Artificial fingernails

Nurses Safety

Published

With the recent publicity about infections which are POSSIBLY R/T artificial fingernails, have any of your institutions changed your policies by restricting artificial or long nails? I have read the original articles, & I am afraid our hospital could overreact on this issue.

We cannot police EVERYTHING caregivers do, and the implications of the published studies are limited. Also, I heard of a nursing ome where this policy was taken to court & won.

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Jean Roberson

How would you like to be on the other end of the suppository when the nurse coming at you has supper long cultured nails!!!!AHHHHH!!!!

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Specializes in L & D; Postpartum.

I think we must delineate between artificial nails, such as Lee Press-ons, and acrylics, when we discuss this topic. In this state, nail technicians thoroughly inspect your nails each time you get a fill, apply an antifungal agent prior to doing the fill, and IF there's a problem with infection or ingrown nail, will not perform the procedure! Personally, I find that I am more inclined to take care of my nails with the acrylic than I ever was before, just because I know they won't do them if I don't do my part.

I work with several nurses who keep their nails moderate length, but nicely done with acrylics, so hangnails, infections. Then I also work with some nurses who have nails that are bitten so far down all the time, it makes me cringe everytime I see them.

Specializes in L & D; Postpartum.

I think we must delineate between artificial nails, such as Lee Press-ons, and acrylics, when we discuss this topic. In this state, nail technicians thoroughly inspect your nails each time you get a fill, apply an antifungal agent prior to doing the fill, and IF there's a problem with infection or ingrown nail, will not perform the procedure! Personally, I find that I am more inclined to take care of my nails with the acrylic than I ever was before, just because I know they won't do them if I don't do my part.

I work with several nurses who keep their nails moderate length, but nicely done with acrylics, so hangnails, infections. Then I also work with some nurses who have nails that are bitten so far down all the time, it makes me cringe everytime I see them. I can't imagine these nurses being less likely to have some kind of infection than I do, handwashing all being equal, of course.

In my nursing school we are not allowed to have long nails, be them real or artificial, nor are we allowed to wear even a coat of clear nailpolish. I have no problem with this as I took Microbiology only a year ago and remember all too well the higher incidence of nosocomial infections related to hospital staff having long nails, specifically artificial nails! Personally, it is not worth it to risk my own health or one of my patients in order for me to have long pretty nails. I cringe when I see nurses wear them at the hospitals where I do my clinicals. I plan to adhere to this after I graduate from nursing school in a year. I feel that this goes along with basic good practices such as keeping long hair up, etc. There is an article from a children's hospital in Arkansas which is posted on the bulletin board at my nursing school which cites long nails as being the reason for cross contamination in as many as 28 different cases of Staph infections. That is ridiculous. Those children did not have to be infected so that those women could wear long fingernails. I agree that first and foremost good handwashing is a MUST, however obviously all germs cannot be retrieved from under lengthy fingernails. This is just my $0.02 on the subject.

Shannon

In my nursing school we are not allowed to have long nails, be them real or artificial, nor are we allowed to wear even a coat of clear nailpolish. I have no problem with this as I took Microbiology only a year ago and remember all too well the higher incidence of nosocomial infections related to hospital staff having long nails, specifically artificial nails! Personally, it is not worth it to risk my own health or one of my patients in order for me to have long pretty nails. I cringe when I see nurses wear them at the hospitals where I do my clinicals. I plan to adhere to this after I graduate from nursing school in a year. I feel that this goes along with basic good practices such as keeping long hair up, etc. There is an article from a children's hospital in Arkansas which is posted on the bulletin board at my nursing school which cites long nails as being the reason for cross contamination in as many as 28 different cases of Staph infections. That is ridiculous. Those children did not have to be infected so that those women could wear long fingernails. I agree that first and foremost good handwashing is a MUST, however obviously all germs cannot be retrieved from under lengthy fingernails. This is just my $0.02 on the subject.

Shannon

Originally posted by ShannonB25:

In my nursing school we are not allowed to have long nails, be them real or artificial, nor are we allowed to wear even a coat of clear nailpolish. I have no problem with this as I took Microbiology only a year ago and remember all too well the higher incidence of nosocomial infections related to hospital staff having long nails, specifically artificial nails! Personally, it is not worth it to risk my own health or one of my patients in order for me to have long pretty nails. I cringe when I see nurses wear them at the hospitals where I do my clinicals. I plan to adhere to this after I graduate from nursing school in a year. I feel that this goes along with basic good practices such as keeping long hair up, etc. There is an article from a children's hospital in Arkansas which is posted on the bulletin board at my nursing school which cites long nails as being the reason for cross contamination in as many as 28 different cases of Staph infections. That is ridiculous. Those children did not have to be infected so that those women could wear long fingernails. I agree that first and foremost good handwashing is a MUST, however obviously all germs cannot be retrieved from under lengthy fingernails. This is just my $0.02 on the subject.

Shannon

"GERMS" CAN GROW ON ANYTHING. SO FOLLOW UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS, WASH, WASH WASH. I DON'T THINK WEARING ARTIFICIAL NAILS IS GOING TO INCREASE A NURSES CHANCE OF PASSING ALONG ANYTHING AS LONG AS UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS ARE FOLLOWED. AS FOR THE RIS OFTHEM "COMING OFF" GET A GOOD MANICURIST, GO REGULARLY.

Specializes in ER,ICU,L+D,OR.

I like my nails, they are clean if somewhat flamboyant.

I think stethescope wraps are nasty, nasty, nasty. It's not like you can stop mid-shift and wash them.

All of the hospitals around here have a policy against artificial nails, but not a single one of them enforces it.

I am also very, very cautious about buying into the situation in Oklahoma. You would think if the artificial nails was such a cesspool of bacteria, that any hospital having a newborn nursery or a NICU would have babies dropping dead left and right.

I think it was a case of over-reacting to some nurses in Oklahoma who probably had longer-than-necessary nails and practiced poor hygiene on top of it.

Specializes in Critical Care Nursing.

Our state has a mandatory 'no artificial nails' policy (NSW Australia).

The article on this link is just one of the many demonstrating that artificial nails are an active fomite.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2596731

I'm not sure nurses have a handle of how contaminated the environment is with organisms and that everything we touch is potentially contaminated by us. So artificial nails and long natural nails are going to be a problem.

Specializes in ER,ICU,L+D,OR.

I feel with good hand hygiene long nails are really a health hazard. My nails are kept meticulously clean. And it doesn't take much effort really.

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