Health Hazards Associated with Nail Dust - Term Paper Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Health hazards associated with Nail dust Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Table of Contents Title : Health hazards associated 1 with Nail dust 1 Health hazards associated with Nail dust 3 Introduction 3 People who encounter with nail dust 3 Nail dust generation 5 Health implications 5 Allergies 7 Risk assessment and transfer routes 10 Conclusion 11 Bibliography 12 Health hazards associated with Nail dust Introduction Other than the home environment, people spend the largest proportion of their daily time in the work place. The health hazards in the workplace basically differ from the one found in the general environment. Since workers tend to be exposed to confined spaces, the level of exposure to workplace hazards is a bit higher than exposures found in the general environment. Occupational health problems arise in the rapidly industrializing countries because of the use of technologies that are more hazardous and less advanced than those preferred by developing countries. The first literature on discussion and description regarding exposure to nail dust as an occupational hazard was in the early 70s. It was in 1975 that two chiropodists’ female were diagnosed with allergic hypersensitivity associated to nail dust. From that time, there have been countable complaints linked to occupational related to airborne nail dust exposure and attempts have been made in studying podiatric professionals so as to determine related symptoms (Hughes & Ferrett, 2007). This paper will analyze the health hazards linked to nail dust in particular people as they carry out their daily activities. People who encounter with nail dust Podiatrists work in specialized and general clinics providing fundamental evaluation, assessment and foot care for different patients. Majority of people in the current world have long standing local foot accompanied with systematic problems with no cure. As a result the role of the podiatrists is to make sure that these people remain mobile hence making a real difference in their entire lives. The role of the podiatrist is wider than it is realized by people as many specialize in certain areas such as diabetes, sports injuries and podopaediatrics among others. To have a clear understanding of the health risks the nail dust have on the Podiatrists, it is important to analyze the responsibilities of these people. Podiatrists treat foot ulcers associated to diabetes and they use sharp debridement to reduce the distorted as well as thickened nails in the elderly. In addition they treat risk conditions associated to the foot like poor vascular supply that leads to gangrene, poor healing and to greater extent amputation. Their expertise lies in minimizing the above conditions, reducing foot deformities and giving advices to other healthcare team members to ensure proper care to the patients to avoid disability or amputation risks through pain or deformity. With all these responsibilities these people are faced with a lot of health risks and hazards in their profession (Davies, 2006). Moreover, people who work in salons especially women face the same threat just like podiatrists. People working in the salons happen to face serious exposure to nail dust as most of them do not wear protective gadgets when carrying out the manicure and the pedicure. Basically, anyone who happens to inhale the nail dust faces serious health hazards. In podiatry the risk associated to nail dust varies with the practices and policies put in place, therapy technique, mode of podiatry used, the frequency f the procedure, application of ventilation systems and application of personal protective equipment. In both pedicure and manicure, the use of personal protective equipment determined the extent of the health hazards likely to be experienced. It therefore means that the more one is exposed to nail dust, the more he/she is likely to develop body complications in future (Gatler, 2004). Nail dust generation Healthcare providers apply podiatry drills on thickened nails to eliminate pain and allow penetration of antifungal agents. The ultimate effort is to improve the quality of life of a patient. Even if the podiatrists make use of the most effective dust extractors, the process of electric nail debridement is not completely risk free as the extractors have their effectiveness ranging from 25 to 92 percent in reducing airborne particles. During the practice, though the larger particles happen to settle on the floor, there are varying amounts of minute particles that remains suspended in the air. These are the particles that are inhaled not only by the practitioner but also by the entire people in the clinical environment. The case is even worse for the people operating the salons. The size of the smaller particle is between 0.1 and 100 um and the greatest percentage of the particles, say 86% have a diameter of less that 5 um and are therefore capable of entering in the alveoli and bronchioles. The turbines that reduce the size of the nails form an aerosol of bacteria that remains in the atmosphere for almost 30 minutes. Health implications Fungi are described as ubiquitous organisms that have the major role of decomposing organic matter. Most of the fungi species thrive in the human body and some will even infect the nails hence resulting to a condition known as onychomycosis. Though there are topical as well as oral antifungal therapies for improving this situation, in some cases filing, cutting as well as abrading the nail may be done to improve the rate of cure. Psoriasis, diabetes and vascular diseases may cause the thickening of nails and therefore when a healthcare worker use mechanical therapy to correct the condition he may be exposed