Underneath your fingernails is the perfect breeding ground for various types of bacteria, fungus, and yeast. Staphylococcus aureus, which can cause skin infections like boils and abscesses is the most common, and many people suffer from staph infections due to it.
Along with dead skin cells and dirt, nasty germs like Klebsiella (bacteria that cause pneumonia and urinary tract infections) and Candida parapsilosis (a yeast that causes wound and blood stream infections) can be found under fingernails. Salmonella and E.
Keratin debris and skin cells accumulate underneath the fingernail and turn a grayish color when they come in contact with dirt and oil. It is also common for remnants of personal care products such as lotions, makeup, and soaps to accumulate under the nails.
Bugs that live in the gut for example are designed to survive in a warm wet environment, such as under fingernails.” And the longer your nails are, the better it is...for germs to thrive.
Fingernails should be kept short, and the undersides should be cleaned frequently with soap and water. Because of their length, longer fingernails can harbor more dirt and bacteria than short nails, thus potentially contributing to the spread of infection.
Onychomycosis or tinea unguium is usually caused by a buildup of dermatophyte fungi. These are parasitic fungi infecting the skin and nails, which need to reside in human or animal bodies in order to survive. Fungal infections of the nail are caused when dermatophytes burrow under the nails to breed.
Nail biting can also transfer pinworms or bacteria buried under the surface of the nail to your mouth. When bitten-off nails are swallowed, stomach problems can develop.
Lice can live for a short time under your finger nails, and could be spread to you or to your other children. Using clips, pin back each strand of hair after you have combed out the nits.
Other parts of the volunteers' hands were home to hundreds to thousands of bacteria, while the subungual areas yielded hundreds of thousands of bacteria per fingertip. The fingernails harboured the same types of bacteria as the rest of the hand, just a lot more of them.
Our nails have more bacteria than any other surface, including a toilet seat and the London Underground. You may want to think twice before biting your nails with the analysis revealing the bacteria found underneath them comes to a gruesome average of 50,430 per nail.
"The 'gunk' underneath fingernails is most commonly the keratin debris from the underside of the nail, as well as skin cells from the nail bed," says Dana Stern, M.D., a dermatologist with practices in New York City and Southamptom, New York (she's actually one of the few doctors in the country who specializes in nail ...
Toenail fungus, also known as onychomycosis, forms when fungal infections occur underneath the surface of the nail, causing color change, pain, and even unpleasant odor. Dermatophytes, the fungi that also causes athlete's foot, cause the majority of fungal toenail infections.
Nail Trauma: If you've recently injured the area, the black spot under the nail may be a type of bruise referred to as a subungual hematoma. As a result of an injury, blood pools under the nail leading to discoloration. This type of hematoma is commonly caused by stubbing a toe or from sports trauma.
Paronychia can develop when bacteria enter broken skin near the cuticle and nail fold, causing an infection. The cuticle is the skin at the base of the nail. The nail fold is where the skin and nail come together. Healthcare providers treat paronychia with antibiotics to kill the infection.
Dermatophytes use the keratin in your nails to grow and multiply. By consuming the keratin in your nails by breaking it down, creating keratin debris — a crumbly residue that becomes part of the toenail fungus.
To begin with, your nails harbor all sorts of germs. In particular, a family of bacteria called enterobacteriaceae — which includes salmonella and E. coli — tends to thrive in the cozy crevice beneath the tips of your nails, Scher explains.
Remove all head lice and nits from hair:
Use your fingernails to pull off the nits from the hair or use a head lice comb (metal ones work better than plastic). Repeat daily until there are no nits. Separate hair into sections then pick up a few strands at a time to remove nits.
Some common bugs that can be mistaken for lice are ants, bedbugs, and fleas. A few things all these bugs have in common is they're small in size, can be dark colored, and can give you an itchy head. A few things that can be mistaken for lice nits are dandruff, hair product, or dirt.
People become infected, usually unknowingly, by swallowing (ingesting) infective pinworm eggs that are on fingers, under fingernails, or on clothing, bedding, and other contaminated objects and surfaces. Because of their small size, pinworm eggs sometimes can become airborne and ingested while breathing.
Pinworms are spread when an infected person, most often a child, has scratched his/her bare anal area and the eggs get under his/her fingernails.
Biting nails, we can also get infected with pinworms, tapeworm, staphylococcus, salmonella , E. coli, and HPV human papillomavirus.