• What and Why?
• Nail Care and Grooming
• Nail Polish and Removers
• Artificial Nails and Manicures
• Nail Problems

What and Why?

Nails are a specialized form of skin. They provide 10 (or 20) little places that you can decorate. But more than that, they protect your sensitive fingers and toes, and they help you pick up small things, scratch itches, and hold on to or manipulate objects. You can also abuse them by biting, peeling and picking at them.
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Nail Care and Grooming

Your nails provide important clues to your overall health. Broken, discolored or misshapen nails can indicate nutritional deficiencies, infections or skin conditions. Good nail care keeps your hands and feet looking nice and is part of a general program of good health habits. Below are tips for caring for your nails.

• Keep them clean and dry. This helps prevent infection.


• Shape them straight across rather than to a point. Pointed nails are weaker and can break more easily.


• Do not bite or pick them. Bitten nails are more easily infected.

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Nail Polish and Removers

Nail polishes and removers are chemical lacquers, hardeners and solvents. FDA-approved nail products are safe to use, but some people have allergic reactions to some of the chemicals. Acetone, a common solvent in nail polish remover, can dry your nails, making them brittle and prone to splitting and breaking. One compound used in some acrylic nails, methacrylate (MMA), has caused allergic reactions so severe that people have lost entire nails, causing it to be banned in many states. If your nail salon uses MMA, ask them if they have an alternative product. It's not worth risking the loss of your nails!

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Artificial Nails and Manicures

Artificial nails and manicures are very popular and can help your hands look nice. They can also be a source of health problems. Manicure tools and instruments used in salons are used on many different people. If these tools are not properly sterilized, you can get an infection such as HIV, hepatitis B or C, or warts. If you have your nails professionally applied or manicured, you should check to make sure the manicurists sterilize their equipment after each use, or take your own manicure tools for the manicurist to use.

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Nail Problems

Because they're right out there on the ends of our hands and feet, nails are subject to a lot of abuse. Some of it, like biting, is self-inflicted. But everyone has experienced broken or ripped nails from catching them on or in something, or cracking and splitting from overexposure to water and chemicals. Minor nail problems usually heal as the nail grows out and require little treatment other than perhaps protecting the finger or toe if it is especially sensitive. In addition to allergic reactions to nail cosmetics and chemicals, there are a few other common problems that can occur with nails.

• Abuse -- biting, picking and peeling. When you bite your nails, you are interfering with their ability to protect your sensitive fingers. What's more, you are inviting infection. Your nails can become infected because the surface is broken or removed. You can also be eating all kinds of nasty things that may be under your nails from things you have touched during the day. If you touch your dog, your car or your school books and then bite your nails, you are ingesting the same kinds of things you would if you licked these objects. Pretty disgusting, huh? In addition, bitten-down nails are not very attractive.


• Fungal infections -- PAMF's doctors get a lot of questions about fungal nail infections. This link provides a very thorough discussion of the what's, why's and how's of these infections.


• Color changes -- Nails may change in color as a result of injury, some medications, nutritional imbalances and skin conditions. If the color of your nails has changed dramatically, it is a good idea to check with your doctor.


• Hangnails -- The skin around your nails can become irritated and infected from biting or chewing, minor injuries, or exposure to water and chemicals. Hangnails can cause soreness around your nails, and if an infection develops you should see your doctor.


• Ingrown nails -- These can be painful. They are usually caused by improper trimming of the nail or by wearing shoes that are too tight. If you have an ingrown toenail, do not attempt to treat it by cutting or digging at it. Have it treated properly by your doctor.

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