How to Avoid Infections at the Nail Salon

First rule to remember is that not all nail salons are created equal and therefore should be chosen very carefully. Make sure that you find a salon that has obvious cleaning procedures in place between clients and where the staff routinely sterilizes their instruments. Do not feel bad for setting high standards about hygienic practices when deciding on a salon, this will enable you to truly relax and not have to worry while you are being pampered. Here are a few more tips to follow to ensure a pleasant visit without any unwelcome outcomes.

1. Bring your own instruments- This allows you to be sure of how the instruments are maintained and cleaned therefore lowering the risk of infection. Check with your chosen salon first to make sure that they are aware of your preference to do so.
2. Avoid Cuts- If your skin has an opening like a cut or scratch of any kind, it is not a good time to attend a nail salon. Your skin is your primary barrier that stops bacteria from getting into your bloodstream. You should also be cautious of shaving your legs right before getting a pedicure for the same reasons.
3. Defend your cuticles- Your cuticles are meant to prevent bacteria from getting underneath the skin by your nail bed. Pedicurist will push back and trim this skin away thus opening your toes up to infection. Just simply ask them to leave your cuticles alone. This will eliminate another opportunity for bacteria to get in.

Don't you hate when your feet fall asleep

It happens to all of us; on an airplane, sitting at our desk, or just lying in bed: the dreaded pins and needles of the foot falling asleep. Why does this happen? And is there a surefire remedy to make our foot feel normal again?

Well many people believe that when the foot falls asleep, it does so because of a lack of blood circulation. Sorry, but this is just an old wives tale. The foot actually falls asleep because of the nerves. Nerves are the tiny “wires” that are all over your body and make you feel. The majority of the nerves in your body carry messages from your brain to the body and vice versa. Think of them as electrical wires. And when you compress your nerves for a long enough period of time, the communication from brain to foot (or any part of your body that is being compressed for a long enough time) is disrupted. This disruption is what causes the pins and needles feeling, or what some call, the static screen of the body.

How do you get rid of this? Most people move their foot around to get blood flow back, and even though blood flow may not be the problem, their solution is correct. By moving your foot to new places and decompressing the nerves that were disrupted, the annoying feeling will go away fairly quickly.

So, whenever your foot, hand, arm, or leg gets those pins and needles, and you know it fell asleep, move it around (dance if you have to!) and get those nerves communicating again!