One of the main ways to protect against harmful bacteria is hand washing. However, do you care about the cleanliness of your nails?We all know that hand washing is the most effective way to fight the spread of bacteria.

Many countries have legislation that requires food service workers to adhere to hand hygiene standards. However, it is impossible to get rid of all bacteria, no matter how thoroughly we wash our hands. Doctors and nurses often wear gloves because complete sterility cannot be achieved. A hundred years ago, doctors realized that tests always found bacteria on their hands, even after repeated hand washing. However, the reason for this persistence was only discovered in the early 1970s.

Researchers have found that covering your fingertips keeps your hands clean longer. Also, fingernails to be exact. These thin keratin plates contain a whole "bacterial zoo" underneath. Only in the late 1980s, researchers were able to find out who lives there. A study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania in 1988 involved 26 adult volunteers. They all worked at a university medical school, but had never interacted with patients. Researchers have found that most bacteria hide in the space under the nails. Hundreds of thousands of bacteria lived on the exposed areas of volunteers' palms, and about the same number were under each fingernail. The bacteria found there were the same as those found on the palm, but there were significantly more of them. Scientists have come to the conclusion that the space between the nail and the skin is ideal for the growth and reproduction of microorganisms. The nail protects them from external influences, and moisture promotes their development.

Based on previous data, the researchers found that "with normal hand washing, this area is relatively inaccessible to antimicrobials." This is the reason why there are so many bacteria in the undernail space. Keep in mind that even the best and simplest disease control products are ineffective when it comes to nails. They studied the microorganisms that live under the nails of health care workers, both natural and artificial, covered with varnish. A year after the research conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, the work of a group of nurses who were also interested in this issue was received. They noted that many healthcare workers are growing their nails following fashion, but their practicality and safety remain uncertain. The aim was to find out if there is more bacteria under artificial nails that are covered in varnish and are longer than natural nails. They invited 56 nurses with artificial nails and 56 nurses with normal nails to do this. In addition, they wanted to evaluate the effectiveness of hand washing in the two groups.

The study authors found that both before and after washing, nurses with artificial nails had more bacteria on their fingertips than nurses with natural nails. This does not mean that the patients got more bacteria. But this definitely increased the probability of infection with disease-causing organisms, the scientists realized. In addition, they found that artificial nails can interfere with thorough hand washing and exacerbate problems that already exist. In addition, medical workers' gloves with artificial nails often tear. Painted natural nails have an additional problem. Bacteria could accumulate in small chips or cracks.

In 1993, 26 adult women were examined by nurses from the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. They all worked at the hospital, but never talked to them. Each of them had short fingernails. Before applying the varnish and four days later, the analysis was carried out. Compared to artificial nails, varnish on natural nails does not pollute the under-nail area. It is important to keep your nails trimmed and clean. It doesn't matter if they are varnished or not. Despite the fact that bacteria had accumulated on the varnished nails after four days, the freshly painted nails looked perfectly fine. Diarrhea kills 2 to 3 million people every year. It is estimated that approximately one million of these can be saved by washing hands with soap. This is undoubtedly true. But only on the condition that during the procedure you need to pay special attention to the nails and the space under them. In addition, it is better to cut your hair short to protect yourself from infection.