I’m pretty sure my UV gel manicure client has WSO

Until she sees her physician, should i remove the product? She will want them covered until then. If i continue these services or do any natural nail treatment, can this worsen the condition?

I don’t think you can be sure of your medical diagnosis because nail surface nail damage looks very much a typical nail WSO infection, which stands for white superficial onychomycosis – a fungal infection of the nail plate that looks like white spots on the nails but are powdery rather than a white area within the nail plate.

That’s why nail technicians should NOT be making a medical diagnosis. Regardless, this is a really tough question, here’s why. I am sure you just want to help your client and that is currently admirable. However, you should be concerned about your other clients. If you work on an infected nail, you significantly increase the risk of transmitting the infection to other clients.

I would not remove or recoat them for her. If she wants to apply the nail polish herself, she can. But out of an abundance of caution I would recommend not providing any services until the condition resolves itself and is no longer infectious, as determined by a medical professional.

I know that many will ignore this advice and will want to reapply the coating. A doctor needs to see the uncovered nails.  When you do this you should be ultra-careful to clean and disinfect everything which could become contaminated, including the table top and promptly dispose of all disposable/ single-use items, by sealing them in a bag that’s separate from the normal trash, including nail files, cotton, table towels, etc. They’ll also need to be very careful of the dust that is generated. Pathogens cannot run or jump but they can fly by riding on dust particles and land elsewhere to spread the infection.

The last thing a salon needs is to experience a sudden outbreak of client nail infections. That’s a sure way to ruin a salon’s reputation with the locals, so err on the side of caution. That is my best advice.