to microbial dust. Biological dust that emanates from the procedures of foot and hand care is likely to deposit in the nose, conjunctiva and in the entire respiratory tract. Local irritation on the parts can result to itching, conjunctivitis, tearing, sneezing, asthmatic attacks, rhinitis, coughing and bronchitis (Hansen, 2005). According to literature, nail dust can act as a respiratory sensitizer which is described as a substance that the moment is breathed in can stimulate an irreversible reaction linked to allergy in the respiratory system. The sensitization process does not occur after a short duration of time but happens after months or even years after exposure to the nail dust. Once the respiratory system is sensitized, the smallest amount of nail dust can stimulate rhinitis, asthma or even conjunctivitis that may be symbolized by symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, stuffy or runny nose, chest tightness and prickly or watery eyes. It is worth noting that in the podiatry profession, the occurrence of asthmatic condition is basically associated to nail dust. Though hypersensitivity reactions are the most likely disposition for workers in the health care inhaling nail dust, serious lung pathology ought not to be ruled out (Burrow& McLarnon, 2006). It is very well known that fungi induce asthma but allergic antibodies further complicate the relationship between symptoms that may be troubling an individual with the fungal dust. The most common fungal that emanates from the nail dust is the trichophyton rubrum and it is so serious that the podiatrists are known to have an increase in the precipitating antibodies as judged against the general population. Much absorption of trichophyton fungal antigen in the human body may contribute to a further production of immunoglobulin E antibody henceforth causing the sensitization of the airways and further increasing symptomatic rhinitis and asthma. The application of burrs and drills to minimize the thickness of the hyperkeratotic nails produce dust and the chiropodists happen to develop precipitins T. rubrum. Nail work that requires drilling and clipping potentially cause infection and ocular injury to the podiatrists, patients as well as the podiatric staff. This is because all these people are exposed to high speed drills along with nail fragments applied in the drilling process. There are possible ocular hazards that may emanate from the exposure to allergens, foreign bodies, viruses, bacteria, protozoa and fungi that may be enter as a result of spoiling of the ocular structures, or introduced during the time of eye trauma hence allowing the entry of the opportunistic infection. The nail dust may have pathogens that may cause an individual to have complications in the eye and therefore most people may experience itching, burning, soreness and excess lacrimation of the eye (Burrow& McLarnon, 2006). Allergies During the process of filing and drilling of toenails and fingernails, the podiatrist as well as other beauty or health care workers get exposed to small respiratory particles of nail dust. These fine nail dusts have a high potential of injuring the eye. Those who use non-vacuum drills mostly have severe complications with the eye and moreover develop wheeze. The nail technicians drill the nails at a speed that is not recommended hence giving a chance to the particles in entering the eye and dusting the face. The continuous of the process cause overexposure of the harmful dust particles hence resulting to allergic and sensitivity reaction. Nail dust leads to the development of the allergic contact dermatitis which develops into stages. There are special occasions when an individual may be in contact with nail dust for quite a long time but fail to develop skin reaction in the entire lifetime or for some few days. As stated, this is a special case and therefore rare. The allergic condition of the nail dust depends on the ability of that dust to alter some particular properties in the outer layer of an individual’s skin. Some substances such as polish remover and particular substance are capable of removing the fats and oils present in the outer layer of the skin hence exposing the skin to allergy. The nail dust, which happens to fall on hands that have been affected by other substances, finds it’s easier way to penetrate the skin. The sensitization process is described to be the initial process of the skin allergy. This begins with the penetration of the nail dust in the outer layer of an individual’s skin. This process takes place after a minimum of four days to three weeks. During this period an individual cannot notice any signs of damage to the skin. Once the nail dust penetrates the skin, it combines with skin proteins and the formed compound is carried throughout the body via the white blood cells referred to as the lymphocytes (Chemical Overexposure and Allergic Reaction). Lymphocytes are represented in the immune system and help to guard the body against alien or germ substances. There is a memory that is registered by the immune system hence it’s possible to recognize and neutralize substances or germs encountered for more than one times. When sensitized individuals are exposed again and again to nail dust, the lymphocytes recognize the dust and react with time it. They hence release chemicals that damage the skin called lymphokines therefore causing pain, swelling, itching and formation of blisters or wheals on the skin. This particular inflammation is particularly confines in the contact site which in this case is mostly hands. In severe cases the inflammation may extend to cover other areas of the body. Such a reaction begins within twelve hours of exposure to the nail dust but becomes worse after four days and improves slowly in almost seven days. An