Prescription for Well-Being

Salon Woes: What You Need to Know to Stay Safe

I tend to avoid going to salons (nail and hair) on a regular basis – just not that kind of person – but I know plenty of men and women who do enjoy the luxury of having their toes buffed, nails polished, and hair done by stylists. So when, while perusing MSN Health & Fitness for a blog topic today, I happened upon an article titled Danger at your Local Salon, I paused to read the details…all I have to say (in the famously written words of Joseph Conrad) is: THE HORROR! THE HORROR! I knew that you could potentially contract a fungal infection from having your nails done (something I learned from a family member who experienced this very thing), but I had no idea the extent of what you could contract at a salon or of what could potentially happen while in the care of a nail technician or stylist.  I think I grimaced, gasped, and hid my eyes from the details of Danger at your Local Salon by Ginny Graves at Health Magazine. However, aside from stirring up images from the movie “Little Shop of Horrors*”, the article does offer some rather helpful information on how to keep you safe when visiting your nail or hair salon.  For the sake of brevity, I’ve picked only one of the many ways you may be maimed, but I suggest checking out the article in full for further details…it will definitely benefit you and your health.

    And now…bring on the screams…I kid, but in all seriousness, be weary of the instruments your technician is utilizing. Why? Well (cue the menacing sounding music), not only can they be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands, but they can also pass along gnarly diseases such as staff infections.  That being said, I move onto the details…The Credo blade (a razor-like tool used to shave off cuticles - predominately found on the heel), is by far the most dangerous tool your technician could use and not only that, it’s illegal.  If you see this instrument, run! Flee from your cushioned seat! Or if you’re less dramatic, ask them to kindly not use this medieval sounding device on your feet.  According to Inspector Jacobs (interviewed for the article), “people have had tendons cut because a manicurist slipped while shaving a callus on the heel” (Graves: Pg. 2). Yikes! The Credo blade, though the most dangerous tool in a technician’s tool-kit, is not your only concern.  Tools such as, nail files, nail brushes, and cuticle instruments can carry fungal infections. Others, like cuticle cutters and scissors, have the potential of transmitting diseases like hepatitis B and C, and even HIV may be transmitted through microscopic drops of blood on instruments which have not been cleaned properly.  Now, I know that all sounds terrifying and believe me, it raised the hairs on the back of my neck, but there are ways you can remain safe and still enjoy the luxury of having your hands and feet pampered. 

 

Here’s how:

1.     Ask how the salon disinfects its instruments: “The most foolproof device is an autoclave, which sterilizes metal tools overnight.  At a minimum, implements should be disinfected between clients; they should be washed in soap and water, then soaked in disinfectant in a covered container” (Graves: Pg. 2).  The container should have the following words on it: bactericidal, fungicidal, germicidal, or virucidal.  Also, “clean tools should then be stored separately from the used ones. Items that can’t be disinfected (i.e. nail buffers, nail files, or nail brushes) should be thrown away immediately after being used” (Graves: Pg. 2).

2.     Know what tools will be used: Credo blade = a resounding NO! (That goes for the cuticle cutters as well). If your technician pulls out a Credo blade (aka razor-edge cutter) tell her/him to not use this device on your feet (or any other place they may be used for that matter).  According to the article, “using a Credo blade is actually considered minor surgery” (Graves: Pg. 2) – yeah, minor surgery isn’t something I’d think to have done in a nail salon, and neither should you.  Also, your cuticles are important and it’s not recommended that you have them trimmed off.  They protect you from microbes that could “seep under your nails with water and cause an infection” (Graves: Pg. 2), but if you simply cannot have cuticles showing, ask your technician to gently push them back or avoid this step completely and do it prior to going to the salon with your own tools.

3.     Be mindful of your own health conditions: If you are diabetic or if your immune system is compromised from something like chemotherapy, it is recommended that you avoid manicures and pedicures.  Due to the nature of your situation, you’re more likely to be susceptible to infections caused by the bacteria or microbes often found at nail salons.  

 

Phew…that’s a whole bunch of scary, but by taking those extra steps to protect yourself (i.e. asking questions, voicing concerns, declining certain salon treatments), you’ll be able to enjoy your manicure, pedicure, or hair treatment worry free…a luxury, I think, worth the effort of being cautious and conscientious, don’t you?  

