Grrrroooosssss!!!! A Nail Fungus???? Okay, Okay… Don’t panic!!! It can happen to the best of us. It doesn’t have any bearing on your personal hygiene, and I am not! going to judge you if you come into my salon with a nail fungus. But, I can’t touch it either. Sorry, it’s not that I think you are gross, it is because my license prevents me from continuing service on you if I suspect that you have a nail fungus. I can’t even put on gloves and continue. I just have to smile and say, “I’m so sorry, but here’s where my service has to end.” (I actually have to put on gloves and then tell you that. But we don’t need to go into the protocol any further LOL.)
Sometimes though, you clients come in completely freaked out, thinking you have a fungus and you don’t. It’s just a bruised nail (Thank the Lord!!) and so we don’t always need to put on the gloves.
Let’s go over a few things to help you know when to be worried, but really—If in doubt, always ask us, If we are a nail tech, we have seen it before, and most of us don’t get queasy that easy. Ha! That was funny!
If it’s green, it’s not a fungus it’s a bacteria. Still a little bit of a problem but much easier to remedy unless you let it go for too long. We can kill bacteria with strong astringents. I keep one on hand that I love made by Young Nails called Thymol. If you are a licensed Cosmetologist or Nail Tech you can buy it for your clients. The treatment for this is to kill the bacteria and wait for the color stained area to grow out before resuming services on the nail. This might mean removing an enhancement like an acrylic nail.
If you have a white area in your nail it could be several different things, best to come in and get a consultation. Sometimes it’s just a bruise. If your nail is not separated from the nail plate (or bed) it is usually nothing to worry about except to monitor each time you come in for your manicure. We’ll make sure it is not getting bigger, and make sure it is growing out with your nail and will soon be gone. Nice white color is not often alarming.
Yellow nails freak us all out. No one wants a yellow nail. It’s almost like waking up and realizing you slept with your three year olds bubble gum in your hair and today is family picture day. It’s ok though!!! Calm down!!! We don’t have to send you to your Dr. for an amputation. We do have to send you to your Dr. though. Like I said earlier, it happens to the best of us. It happened to my dad for instance, and his Dr. told him about a new prescription cream that has shown some good results for his patients. Comparable to the Prescription oral medication that has been prescribed previously, but it is safe for everyone to use, and the oral medication was very hard on your liver. You had to have a blood test and make sure your liver could handle the strain before they would prescribe this oral regimen. So here is the link from Jublia
And some helpful information about what to look for if you think you may have a nail fungus. Thanks to Jubliarx.com
Symptoms of toenail fungus may include:
- Thickening of the nail
- Discoloration
- Change in nail shape
- Loosening/lifting of nail
- Brittleness
- Crumbling of nail edges
Mermaids JUJU 