The caregiver is doing a great job with my mother, but it seems to defy common sense to have such long nails while bathing her and wiping her. I worry about the hygiene aspect (I know she washes her hands, but quickly; I don't think she always wears the surgical gloves we have on hand). But I'm more concerned with the sharp nails around my mother's very fragile skin, especially in the vaginal and anal areas. Any opinions or knowledge about this?
I used to wear acrylic nails because my own nails were so thin and ugly. I never had a problem scratching myself or tearing delicate skin. And I worked in health care. If I was giving a bath to a patient the washcloth would be between my gloved hand and the patient's skin. Same with toileting. The tissue paper would be between my gloved hand and the delicate skin. Your caregiver's hands should not be coming in contact with your mom's skin during bathing or toileting but not because of her nails but because of hygiene purposes. The caregiver should be gloved any time she has contact with your mom during bathing and toileting.
I see those long fingernails on many caregivers and wonder how the heck they can work with them. Even when using gloves the long nail will cause the glove to tear.
Unfortunately the policy of short finger nails is overlooked more often than not these days.
You can call the agency to report it, then the employee may quit and the employer will be short staffed, so many employers do nothing.
I myself am a handwashing freak but I know the dangers of not following infection control.
I agree 100% long fingernails are an issue when delivering patient care & can’t understand how the employee can perform their job with them (same with computers) but I don’t know the solution.
Anyway. There are many studies done about this very thing, how that wearing artificial nails in healthcare environment has directly contributed to more contamination, more infections. Google those and read a few, if you want to have a better understanding of how to approach the topic from a scientific standpoint and you can approach this in a way to enlist the willing compliance of the caregiver. They sound like they want to take good care of your mom and they must not be aware of the potential for problems with the nails.
Short nails are essential for infection control. When mom gets C-Diff and worker takes it home to her baby, she is not going to be happy at all!
Now, out of habit, I keep my nails so short they couldn't scratch anyone.
Also, when I worked Elder Care, we could not have long fake nails either. It was as much to protect US as our clients.
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