Nail care

Definition—The nails require special attention to prevent infection, odours and injury to the tissues.
Problems usually result from abuse or poor care of the nails. Such as

-Biting nails or trimming them improperly

-exposure to hard chemicals

Purpose—

 To protect the ends of our fingers from trauma and to help pick things up.
 General cleansing of nails.
 To protect from fungal infection.
 To check the skin around the nail beds should be sooth and without inflammation.
 To examine the nail because disease can change the shape and curvature of nails.

Indication---

 older adults
 Patients with diabetes
 Patients with heart failure and renal disease
 Patient who had an attack of CVA

Preparation---

 Give the proper explanation to the patient

 If possible, let the patient sit on a bed

Preparation of articles

 Sterile

Articles Rationale
Sponge cloth-1 To clean the calloused area of the hand
A small bowl with warm water To soak the fingers
a nail cutter/nail file To trim or cut nails
 Clean articles

Articles Rationale
A mackintosh with a towel To protect the bed linen and garments
Hand towel-1 or bath towel To dry the skin
A kidney tray and a paper bag To receive waste
A pair of gloves To prevent cross-infection at the time of cleaning
 the hand
Vaseline/ or cream To apply on the skin to prevent dryness
Special points ---1 Prevent interruption during procedure
2 Prevent spread of microorganism

Procedures –

S. No Steps Rationale

1 Wash hand with soap and water To prevent cross-infection

2 Arrange all the articles
3 Place the patient on a bad in a
sitting position (If possible)
4 Fill the bowl with warm water
5 Place the mackintosh lined with
towel and bowl of water in the lap
of the patient
6 Place the basin on the paper lining
on the floor. Ask the patient to dip
his fingers in the bowl of water for
10-20 minutes
7 Remove the basin and bowl and dry
fingers thoroughly
8 Cut fingers nails straight with a nail
cutter and shape the nails with file
9 Put on gloves; clean the calloused
area of hand with sponge cloth.
10 Apply Vaseline/ cream to the hands
11 Inspect nails and surrounding skin
after soaking and nail trimming
For easy and convenience access
It makes the patient and nurse comfortable to carry
out procedure
Warm water soften nails and thickens epidermal
cell
Also helps in reducing inflammation of the skin and
promotes local circulation
To protect the patient’s cloths
To soften the nails and thickened epidermal cell, to
promote local circulation
To dry the fingers
To prevent fungal growth and maceration of tissue
To prevent splitting of nail margins and formulation
of sharp nail spikes that can irritate lateral nail
margins
To prevent transfer of infection
To lubricate dry skin by retaining moisture
To evaluate the condition of skin

Termination of articles –Remove all articles, wash, disinfect and replace.

Wash hands.

Documentation – Record the procedure and observation. Report if any break in the skin is observed.