artifical nails off..angry nurse

[Lady Sapphire]

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

Lady Sapphire

[tntrn, ASN, RN]

I just wanted more information from Blackbird and that was given regarding diet. From what was posted, I don't think that's my particular problem. As I've noted before, it's been a lifelong problem and that's why I originally went to acrylics in the first place. Boy was I spoiled by how strong they are, how nice they look, how long polish (mine's always been pale) lasts. My own nails never did and never will again offer those advantages. I'm happy to say that I'm a short-timer as far as nursing goes...being no spring chicken. Who knows? Maybe I'll opt to forego acrylics when I leave nursing...I can't really say right now...but I do miss them. Not just for the visual. I never could understand how anybody could function with really long nails, natural or not. But I have to stress that those who equate acrylics with long are so off the mark, and more than they might think.]

I'd be interested in what the brandname of the "sanding" blocks are, Stevielynn, if you remember.

My wish is that we could all try and empathize a little more, judge a little less and try to walk in another shoes before we make posts :kiss

[Rose B]

I had my acrylic nails removed last summer because I would get water mold during the summertime from swimming and gardening. Instead of spending the $60 on the nails I started going to CURVES, cheaper and better for me!!!

There are some products out there that will strengthen your nails while they are growing. Ask your nail technician to buff your nails to soften ridges.

[TracyB,RN, RN]

[B]OPI Nail Envy[[/b]U]!!!!!! I swear by it. It's just a clear polish, but my natural nails are similar to yours, split, peel, break easily, even though my nails grow quickly. I cut & file them every week b/c they grow so fast....Since I started using the OPI product, my nails NEVER split or peel anymore.

I also live on Zim's crack cream[/u].... they have a liquid & a lotion that work very well when you get those deep cracks along the edges of the fingertips, that hurt like a dickens. The liquid crack cream is more like an oil that you rub into the cracked areas, several times a day. Smells kind of like cloves.... Stings for about 10 seconds, but by the next day, those cracks are already healing. The stuff is AWESOME & can be found at Walgreens, Target, in the band-aid aisles.

Nexcare by 3M also recently came out with an advanced skin cream, that is sort of similar to the Zim's lotion. For deep skin cracks they suggest to use the lotion with Nexcare Skin Crack Care... Have only tried the lotion, not the crack care stuff yet, but like the lotion, alot....

[trent]

Just a reminder to everyone: it's not the colour of the polish that leads to infection control problems, it's the polish itself. Clear is no better than bright red, pale pink, etc.

[Blackbird]

Careful Lilbill, with a delivery like that you might end up in the "too judgemental" department with me. HA! :chuckle

I happen to agree with you, by the way, and I appreciate your straightforward approach.

Hi Tntrn! In answer to your query, the diet lapse is overall and ongoing in the average person's diet. It's lacking in a lot of necessary vitamins and minerals. Unless you're an full on organic vegetarian or suchlike (in that you eat a variety of fresh, pure foods), the common diet consists of processed, refined foods from sources which directly affect the functioning of our body. And yes, that includes all the you beaut "low fat" and "low carb" and "99% fat free" items that we all rush for when we're on a health kick. Even health stores will stock items that are inferior so it's important to be educated in the ways and means of feeding oneself. (I did and it didn't happen overnight let me tell you).

Furthermore, it has been my experience that a lot of people have either a pre-existing condition or sensitivities to food (not allergies..different altogether) and not be aware of it so there are many factors to consider when assessing just what constitutes the appearance of a person's nails. In my view, improving one's life starts with a medical assessment and ends with diet. After a rundown from your doctor or dietitian, look at what you eat and how and go about streamlining it to reflect a healthier way of living. There are many books in your store in the health section that would point to this. If it's one thing I know, America is the Land of Absolutely Everything. When I visited, I was swallowed whole by Barnes & Noble.... :) And every nail product I could ever want hails from the USA so as far as availability is concerned, the ball's in your court, so to speak. (Lucky you!)

I am not about to prescribe anything so I will talk about what works for me. I work from a premise that while topical applications do help (and some of the suggestions here are great), everything starts from within. In addition to lots of filtered water, I eat oils everyday - either by way of capsule form or in my food. I also ensure my food contains a lot of calcium and vitamin C. I don't eat any processed or refined foods (and I save money doing this too). I used to get striations in my nails - those long corrugated lines - and since improving my diet they're as smooth as glass. And in a surprising turn of events a few months ago during my annual physical, it was discovered that my heart murmur has also disappeared.

[aegirl]

I'm in PN school and we were told NO artificial nails. My instructor said that some places they are even banned.

[LPNtoBSNstudent, BSN, RN]

There are some guys who man a kiosk at our local mall who sell these square blocks of wood with 4 different types of filing paper. One takes the ridges right off. The last one makes your nails shine and it looks like you polished them with clear polish. They also give you an oil to use. I gave the kit to my mil and she loves it - always had those ridges and now doesn't.

tntrn - thanks! :)

steph

I have this and I LOVE it. The only problem I have found is that sometimes (being a bit overzealous) I file it down too much causing the nails to be too thin and they break!

[Farkinott, RN]

How do us men survive with natural nails?!!!!!

[SmilingBluEyes]

How do us men survive with natural nails?!!!!!

Men tend to have healthier nails...for a lot of reasons. One of them is they don't tend alter their nails' nature with drying and damaging chemicals in polishes, overlays, nail jewelry and the like--and they don't tend to grow them to ridiculous lengths, unlike many women. The other is it would seem, men have more available calcium, which keeps nails and bones strong.

Just my theory anyhow.

[nursemike, ASN, RN]

Since starting nursing school, I've had to learn to let my nails grow a little longer than I used to, so I can get the med wrappers open. (They're still pretty short.)

We're taught to examine nails as part of an assessment, so it does seem bad nails point to an underlying problem, either with diet or circulation.

I do think writing someone up for overlays is a bit much, unless they said no artificials or overlays. Have to agree with sending someone home, though. We aren't in this to make people sick.

[ICUsleep]

I'm in PN school and we were told NO artificial nails. My instructor said that some places they are even banned.

I'm a student as well...our school has the same policy...no artificial nails (which I don't wear anyway). Also no nail polish, which kind of bugs me, especially since our instructors WEAR NAIL POLISH. LOL.:chuckle Apparently polish isn't THAT detrimental to anything, then?

I can't keep colored polish intact on my nails for more than a day anyway, but sometimes I would like to have a clear topcoat on. Oh, well.

[Cathie]

I wonder why you've been wearing acrylic nails for 18 years. Have you been a nurse that long? I wold be concerned for not only the infection control issue, but also our elderly patients have such fragile skin, and have skin tears so frequently, that acrylic nails are much more prone to causing them. Check with your closest pharmacy and their nail polish/treatments. I also have cracked, and splitting nails, not from acrylic nails though, and am using a Aloe formula nail grower, it really works. It's not a polish, it is worked into your nail and cuticule. Check it out. Might help.