are "fake nails" okay for nurses?

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 13, 2004

I give up. some people refuse to even READ the posts and debate the issues being discussed. We were not discussing BACTERIA as our main organism of concern......

anyhow, Have a great debate everyone! I think I will go bang my head on a brick wall now rofl. Oughta feel goooood! :rotfl: :rotfl:

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Dec 13, 2004

I think it's a rediculous idea to think that acrylic fingernails are the only bacteria laden things near sick patients! I suppose your uniform is sterile, and you are bald and your head is sterile... haha.. COME ON... it's just another way to pick at nurses to turn them back into old fuddy duddies... lol. It's a JOB for goodness sakes.... some of you act like you are pristine or something! Get real! I am me... acrylic nails and all... it's what I come with. I'm very clean, and keep myself well groomed and am very aware of what I allow near my patients. I would never place them in harms way. This is why I wear gloves (over my green hairy fungused nails!! hahahaha)... give me a break. I'll always wear acrylics. I think they're a healthier option. You do what you want, and I'll do what I want. Case closed. :)

Healthier option, no, and it's proven (numerous times i might add) they're not. Length of the nail isn't the whole issue, because, what about the 'lifting' of the acrylic between the nail and the cuticle? Just because you can't see it lift doesn't mean that it hasn't. Just because they LOOK clean doesn't mean they are.

You think that some here are acting so "pristine", and if pristine is another way of saying "looking out for the pt.", then, why yes, i am "pristine". :)

And on that note, won't be back on this one, but **** will freeze over before a nurse (or doctor, or aide) comes near me (as a patient) with fake nails.

Have a nice day.

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Dec 13, 2004

Great post, Marie.

Katnip, RN · Dec 13, 2004

Agree with both Deb and Marie.

People just want to think of themselves only without trying to get the facts. The facts are there. Fungus that has been shown to from acrylic nails has killed human beings.

I would think that when healthcare professionals note that even ONE death has been proben to come from a source that is easily eliminated, then the nurses would avoid that source. That would be the responsible response.

I agree with you Marie. No way is any healthcare provider with artifical nails coming near me or my loved ones.

The evidence is there, has been there for years, and people still choose to ignore it.

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Dec 13, 2004

I had an instructor waaaaaay back in LPN school who not only wore 1.5 inch long fake nails, she even had rhinestones and chains on them.

fergus51 · Dec 13, 2004

I'm surprised at how uneducated some people are. Fortunately our hospital is strict about this issue. Unfortunately it will take an outbreak in their hospital before they even consider listening to the evidence out there.

KrisRNwannabe · Dec 13, 2004

I finally must put my 2 cents in. First off I myself have been a long time acrylic nail wearer. but now that i have choosen this career i have sadly taken them off. and will now suffer and try not to scratch people. I have done the swabs in micro and the backlight and nothing but you should have seen some of the people that didn't have fakes. anyhoo, that being said, i think pt safety should win out. also i would like to pose this question: how many people do you think wear fake nails very short and well taken care of that you don't know about? if they are short and well maintained it looks like you just have short well maintained nails. this is coming from someone who has wore them for more than 7 years. most people couldn't tell i wore them. just a thought the next time you seem someone with nice nails.

kris

fergus51 · Dec 13, 2004

Kris I have confidence that my coworkers would not endanger our patients' lives by sneaking in acryllic nails. I don't know any NICU nurses that would risk a baby's life for their own vanity.

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 13, 2004

I guess it comes down to integrity, doesn't it? And like I said, if I were responsible for the infection and/or death of a patient, for any reason, I would feel sick at my stomach. And guilty for the rest of my life........

That fear/concern is enough to keep on the straight and narrow when it comes to my infection control practices.

unknown99, BSN, RN · Dec 20, 2004

They are not allowed on direct care workers (nurses, aides, etc...) in the state of Ohio, and I believe most states now.

I know that this all came about because at least 2 preemies in the same facility died from what they traced back to the bacteria that was "harbored" under the nurses acrylic nails.

MereSanity · Jan 4, 2005

I am a nursing student graduating next month. I wore "fake nails" before nursing school, but my program did not allow them during school. I am considering getting them again after graduation. What is your opinion and the policies at the facilities where you work? Are they a health hazaard to patients if proper handwashing precautions are used? Have you read any studies on the "fake nail" issue?

Read this article about long/fake nails...VERY informative...

http://www.earthchangestv.com/biology/0324nailbacteria.htm

it's about nurses who's long fingernails were responsible for the deaths of 16 babies. :crying2:

midwest40 · Oct 18, 2005

Are there any studies to show that infection rates dropped once artificial nails were banned. Isn't the length of the nails more important than whether or not they are fake? I am a nail biter and when I don't have acrylic nails I bite below the quick till they bleed. This seems to be more of an infection risk than manicured, well kept artificial nails. My acrylic nails are less than 1/4 inch. I have not found one study showing decrease in nosocomial infections following an artificial nail ban. I did find that the original study was based on 40 people, it found increase in bacteria but not increase in the spread of infection. And in the NICU infection study, it was due to glove ruptures from long artificial nails. I just want some facts if anyone can help. Thanks