Fake Nails on Nurses, Yay or Nay?

Nurses General Nursing

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I was just wondering what everyone thought about nurses having gel or acrylic fake nails. There are a few girls on my unit that have them. I wanted to know what people's opinions were or if your unit or place of work has a policy about them.

~Jes~

(sorry all i don't know how to make a poll on here.)

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

There is a difference, Shellek. Please read the post by Siri on page number one of the thread. Some good links to sources that point out why fake nails are not good in the clinical areas can be found there. Thanks.

Specializes in med/surg.

Absolute NO NO here in the UK. Such an infection risk etc (as the links posted by Siri will tell you). Here it's short nails with absolutely NO polish or anything.

When I wasn't nursing I once had mine done as a treat but although they looked great to start with how my nails looked when they came off - YUK!! it took them a month to recover. NEVER again!!

Specializes in Education, Administration, Magnet.

Not allowed here where I work. We are not even allowed to have long natural nails or nail polish.

Oh, my goodness, nay.

I was just wondering what everyone thought about nurses having gel or acrylic fake nails. There are a few girls on my unit that have them. I wanted to know what people's opinions were or if your unit or place of work has a policy about them.

~Jes~

(sorry all i don't know how to make a poll on here.)

The facility where I work prohibits acrylic nails on anyone who performs direct patient care since they are known to care bacteria and infectious particles in the grooves that do not wash away. I wouldn't want to carry those home either, but that is their logic.

Specializes in OB, NP, Nurse Educator.

Absolutely not allowed where I work. Every once in a while someone from infection control comes around and "spot checks" to see if anyone has fake nails on. Those people who do (and there is usually at least one person) gets sent home to remove the nails. They do not get paid for the rest of the day. They also get a written reprimand.

Nay, Nay, Nay

I have had artificial nails since they became commonplace and actually stayed on. The secret to keeping the edges sealed is getting weekly, and not bi-weekly fill-ins.

I too, have an issue with my nails tearing. They are not long, they are shorter, and I get the pink-and-white gel set so I don't have to wear polish.

Because I have a practically non-existent nail bed along with nails that refuse to grow, and when they do they just tear, there is no way I would go with out them. It's not a matter of convenience for me. If there was a surgery to correct it, I would gladly pay for it, but there isn't.

I consider it a birth defect. I used to have total strangers tell me how ugly my hands were and why I didn't let my nails grow out. When I was very young, it would make me cry. How I envied (and still envy), women who can just let them grow out just a little, get a nice polish, and they look beautiful. My hands, without nails, actually look like I have lost the tip on each one, and having overly large fingers, only adds to how poor they look.

If you go to the right nail technician, you can get them thin enough to where you cannot distinguish them from natural nails, even on close inspection.

:nono: This thread made me think of my first day of nursing school where we talked about hand hygeine. Our instructor got out the black light. put your hand under there saw all the germs. THEN she made us go wash our hands using the 15 second rule, and had us stick our hands back under the light. and the one place that was still the germiest was right around your nail beds.Talk about gross!!! I am someone who used to have fake nails and i loved em but after that even if i wasnt a nurse I will never have fake nails again!!! Whats really bad is now anytime i go out to eat or go to a fast food place.. if I am being served by someone who is wearing em.. i refuse their service and leave!!!!
:nono: This thread made me think of my first day of nursing school where we talked about hand hygeine. Our instructor got out the black light. put your hand under there saw all the germs. THEN she made us go wash our hands using the 15 second rule, and had us stick our hands back under the light. and the one place that was still the germiest was right around your nail beds.Talk about gross!!! I am someone who used to have fake nails and i loved em but after that even if i wasnt a nurse I will never have fake nails again!!! Whats really bad is now anytime i go out to eat or go to a fast food place.. if I am being served by someone who is wearing em.. i refuse their service and leave!!!!

I would be interested to see that same experiment repeated by someone wearing regularly re-filled nails vs natural nails.

Natural nails are porous, gel nails are not. That is why your cuticles get dried out when you get artificial nails and you must use additional moisturizer.

I can see the infection control issue when people don't properly maintain them or allow them to get excessively long...they get pockets underneath them, but you can clearly see it when the nails break their seal, but not if there is polish on them. When they break their seal, you need to get the nail replaced.

Specializes in LTC.

Supposedly not allowed where I work, but I see other nurses and cna's wearing them all the time. Personally I won't cause I can't stand them....

Any type of overlay on a nail is not permitted on a nurse doing direct patient care in an acute hospital that is under JCAHO accreditation.

Just because you see someone with it, does not mean that it is permitted.

I personally would never permit a nurse to care for me that had any type of acrylic nails on, nor a family member of mine. And I used to wear them, so am quite aware of both sides of the issue. But I am also well aware of all of the studies that have come out in the past few years, and my patients' safety is #1 to me. Short nails can still look very attractive, and you can still have manicures with them, even more frequently for what you are spending on fills.

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