A few days ago, there was a news report that a young lady found a small bag like a callouse growing between her fingernails, and it was getting bigger and bigger, like a cauliflower. According to the doctor, it turned out to be a skin wart caused by HPV (also known as human papillomavirus) infection.
Since the nail technician injured her nails while she was getting a manicure at the nail salon, the doctor highly suspected that it was caused by the manicure.
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Can getting a manicure cause an HPV infection? Can you still do nail art? How can I avoid getting HPV? Today, we will take you to understand the true face of HPV.
Why do I get HPV from my manicure?
First of all, to be clear, nail art does not necessarily cause HPV infection. The reality is that improper manicure can increase the probability of HPV infection.
Specifically, during nail art, especially when sanding nails or removing "dead skin", HPV from the outside environment can penetrate the skin through these wounds if the tools used are not strictly disinfected, or if the skin is slightly damaged.
It should be noted here that the so-called "dead skin" at the proximal end of the nail is not actually dead skin in the strict sense, but our normal structure, which is called "nail cuticle" in medicine. The nail cuticle is a structure that connects the skin and the nail, which has a very important protective and sealing effect, and can effectively prevent various physicochemical and infectious factors from damaging the nail around. In other words, removing these dead skin during the manicure process is actually damaging the nails.
The so-called "dead skin" is actually a small nail skin
After HPV infection, in most cases, the body's immune system is able to clear the virus. However, in some cases, these viruses replicate and multiply in the cells on the surface of the skin, eventually forming a rough-like wart-like growth, sometimes more pronounced, and growing like a cauliflower, commonly known as "common warts".
If the common warts are around the nails, they can be called "periungual warts"; If the common warts are under the nails, they can be called "subungual warts"; If common warts appear on the soles of the feet, they are called "plantar warts".
Periungual warts among skin warts
Regardless of where these warts grow, they all have one thing in common: they are aesthetically pleasing and contagious. Contagiousness is reflected in two aspects: on the one hand, it can self-infect, making warts bigger and more numerous; On the other hand, it can be transmitted to others through contact.
So, to reduce the risk of HPV infection during the manicure, here are some helpful suggestions:
· Tip 1: Choose disposable nail tools, or make sure all nail tools are strictly sanitized
· Tip 2: Nail technicians should avoid direct skin-to-skin contact with customers as much as possible
· Tip 3: Don't damage the surrounding skin and don't remove the "dead skin" of the nail skin
· Tip 4: Don't do your manicure too often, but only in moderation
These conditions can also lead to HPV infection in the skin
In addition to manicures, there are personal habits or life events that can increase the risk of HPV infection in the skin.
For example, public swimming pools, water parks and other public facilities. This is because if you happen to have a slight wound on your skin, come into contact with something contaminated with the virus or the environment (for example, walking barefoot in a public pool), you have a certain chance of being infected. However, the chance of this infection is not very large, and because of this, many people do not take it seriously.
Another example is sharing personal items, such as sharing towels, razors, foot washbasins, nail clippers, etc. It is also possible to allow the HPV virus to enter the skin through direct contact with infected personal items. Especially in humid environments, the virus spreads relatively easily.
In addition, smoking and drinking alcohol can also increase the risk of infection. Studies have found that people who smoke or drink alcohol have a higher risk of contracting HPV than the general population. This association may be due to the fact that smoking, drinking alcohol can indirectly increase the risk of HPV infection by affecting the immune system or increasing skin damage.
Is HPV infection the same as an STD?
Many people mistakenly believe that HPV infection is equivalent to an STD and therefore panic. Actually, don't worry.
In fact, there are many subtypes of HPV, more than 200 of them. Some of these subtypes of the virus are easily transmitted through sexual contact, while others are easily transmitted through skin-to-skin contact.
The common warts mentioned above are caused by HPV infection that is spread through non-sexual contact. Therefore, HPV infection is far from being equated with sexually transmitted diseases.
Skin warts, including common warts, flat warts, filiform warts, and digital warts, are not sexually transmitted diseases (or sexually transmitted diseases).
The HPV infection, which is really considered a sexually transmitted disease, is called genital warts, and its other name is anogenital warts. Genital warts are less common than various skin warts and occur mainly in areas of sexual contact, especially in intimate areas.
Table 1. Skin warts vs genital warts
How can I prevent HPV?
If you don't want to get genital warts, an HPV infection, you need to clean yourself and avoid bad sexual behavior.
If you don't want to get all kinds of skin warts, you need to practice good hygiene. Broadened out, these details can be a good preventative effect:
· Do not touch other people's skin warts;
· Protect your skin and try to avoid all kinds of damage to your skin;
· Practice hand hygiene and learn the 7-step handwashing method;
· Do not share personal belongings with other people;
· Clean and disinfect shared items, such as nail tools;
· Do a good job of protection in public places, such as not walking barefoot when going to the pool;
· It would be better if you could quit smoking and drinking.
In addition, I believe that many people have heard of the HPV vaccine. However, it is important to note that the HPV vaccine is mainly designed to prevent individual high-risk HPV infections, which in turn can prevent some cervical cancers and genital warts.
Unfortunately, the effectiveness of existing vaccines in preventing warts is uncertain, and there is only a small amount of evidence that vaccines may have some protection against certain types of warts.
Editor: Wen Xiting
Source: Popular Science China
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