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 did consider running to employee health every time I had any problem whatsoever with my natural nails. Of course, I'd be there every day. Maybe that would get their attention, but more and more, I think health care professionals, and nurses in particular, are EXPECTED to sacrifice their own health and well-being (as in no breaks, no lunches, working massive overtime, no drinks or water fountains close by our work stations) and then when we do, we're labeled as good nurses. Another example of being downtrodden and kept in our places, IMHO.
Studies aside, there has to be some kind of solution to this problem. Not everybody has problems with their natural nails. Indeed, I have some friends who have gorgeous nails, and they also do not understand the problems I have with mine. But to expect those who have those problems to willingly subject themselves to those problems because another whip has been cracked is a little extreme if you ask me. If they'd put a little more effort into seeing both sides of an issue, maybe an acceptable alternate route might be found.
My evil twin wants to post a sign at the door that bans acrylics for anybody (patients included) entering the hospital premises. THAT would get some attention. Oh, and please let the suits/heels/clipboard brigades know that theirs must go as well. You know the ones. Those who've never done floor nursing after they got out of school, who never miss a lunch break, and who think those that do are poor time managers.
I tried artifical nails once (when they were still allowed) but found I couldn't open the oral med bottles we used. I went to an OTC nail strenghtener which worked very well and I still use it even under my regular polish. As for the hands, try the products the farmers in our region use for their hands...Bag Balm or Corn Huskers Lotion (both can now be found in stores, esp. large chain grocery stores).
I have both Bag Balm (I keep that and another one called Udder Cream) in my sewing room; also have Corn Huskers lotion (in spite of the fact that I'm a Kansas Jayhawk :chuckle ) and they are good for skin dryness, but I find they do not change how my nails are a bit. My nails are as they are, I fear. I've heard some horror stories about those hardeners too, but I'm a bit reluctant to try them. I already have enough problems, that I don't want to risk more. I think that's part of my frustration: I had no problems with my acrylics, none. But that was then and this is now.
I agree with previous poster....there is not a lot that can be added. Nurses should not wear artificial nails. Period. End of story. There is plenty of clinical research to back it up.
I personally have only ever had artificial nails applied once - for my wedding 17 years ago. I got talked into it...They looked beautful but I could not wait to get them off. So I have a hard time understanding the compulsion so many have with getting their nails done. Its just gross to me.
I just keep mine short, buffers work well, use lots of cuticle creams - I like Sally Hansen and Burts Bees. It also seems that my nails are tons stronger and look better when I remember to take vitamins. If you have had children, remember how great your hair and nails looked while pregnant and you were taking those PNV's?
So my advice is, take some good vitamins, pamper your hands, and spend that nail money on something else.
NOW can we shut this thing down?
When I was taking prenatal vitamins years ago, my nails grew like wildfire! Now I thank this poster for seconding my motion to close down this thread.......PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also used to have acrylic nails, I am in pre nursing and just accepted a position in the CCU, I took my nails off on my own accord, my hands do look terrible, but I was reading a magazine the other day and they had an ad for a perscription to fix brittle nails, has anyone heard of this? I have tried vitamins in the past but was told by a doctor that its the shape of my nail beds that is the problem. I would like to try this perscription if it works, has anyone heard of this?
tntrn, ASN, RN
1,340 Posts
I did consider running to employee health every time I had any problem whatsoever with my natural nails. Of course, I'd be there every day. Maybe that would get their attention, but more and more, I think health care professionals, and nurses in particular, are EXPECTED to sacrifice their own health and well-being (as in no breaks, no lunches, working massive overtime, no drinks or water fountains close by our work stations) and then when we do, we're labeled as good nurses. Another example of being downtrodden and kept in our places, IMHO.
Studies aside, there has to be some kind of solution to this problem. Not everybody has problems with their natural nails. Indeed, I have some friends who have gorgeous nails, and they also do not understand the problems I have with mine. But to expect those who have those problems to willingly subject themselves to those problems because another whip has been cracked is a little extreme if you ask me. If they'd put a little more effort into seeing both sides of an issue, maybe an acceptable alternate route might be found.
My evil twin wants to post a sign at the door that bans acrylics for anybody (patients included) entering the hospital premises. THAT would get some attention. Oh, and please let the suits/heels/clipboard brigades know that theirs must go as well. You know the ones. Those who've never done floor nursing after they got out of school, who never miss a lunch break, and who think those that do are poor time managers.