Wearing Artificial Nails and Nail Polish in the Healthcare Setting

This has been somewhat of a controversial point, either among colleagues or between the administration and the employees. However, in our hospital, it's frowned upon to do anything that makes u pretty (including your nails), but they usually blame it on their concerns on hygiene.

Well, i read a very interesting article yesterday which clearly sheds the light on such a matter.. here is what i learned (all of the following info are supporte by actual data). Even if you don't work in a hospital, you'll know what 's clean and what's not!!

- fungal growth occurs more frequently under artificial nails, and the number of microorganisms (bacteria and such) is still higher than natural nails both before and after washing.
- Freshly applied nail polish does not increase the number of bacteria recovered from under the nails. however, there is concern that individuals with fresh manicures may be hesitant to perform rigorous hand hygiene in an effort to protect their nails.
- chipped nail polish may support the growth of larger numbers of organisms on fingernails, even after careful hand washing.
- effect of length of natural or artificial nails on infection risk is also unknown, because the majority of bacterial growth occurs along the proximal 1 mm of the nail adjacent to subungual skin (skin under the nail) --> all nails longer than 1 mm carry almost the same risk!!

so the recommendations are:

- wearing of artificial nails should be avoided and is "strongly recommended for implementation and strongly supported by well-designed experimental, clinical or epidemiological studies". It's required for those individuals providing care to patients at high risk of acquiring infections, such as in intensive care units, transplant units, or operating rooms.
- natural nails be less than a quarter inch long when caring for patients at high risk of acquiring an infection. (some associations require it, others just recommend it)
- If nail polish is worn, it should not be worn for more than 4 days. At the end of 4 days, nail polish should be removed and freshly reapplied.

What i totally loved is the following recommendation:
"Individuals who choose to wear nail polish should be guided by their surgical conscience, which requires a combination of clinical experience, judgment, critical thinking, and the ability to question a practice when one believes it is not the right thing to do."

I mean, how great is it to ask a person to think and do the right thing?.. quite refreshing in a world of "do this, do that"..