The novel coronavirus has forced us to temporarily change or rethink almost all of our day to day activities and habits. From working out to grocery shopping to skincare and beauty treatments. Every seemingly obvious part that shapes everyday life had to be slightly altered to fit with the new restrictions imposed to flatten the curve.
Recently, a few experts have warned that it is best to avoid long nails, nail extensions and nail varnish these days, as germs, fungi, and viruses (including the coronavirus) tend to harbor underneath the nail and can easily be transmitted to anything you touch. The longer the nails are, the harder it is to clean it properly. It is not yet known precisely how long the virus can survive on the nail as a surface, but it is certainly a period of time that allows transmission onto sensitive areas like the face. The importance of washing hands correctly has been thoroughly discussed, but what about keeping the nail area clean?
This is what you can do to maintain your nail hygiene during the outbreak.
Long nails have never been a part of the lives of doctors and nurses. Anyone who needs to keep their hands as clean as possible and perform sterile procedures is instructed to keep their nails short. Now the CDC recommends the general public adopt the same precautionary habit - trim your nails regularly and make sure they don’t extend past the top of your fingertip.
A Facebook post listing the advice of an Australian nurse on the topic recently went viral. ‘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 said.