A medical expert has just explained how having long fingernails, nail extensions and varnish can increase the probability of getting coronavirus as it is difficult to get the virus out of the nails.
Anesthetics and beauty expert from Bijoux Medispa, Belgravia, Dr. Elisabeth Dancey, told FEMAIL that it is very likely for bacteria, fungi, and other pathogens to get trapped under the nails, after which, they can get transferred to your face or nose or to other people.
Dr. Elisabeth said: “Long nails, nail varnish, and nail extensions have always been a no-no for anybody who needs spotlessly clean hands; nurses, doctors, therapists, cooks, mothers and carers.
“Germs’ such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses (including the Coronavirus) can harbor underneath the nail space and easily be transmitted to whatever you touch. Put simply, you cannot see the dirt that lies beneath.
“Doctors know this and rigorously scrub under their nails before donning gloves and performing surgery; with a sterile nail brush and sanitizing solution. We should now follow their example.”
Medical Director at Dr. Chike Clinics and Hampstead Aesthetics Clinic, Dr. Chike Emeagi maintained that the optimum length of a fingernail is to just cover the nail tissue and not any longer.
He said: “It is advisable to cut your nails as short as possible as they harbor infection.”
This warning from the experts has come just after a nurse’s viral video suggested that one of the biggest ways of spreading coronavirus is long fingernails.
The nurse’s recommendations were shared on Facebook by a woman, who wrote: “Among all the hand-washing instructions and the fun 20-second song suggestions, I haven’t seen anyone note that it is impossible to wash your hands properly if your fingernails are long.”
“If you can’t put your fingernails straight down against your other palm without your nails adding too much distance to do it, you cannot wash under your fingernails properly unless you use a nail brush every time,” she added.
It is a good idea to run the test suggested by her to find out if your nails are within the safe range of length or not.
Talking of the effectiveness of hand sanitizer, the woman said that hand sanitizers are not enough to do the trick if you have longer nails.
“If you can’t rub the very ends of your fingers against the other palm, then your hands aren’t truly clean after you wash them, no matter how long you soap up,” she wrote in her post on Facebook.
She ended the post saying: “Please, during this global emergency, keep your nails short.”
A number of people acknowledged in the comments that they had no idea how dangerous fingernails can be, adding that they’ll make sure not to have fingernails long enough to pose a corona threat.
Some people also added that the germs and virus can live in nail polish so it is a good idea not to use nail polish during the times of this deadly virus.
“Nurses can’t have painted or fake nails as they harbor an incredible amount of bacteria. This is true even when not in a pandemic,” a woman commented.
“The same is true of engagement rings and wedding bands,” wrote another.
Abigail Morinkyo, a registered nurse from the UK, told FEMAIL: “Coronavirus can be passed on through contact, or droplets in the air when people cough or sneeze.
“Long or false nails are defintely not the biggest carriers, or else they would not have countries in lockdown.
“The disease can be passed on through false nails, in a similar way to touch, but that is one of the ways that it can be passed on.”
Internist and gastroenterologist from New York, Dr. Niket Sonpal, who is also an adjunct professor at Touro College, told InStyle US: “Long nails are not entirely ideal during an outbreak simply for the reason that they take longer to clean.
“People are not mindful that they have to allocate more time than usual to wash the underside of the nails, and they harbor more germs and bacteria.”
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