A private local doctor and medical lecturer has revealed how much it is not a far-fetched phenomenon, through what he terms as ‘barber negligence’.
Dr Kizito Lubano noted that the sterilization method used by barbers in many vinyozis, especially those within the estates where they sprinkle some drops of methylated spirit on the cutting edge of the shaving machine, is not a guaranteed way of killing the HIV virus.
“If your barber has only one shaving machine which he is going to shove through your scalp two minutes after finishing up with a different client then you might as well take off before it is too late,” Dr. Kizito was quoted by The Standard.
He explained that to properly sterilize equipment, it should be dipped in a disinfectant for the period of time stipulated by the product.
The private practitioner also gives an example of other ‘classy’ barber shops that use Ultra Violet (UV) light to sterilize the machines.
He notes that although UV light is effective in disinfecting, what many of the barber shops have are just ‘a normal bulb with blue light’ and not one that emits actual UV radiation that can kill viruses and bacteria.
This then means that if the same equipment is used on you almost immediately after it was used on another client, it is not properly disinfected.
Dr. Kizito notes that as long as the HIV virus is inside a living cell, it is capable of causing infection.
“Apart from skin infections like ringworms, barbers can transmit more serious infections like HIV and Herpes as their shaving equipment is used in close contact to the body and is likely to have body fluids like blood,” said the doctor
Since many of us would normally not test for STDs a month after a haircut, it is likely that victims of ‘barber negligence’ may never suspect the kinyozi, if they contract such infections.
Image: Getty Images/BBC
