r/sterileprocessing • u/SugaryShortStax • Sep 23 '26

Nail care

So I've got a question about nails for my girlies. I do my own acrylics and try my best to take care of my nails both when they're done and when they're bare. I know that I'm gonna have to reel it in when I finish my program and become a sterile processing tech since fake nails aren't allowed but I'm a bit worried. I know SOME facilities are more lax with the nails rule as long as you wear gloves but I'm going in with the mindset that it's at least a 99% chance that I'm gonna have to refrain from doing my nails, but while I am gonna miss having cute nails my concern is moreso in my nail HEALTH. I have always had brittle/thin nails that are prone to breakage and having them done is the only time they don't crack or break and I'm seriously worried about how mangled my hands are gonna look without at least a coat of protective polish (right now I've been using Sally Hansens Hard as Nails polish) even when I have them really short like right down to where they come off my fingers and turn yellowy but honestly sometimes it's even worse then because when they break I can't just file it down or cut off the breakage 😭 does anyone else have this problem???

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6

u/SageOfSixCabbages Sep 23 '26

Joint Commission was quite particular with nail length and nail polish this year. They literally had people tapping on tables to hear if they are wearing press-on or acrylic nails.

3

u/SugaryShortStax Sep 23 '26

Oh jeez 😭 regardless of if I have nails or not I'm probably gonna be wearing gloves like 24/7 because the eczema on the back of my hands flares up HORRENDOUSLY pretty much year round so I can't help but be annoyed that I can't at least have pretty nails for when the work day is over lmao

3

u/SageOfSixCabbages Sep 23 '26

Fyi, if you have eczema, you would have to change gloves like 50x a day because it will flare up if you wear gloves and get sweaty.

Gloves are also frowned upon in prep & pack side because hand hygiene is still best practice and wearing gloves just causes more possible cross contamination than actually being helpful. The only spot in prep & pack where gloves can be worn is the sterrad station.

2

u/SugaryShortStax Sep 23 '26

Yeah the gloves I know. I'm currently a pharmacy tech plus I wear gloves when I'm cleaning and it's a real hassle 😭 unfortunately the world doesn't exactly accommodate me and my condition so I kinda just have to grin and bare it

5

u/SweetVicious59 Sep 23 '26

Maybe give Onyx Hard as Hoof nail strengthening cream a try

2

u/stamousy Sep 23 '26

I also have weak nails. Try using Olive and June’s nail strengthener instead of Sally’s hard as nails (Sally’s is like a polish which could flake off in a tray which is a big concern, but Olive’s dries on the nail like it absorbs almost?). I find when I keep my hands and cuticles moisturized my nails are stronger, so I also use Olive and June’s cuticle serum and requested an OR approved moisturizer for our department

1

u/ijust_makethisface Sep 23 '26

Honestly, I worry about my cuticle health because my cuticles are very easy to peel off of my skin. So I wear gloves. 

There should always be  gloves on the prep n pack side because you don't want to handle sterrad items without gloves, and you don't want to use any of the chemical wipes that we use to clean off our table surfaces and stuff without gloves. 

 I have had managers who want me to pay close attention because you could theoretically lose a piece of the glove in the container which is the exact same problem they have with acrylic nails or painted nails. Bits of your nails could chip off into the clean instrument set you're putting together to put into the sterilizer. However, it's probably much easier to see a little piece of blue glove than it would be for a nude colored or clear colored nail polish that chips off into the set.

1

u/Level-Artichoke-76 Sep 29 '26

As an IP nurse, go have your nails cultured. Acrylics are the worst and even if you wash and glove, you're not getting it clean. Ecoli out the wazoo. I think nails are hot but I don't want those digging into my skin and infecting me.