Fingernail length

Posted by Judy Arbique Nov 22, 2006

The importance of hand hygiene within healthcare facilities has become a popular media topic. The increased prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) within the hospital environment has raised the awareness of the importance of proper hand hygiene. Infection control practitioners are charged with the seemingly insurmountable task of ensuring that infections do not spread on the hands of healthcare workers from one patient to another. In an era when many hospital-acquired infections are caused by bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotics traditionally used to treat them, infection control teams have their hands full.

Numerous studies related to outbreaks of infection have made an association between infection and artificial fingernails, long natural fingernails and the wearing of nail polishes by healthcare workers. Although policies restricting the wearing of artificial fingernails have been adopted by many healthcare facilities, policies restricting the length of fingernails and the wearing of nail polish have been slower to follow.