 

*“Little Shop Horrors” is trademarked by The Geffen Company

The Quirks of Our Body

Have you ever wondered why our body does the things it does? Like, for example, “goose bumps” – why do we get them? (I always wondered why they’re even called “goose bumps” but that’s an entirely different topic for an entirely different type of blog)  Or, why do we cry when we’re laughing at something we find super hilarious?  I usually chalk it up to “it’s just how we work”, but it seems there actually is scientific reasoning behind all these baffling body-quirks and thanks to my favorite stop for blog-topics, I now know the reasons (which means you now know too!).  The Odd Body, Explained by Ben Cramer lists thirteen of the strange, odd things our bodies do and explains why we react to them. I chose four out of the thirteen to talk about simply for length’s sake, but I hope you’ll check out the article in its entirety – it’s amusing and rather helpful if you ever catch yourself cursing the likes of onions for their foul, tear-inducing odor or if you simply want to know why you snap, crackle, and pop every time bend your knees. 

Jennifer’s Picks:

#1: “What causes goose bumps?” – Goose bumps…we can’t really escape the little bumps that appear when our skin meets freezing temperatures or if something frightens us and causes our hair to stand on end, but what causes our skin to react in this manner?  Something rather small, surprisingly enough – It’s a “tiny muscle at the base of each body hair” (Cramer: Pg.1) that contracts which causes our skin to form ‘goose bumps”.  It is an evolutionary trait that we never evolved away from, which leaves me to wonder – what would life be like without goose bumps? Would we know that our body is trying to retain its heat or that a predator is silently stalking us without our little warning system if goose bumps were no longer a part of our evolutionary makeup?

 

#2: “Why does chopping onions make you tear up?” – Ugh, I picked this number because I’m one of the mass majority who suffers (it’s unbearably miserable, mind you) from the attack of a chopped onion’s tear-inducing stink.  I usually end up running from the kitchen with a half chopped onion on my cutting board, but fear not, there is a solution and a reason behind this veggie’s poor behavior! The onion defends itself from invaders by releasing a gas called propanethial sulfoxide – a noxious substance which causes your brain to register that your eyes are under attack and in need of tears to flush out the attacker.  The bad news? The more you chop, the more gas is released. The end result: more tears start to flow down your face, which is why you become bleary-eyed before you can finish chopping.  The good news? Stick that pesky onion into the freezer to chill out.  The cold will cause the release of the onion’s enzymes to slow and allow you to chop with clear vision. Hurray an end to my unwanted tears (and, hopefully, your unwanted tears as well)!

 

#5: “What makes your eyelid twitch?” – Has this ever happened to you? It’s annoying and I always feel like I have some kind of invisible, mischief making, creature tugging on my eyelid, but alas it’s not a figment of my imagination, it really is a condition called eyelid myokymia. As Cramer points out, there isn’t a lot known about eye twitches in general, but it’s speculated that this bothersome twitch is probably caused by a “misfiring of a nerve” (Cramer: Pg. 1).  But what the medical/science community does know, are the causes for your eye twitches.  They’ve linked fatigue, stress, caffeine intake, eyestrain, poor nutrition, excessive alcohol intake, and allergies to the eye twitch.  So, how can you avoid having to deal with one eyelid wiggling about in protest?  Start by getting more rest, distress after a day where you’d truly like to pull your hair out, and drink less coffee…that last part is a tough one for me, hopefully it’s not for you!

 

#13: “Why does your side hurt sometimes when you laugh really hard?” – This one made me smile slightly at remembered side-splitting antics and I always wondered why (when I was having such a good time) my body would react to my moment of jovial bliss by sending a stitch to my side?  Here’s the reason why: an exertion of the diaphragm. Yep, that’s it…when you laugh so hard you go into silent mode and have to bend over to relieve your side of a tightening sensation, you’ve just exerted your diaphragm, much like you would after a long run.  Basically, according to Robert Gotlin, D.O. (a sports physician), “when you laugh really hard, you’re sucking in a lot of air, which fills the lungs and pushes down on the diaphragm while the abdominal muscles are also constricting and pushing up on the diaphragm” (Cramer: Pg. 3) thusly causing what we affectionately call a “stitch”.  So how do we keep the stitch from forming?  Cramer suggests that we attempt to break up our fit of laughter with slow, deep breaths…But, I say, laugh till your side aches! It’s completely worth the stitch!