Beyond fashion, many women enjoy embellishing their nails with vibrant colors, rhinestones, and floral designs, ensuring their nail art is always unique. However, improper manicures can pose health risks, potentially leading to paronychia.
Harm 1: Buffing and Polishing
For aesthetic purposes, manicurists use specialized fine sandpaper and buffing sticks to polish fingernails. After this "treatment," nails appear smoother, which is why many women request polishing with every manicure. Over time, however, nails gradually become thinner and softer.Frequent buffing of the nail surface damages the protective enamel layer. Once this protective layer is compromised, the nail's defense mechanism weakens, making it highly susceptible to fungal and bacterial infections.Many nail salons fail to thoroughly disinfect tools like scissors and tweezers, making it easy to spread infections like nail fungus, hand/foot ringworm, paronychia, and even causing cross-contamination. Damage 2: Applying Nail Polish The nail surface has a cuticle layer, which is part of the skin and serves to breathe and protect. Frequent nail polish application prevents nails from "breathing" properly.. Moreover, conventional nail polish contains significant amounts of organic solvents, primarily acetone, ethyl acetate, and phthalates. Inferior polishes often emit a pungent odor, frequently containing formaldehyde and benzene. Applying these chemicals to the nail surface can cause pigment deposition, dryness, yellowing, brittleness, and a dull appearance.While some natural nail polishes (free of phthalates, formaldehyde, and toluene) are available on the market, their effectiveness is often inferior, much like hair dyes.
If nail polish accidentally touches the skin around the nails during application, it will certainly cause skin damage and increase the risk of paronychia. Therefore, it is recommended to avoid contact with the surrounding skin when applying nail polish. Of course, it's best to avoid using nail polish altogether if possible.
Harm 3: Cuticle Removal
Nail services often include cuticle removal. Chen Zhihé explains that removing cuticles exposes the nail matrix, making the underlying tissue prone to redness, swelling, and pain. Severe infections can rapidly develop into pus-filled abscesses, leading to paronychia. Repeated episodes may eventually progress to chronic paronychia.
What to Do if You Develop Paronychia?
Paronychia frequently arises from improper manicure techniques. Chen Zhihé notes that paronychia generally does not resolve on its own without treatment. Untreated cases often progress to chronic paronychia, damaging the nail bed, impairing nail growth, weakening local immunity, and potentially causing nail loss.So, how should one treat paronychia if it occurs?
Chen Zhihé advises that in the early stages, when inflammation is present but no pus has formed, ichthammol ointment can be applied around the affected area to reduce inflammation. Maintaining cleanliness and proper daily care of the affected site is crucial during this phase. Povidone-iodine solution can be used to clean the area and prevent infection.Some individuals neglect this condition, allowing it to worsen and develop into suppuration. If the affected area has become infected, it is essential to visit a hospital to thoroughly drain the pus. In advanced cases of paronychia, nail removal may be necessary. This procedure is typically performed when the nail is embedded in the surrounding soft tissue, when treatment for suppurative paronychia is ineffective, or when the nail has become necrotic.
Nail Care Essentials
1. Avoid cutting nails excessively short. Trim both sides of the nail bed without leaving a tip. Maintain square-shaped free edges instead of rounded or pointed ones to prevent ingrown nails.
2. Maintain good hygiene habits. Avoid picking at hangnails. If a hangnail appears, trim it with nail clippers. Never pull or tear at it with your hands.
3. If you accidentally cut the edge of your nail, apply an antiseptic and cover it with sterile gauze to prevent infection.
4.Regularly care for your nails. Apply Vaseline or hand cream after washing hands and before bed to strengthen the skin around the nail bed's resistance to disease.
5. Exercise extra caution when eating nuts like walnuts or chestnuts, or peeling shrimp and crab shells, to avoid puncturing the nail bed. If punctured, treat and bandage promptly to prevent bacterial growth and inflammation.