individual may maintain the allergic sensitization throughout the entire life. However, if one decreases the level of contact with the nail dust, the sensitivity may slowly decline (Chemical Overexposure and Allergic Reaction). The irritant contact dermatitis also develops after repeated or short but heavy exposure or rather prolonged low exposure to nail dust. The appearance as well as the irritation depends upon the conditions of exposure. Continuous contact of the skin with the nail dust produces redness on an individuals skin and when the irritation progresses, there is an appearance of sores and afterwards crusts forms. The skin damage fortunately heals after a few weeks, but on the condition that there is no further contact with the nail dust. Damage occurs when the nail dust infiltrates the outer layer of an individual’s skin where it consequently comes into contact with cells as well as tissues (Sullivan & Krieger, 2001). The dust reacts with particular chemicals that occur naturally in the cells and tissues and it is through the reaction that damage to the skin occurs. The initial damage stimulates a localized acute inflammation from the body. The cells and tissues attempts to repair the damage caused by forming defensive response so as to remove the nail dust responsible for the damage. During the process of defensive response phase, an individual experiences warmth, swelling and pain in the irritated part. Other invisible damage to the skin that may be caused by nail dust is thickening of the internal layer of the skin. To some individuals, the conditions may be very severe hence causing scaling and chapping and in some cases the skin cells may die (Sullivan & Krieger, 2001). Risk assessment and transfer routes The healthcare workers dealing with foot care usually have contamination in the eye, lungs as well as in the entire respiratory system. The podiatrist may transfer the dust to the eye after rubbing their eyes with contaminated hands. Furthermore the eye may be contaminated as a result of the contaminated air in the clinical environment. If it happens that the healthcare worker attending a patient lacks adequate eye protection, then this may facilitate the rate of entry of the substance to the eye. Direct inhalation of the nail dust as a result of poor protective equipment for the face causes the dust to find its way easier to the lungs (Stellman, 1998). The nail dust may find its way to the lungs if a person happens to inhale the contaminated air. This happens because the minute nail particles accumulates to the air and does not disappear very quickly hence increasing the rate of entry. The nail dust may reach the lung as a result of direct hand-to –face contamination. Direct inhalation of the nail dust may happen if a person attending to the nails positions himself very close to the nail being drilled. The size and quantity of dust particles formed in the process also determines the direct inhalation. The condition is made worse if there is poor drill maintenance and hence poor LEV. Podiatrists who use inappropriate burr shape, size and abrasiveness may have more direct inhalation. Inefficiency of drill, poor system of original extraction and lack of environment filtration or extraction system increases the risk of infection. Conclusion Refusing to drill of file nails could be unethical but this could lead to the avoidance or eliminating exposure to nail dust. Nails must be drilled and filed for the purpose of medical as well as beauty reasons. Nail dust does not only affect the skin but also lead to emergence of serious diseases related to the respiratory services. The intense of the infection depend on the frequency and length of the exposure. The most affected people are the Podiatrists and beauty technicians. However, any one else who happen to get exposed to nail dust will experience the health complications discussed. Though some infections may be invisible, frequent and long exposure to nail dust may have negative effects to a human body. Since the process of drilling and filing nails must go on, it is important that individuals use proper protective equipment during the process. The protective devices ought to protect the eyes, mouth, nose as well as the skin. If individuals do not use the effective as well as efficient protective devices, the response would be continuous complaints from people exposed to nail dust. This would lead to development of severe respiratory diseases such as asthma which might be difficult to treat or handle. Bibliography Burke, M. & Laramie, J. 2004. Primary care of the older adult: a multidisciplinary approach, Elsevier Health Sciences, New York. Burrow, J. &McLarnon. 2006. World at work: Evidence based risk management of nail dust in chiropodists and podiatrists. 2006/ July 22, 2010 Chemical Overexposure and Allergic Reaction.2010/July 22, 2010 Davies, R. 2006. Human nail dust and precipitating antibodies to Trichophyton rubrum in chiropodists. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Allergy. Gatler, M. 2004 Human Nail Dust: Hazard to Chiropodists or merely Nuisance?occupational medicine. Vol. 41, No. 3 pp121-125 Hansen, D. 2005. The work environment indoor health hazards, CRC Press, New York. Hughes, P.& Ferrett, E. 2007. Introduction to Health and Safety at Work: The Handbook for the NEBOSH National General Certificate. United Kingdom,Butterworth-Heinemann. P 285. Mason, D. et al. 2007. Policy & politics in nursing and health care, Elsevier Health Sciences, New York Stellman, J.1998. Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety: Chemical, industries and occupations, International Labour Organization, New York. Sullivan, J. & Krieger, G. 2001. Clinical environment health and toxic exposures. New York, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Read More