Nail infection or just grotty nails??

[Francesca0278]

Hi,

I'm a newbie and have a horrible feeling that I may of had my first fungal nail infection today but I'm totally not sure?? I'm hoping somebody could advise me whether or not it was, as the lady has booked in for another manicure in a fortnight's time!!

I did Manicure Course at college which covered this kind of thing but it's hard to identify for sure when someone comes into the salon and this is the first one I've had since I started back in September last year.

When I first examined the hands and nails, I could see that some of her nails were split and her cuticles were very dry and overgrown but at this point I couldn't see anything that made me think it may be an infection but it was in the back of my mind so I gave her nails a good clean over with anti-fungal. She wanted Bio Sculpture gel but as her nails were so badly split I advised her to have a couple of manicures first to get her nails in better condition as the splits would cause the gel to lift.

BUT....as I continued with the manicure I started to noticed that her thumb nail was quite yellow and a couple of her cuticles had a slight yellow tinge (although I'm 99.9% sure she was a smoker). The nails that were split were mostly split in more than one place (which is referred to as like the top of a castle - in nail books) and the ends of her fingers were red and slightly hot which is was made me think it may be something more sinister, plus one of her thumbs had a patch of dry scaly skin - although she did say when she came in that she picks the skin.

Can anbody shed any light on what this may be?

After she left I threw everything out that I could, soaked all my tools in barbicide then sprayed with anti-fungal and cleaned and sanitised my table and everything else she touched!!!

I've also put a bottle of Nail Envy, Bio Sculpture Lavander Base, Seche Vite Top Coat and a bottle of Solar Oil to one side while I decide whether to throw these out as well??

I have to say I wish they covered more of this practical stuff at college instead of the endless homework drawing diagrams!!!!

Hope someone can help me,

Francesca :sad:

 

[WAX inc]

hi. hard to comment without actually seeing the nails. all i would say is go with your instincts. if her nails are in that much of a state a manicure is not going to help much as she doesnt seem to look after her nails and polish is going to flake of within a few hours anyway. Gel wont stick much longer either. if it was me id say i was unable to do any treatments due to the condition of her nails as you might make them worse and then she will blame you. your a technician not a magician lol

 

[wendy malley]

hi Francesca its very hard when you first start out as you want to please everyone and offend no-one.You were right about the gel,it would have lifted so now you need to believe you were probably right about everything else.When she comes back if things are still the same advise her to go to the dr or chemist it IS in her interest as well as yours and trust your instints x

 

[eskimonailtech]

As nail tech's, we can't diagnose a disease. However, the five signs of a fungus are:

1. Wood-like nails
2. Odour
3. Debris
4. Discoloration
5. Nail seperation

Because you said the ends of her fingers were hot, I'd be more inclined to say she has an actual infection such as onychomycosis.

Your best bet would be to call her up and say you are a bit worried about her health and would like her to see a doctor to make sure she'll be okay (which for us really means if she is contagious, she wont come back until she's better).

When I was a newbie to manicuring, I (against my obvious better judgement) did a manicure on someone with what I only realized after was staph. A few minutes into the manicure I realized he was a serious drug user and I was too afraid to embarass him to stop.

Long story short, always defer a manicure if you're unsure. In regards to your product, you used a fungal treatment and unless she had open sores and/or you broke skin, I'd say they're okay. But if you're in the position to afford new ones, then do that too.

Good luck!

 

[Myden]

I can't offer any advice with the 'maybe infected nails' but with reference to the splits in her nail.... I had a customer with a large vertical split in her thumb nail which actually healed using Bio Sculpture. By not having anything on her nails the water damage was actually keeping the split open. By using Bio gel, sculpting gel to hide the ridges of the split and then a colour overlay the split gradually grew out. And has never returned.