Long Nails

[kylie_0607]

I ahve had a few years where I had really long nails and sometimes even if I cleaned and washed them they woudl still have dirt underneath. Do you think that having long nails could help to breed the germs of an sv? i know it might sound silly but I was thinking about it this year got worried and cut them off and have kept them short since. Anyone have any ideas?

[spilled_milk]

I'm not sure. I have really long nails myself, but I don't bite them or anything. I think you'd be more at risk if you like, sucked and bit your nails?


<3 Anya--

[crimgoddess]

Yeah, same here. I have really long nails (not intentionally, I just dont really feel like maintaining them to keep them short), and I just make sure not to bite them. I don't generally get much dirt underneath them- but I'm not exactly the rough and tumble outsider type (that, and it's the dead of winter here)


Watching someone bite their nails is pretty gross anyway.....to me watching that is almost like hearing nails on a chalkboard [img]smileys/smilies_11.gif[/img]


*amber*

[ontariogirl]

Since the age of 5 I bit my nails and when the phobia began at age 9, during a panic attack I would bite them till they bled. I am 40 and since November I quit biting them. I wasn't sick very often when I bit my nails. Actually I thought that since I quit I wouldn't become that sick, well that changed my mind when I ended up really sick with bronchitis. To me it doesn't matter if you bite your nails or not if you get sick you get sick.

[emms]

It's so funny that you post this! I have thought about posting it for quite a while! I stopped biting mine just over a year ago, and now I keep them long. I clean them with a nail brush as often as I can. And when I sanitize my hands I make sure the Purell gets under my nails. Yes, I do worry about germs under my nails, but I've tried to research it and haven't found anything conclusive. Good luck!

[gubba]

I'm 41 and been a nail biter all my life. I wash my hands like crazy and I don't bite unless they are really clean. I have stopped biting a few times and I have ended up sick and then I get nervous and bite them off.

[jesskali]

I have long nails--always have except for when I was in nursing school. We had to keep our nails extremely short so that they would not harbor any bacteria. We also couldn't wear nail polish because chips can harbor bacteria as well.

Jess

[SimplyMe]

I don't bite my nails and they are probably normal length, I do try and keep them rather short more because long ones get in my way lol. Anyhow, I had a friend who thougth she got sick from her nails, what it was is she made turkey, handled raw turkey and then I guess didn't wash her hands/nails well enough. I don't thinkt hat anyone should not have nails because of something like that tho. If you handle something you KNOW could be "bad" (like raw meat) scrub your nails and hands really well before handling anything else of putting your hands in your mouth. (common sense right?) It used to freak me out tho and I"d wash my hands then run q-tips w/ alcohol on them under my nails to be sure after handling meat. Anyhow, I hope this helps.

[suze]

Yeah, good advice from SimplyMe, raw meat could potentially be a problem so if you do handler it, makr sure you clean under your nails straight away. I have long nails too, but they never look dirty, that's cos I was my hands all the time LOL!


Anyway, in science at school, when i was about 13, we did an experiment - putting stuff on petri dishes to see what bugs would grow. Anyway, I contributed a finger nail - probably not a particularly clean one at the time - but anyway, nothing really grew, unlike the blob of phlegm contributed by one of the boys! uugh! So, i take from this that nails that are kept clean are probably not too risky!!

[kylie_0607]

Thanks everyone for your replies i might consider growing them now!

[californiagirl]

My nails get to about 1 inch long or so (no kidding), and I cut them down every three weeks or so, to about 3/4 inch, because I love long nails and get lots of compliments[img]smileys/smilies_01.gif[/img] What I do is wear gloves alot, when I'm cleaning the bathrooms, or when I prepare raw meat/chicken. I never see any dirt or build-up under them though. I just wash very good after going to the bathroom.

[rubysoho120]

As far as I know they say you really need to clean under your
nails because germs and dirt and get trap in there and grow.
Now sv I dont know but germs none the less. I think long nails
are fine, just get a nail brush and scrub good before you bite.
My boyfriend bites his and its so nasty but thats because Im a
germaphob. Also be careful with using and reusing water
bottles. Don't let your water bottle sit out all day, the germs
from your mouth will grow on the part that touches your mouth
and in the water and when you drink it, it can make you sick
with colds, flus, or d*. I read that in a health magazine.

[mitch04133]

I have always gotten my nails done, so I have long nails, but they are fake, which is probably worse, but I like the way they look. I clean them when I wash my hands, but I really don't obesses about what could be living under them..hey if I am going to catch something then I am going to catch something. I refuse to worry that I got it from my nails, I would rather look goood anyway...

[crimgoddess]

::::I would rather look goood anyway... :::


Sistah, I'm with you. Sometimes il faut suffrir pour etre belle! (lol- you have to suffer to be beautiful). Which is why my size 10 feet are currently crammed into a pair of red high-heeled boots that are only a size 9- they didn't have a 10, and like I was going to pass up boots that nice! I figure my long-arsed feel will stretch them- eventually.


LOL- this has absolutely nothing to do with the original topic. Just as an aside


*amber*

[samara's on tv]

I keep my nails short and I clean under them as much as possible. My finger nails get dirty really easily and I don't know why. I don't bite them though, I'll pick at them with my other fingernails but I never bite them. I used to bite them all the time and then my mom made fun of me for biting them cause she said I looked stupid when I did it, so I just stopped. I prefer to have short nails. Every once in a while I'll get fake nails put on but I hate them cause they interfere with my ability to type.


~Monica

[falon_17]

I keep my nails pretty short, because they get dirty more often when they are longer and I have accidentally scratched my son before! Also I do work-study in a microbiology lab, so I don't want anything to accidentally get trapped under a nail and me carry it home! Still when they do get a little long and I don't have time to trim them, I wash under them especially good. I get paranoid about bacteria getting in my eyes. I wear contact lenses and am legally blind in one eye, so if I infect my one good eye with a dirty finger that could be it for me!

[purpleteacher]

I can't keep my nails because they are too *bendy*. I also have trouble typing, writing, and playing my guitar with long nails. I keep them short and cut my fingernails about once every 3 weeks.

[belle]

Personally I just don't like long nails so I keep mine short...I give myself a weekly manicure, cut, shape, file, cuticle oil and polish. I think underneath nails are breeding grounds for bacteria and viruses in general... I have heard Mariah Carey checks underneath chefs nails in the resturaunts she goes to make sure they are clean.