Hi Everyone..i found this site looking for information on artifical nails and nurses.So,iam a brand new member.
I do home health and have had artifical nails on for 18yrs .Dec.30th i was told i was to take them off...so i contacted a nail tech and told her my situation and she (as well as one other salon) told me they were putting a gel(like a hard nail polish) over many of the nurses who had to take their nails off....so this is what i did.
On Jan.11th while talking to one of my supervisors about some paperwork,,i was reminded i had to take my nails off,,i said these are my own nails with a gel hardner over my nails..she said she would have to check that out...i tried to also with infection control but they never called me back.
When i returned to work 2 days later,,instead of telling me what they found out,i was written up,and told i could not work that day and was sent home.Iam very angry :angryfire
I took the gel off,and now my nails are sore ,hands look ugly,i cant peel an orange,scratch..nothing.Iam feeling very helpless and down.
Has anyone else experienced this when taking off their nails and how did you handle it? Are we not able to even have a gel temporarily over our thin weakened nails,,till the new stronger nails appears?
Please help as iam writing a rebuttal to this written warning.Thanks
i just took my nails off, well you know what i mean, and have been using "calcium shield" by orly. i got it at sally's beauty supply. i also use vitamin e on my cuticles and massage it in to stimulate nail growth. the polish is clear, which is just about the only thing most places will allow. good luck!
gobabego!
ps - my nails are still short and have the swirls where they were buffed by the nail tech. this is week three and i see new growth! i'm so very excited to be on my way back to strong healthy nails!!!
I don't know why patients should be at risk for infection from nurses' nails...after all, are we not to be wearing gloves for all patient contact? In which case, what may be hatching under a person's nails shouldn't be coming into contact anyway. And good grief, has anyone seen the state of some of these specialty mattresses that some patients are on for weeks at a time ? They may get wiped down, but not thoroughly cleaned til the patient is off the bed. Even with changing the cover periodically, don't tell me they don't harbor mega bacteria. As do most hospitals, period, no matter how much cleaning you do. Charts, chairs, desktops, computer keyboards, clipboards, families who don't wash their hands and paw all over the patients...there's almost endless vectors. Of course, nurses are an easy scapegoat, as usual. There was also a study that showed Drs stethoscopes were extremely germ-laden..I don't recall that being as big a squawk as the nurses who harbored fungus.
I too have had artificial nails for 19 plus years. I have never had an infection and quite honestly have cleaner nails than some who only have their own. It amazes me that the CDC addresses artificial nails when instead they should study normal nails with and without nail polish. I think the bacteria counts may surprise them.
Perhaps our places of employment should culture our "artificial nails" and those who have "real" nails and then make policy decisions.
Change only happens when people are pro-active. I am not ready to DC my nails.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
I don't know why patients should be at risk for infection from nurses' nails...after all, are we not to be wearing gloves for all patient contact? In which case, what may be hatching under a person's nails shouldn't be coming into contact anyway. And good grief, has anyone seen the state of some of these specialty mattresses that some patients are on for weeks at a time ? They may get wiped down, but not thoroughly cleaned til the patient is off the bed. Even with changing the cover periodically, don't tell me they don't harbor mega bacteria. As do most hospitals, period, no matter how much cleaning you do. Charts, chairs, desktops, computer keyboards, clipboards, families who don't wash their hands and paw all over the patients...there's almost endless vectors. Of course, nurses are an easy scapegoat, as usual. There was also a study that showed Drs stethoscopes were extremely germ-laden..I don't recall that being as big a squawk as the nurses who harbored fungus.
you wear gloves for EVERY patient contact? Do you not think that is perhaps a bit intimidating to your patients? Gloves are not called for in EVERY patient contact.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
I too have had artificial nails for 19 plus years. I have never had an infection and quite honestly have cleaner nails than some who only have their own. It amazes me that the CDC addresses artificial nails when instead they should study normal nails with and without nail polish. I think the bacteria counts may surprise them.
Perhaps our places of employment should culture our "artificial nails" and those who have "real" nails and then make policy decisions.
Change only happens when people are pro-active. I am not ready to DC my nails.
PN:p
'
I think that is fair. Culture all nails, cause you are right, real nails that are not scrubbed can be NASTY underneath. I would welcome Infection Control personnel culturing me, as I would want to know if I am a potential threat to my patients.....
which begs a question. Does no one scrub up before beginning a shift? I scrub my hands AND nails before starting, cause I don't know what I may be bringing from home. Even our PETS can carry bacterial and other microbes that can be deadly to hospitalized patients. Just a thought.
I hope i can reach that point,iam still very angry and my nails hurt.It angers me that our work has so much control over us.Guess i need to get a new job,huh??Ha!ha!
I don't know how long you've been a nurse, but I know for at least the past 16 years, that I have been a nurse, artificial and long natural fingernails have been a big no-no. This was enforced from the first day of nursing school.
By the way, each profession has its own dress code and hygiene standards-ask police officers, firefighers, flight attendants, etc., Either you accept these restrictions or you go into a different line of work, it's your choice.
I have never been able to grow long long nails, so short and neat nails have always been the standard for me. I don't think that its that big of a deal to do without long nails.
you wear gloves for EVERY patient contact? Do you not think that is perhaps a bit intimidating to your patients? Gloves are not called for in EVERY patient contact.
Not to mention the fact that gloves do NOT eliminate our ability to spread germs to our patients. We wear gloves to protect ourselves, not the patient. They aren't good at protecting our patients because they aren't sterile. If you pick up a pair of gloves with your bacteria laden hands and put them on, they are dirty too (unless you are using sterile gloves and sterile technique every time, which is pretty unlikely).
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Not to mention the fact that gloves do NOT eliminate our ability to spread germs to our patients. We wear gloves to protect ourselves, not the patient. They aren't good at protecting our patients because they aren't sterile. If you pick up a pair of gloves with your bacteria laden hands and put them on, they are dirty too (unless you are using sterile gloves and sterile technique every time, which is pretty unlikely).
Not to mention the fact that gloves do NOT eliminate our ability to spread germs to our patients. We wear gloves to protect ourselves, not the patient. They aren't good at protecting our patients because they aren't sterile. If you pick up a pair of gloves with your bacteria laden hands and put them on, they are dirty too (unless you are using sterile gloves and sterile technique every time, which is pretty unlikely).
which begs a question. Does no one scrub up before beginning a shift? I scrub my hands AND nails before starting, cause I don't know what I may be bringing from home. Even our PETS can carry bacterial and other microbes that can be deadly to hospitalized patients. Just a thought.
Our OB requires this (and obviously the OR), but their isn't any requirements for the med-surg floors to do this.
GoBabeGo!
8 Posts
i just took my nails off, well you know what i mean, and have been using "calcium shield" by orly. i got it at sally's beauty supply. i also use vitamin e on my cuticles and massage it in to stimulate nail growth. the polish is clear, which is just about the only thing most places will allow. good luck!
gobabego!
ps - my nails are still short and have the swirls where they were buffed by the nail tech. this is week three and i see new growth! i'm so very excited to be on my way back to strong healthy nails!!!