Green Spots Under an Acrylic Nail: What Are They?

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You’ve got beautiful, luxe acrylic nails. But you’ve noticed little green spots under them. Oh oh, what are those?

Also known as ‘greenies‘, green spots under an acrylic nail are typically nothing to be worried about and are treatable.

Unfortunately, the green spots problem can occur at any time. It is more likely to appear after applying acrylic nails or during humid weather conditions.

Here’s the short answer:

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the specific bacteria.
It is characterized by a blue-green pigment covering the nail.
Infected nails appear green due to bacterial secretion.

It’s important to understand what it is, why it occurs, and what you can do to prevent it in the future.

Contents

Green Spots Under an Acrylic Nail. What Are They?

The bacteria that causes green nails is called Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Infections are easily visible on the nail plate. In the growth process, the bacteria produce pigments called pyoverdin and pyocyanin.

These vary in color from brown-green, yellow-green, and blue-green. In most cases, only one or two nails are affected by the condition, which is not painful.

These vary in color from brown-green, yellow-green, and blue-green. In most cases, only one or two nails are affected by the condition, which is not painful.

In moist environments, Pseudomonas aeruginosa thrives. These environments include showers, bathtubs, hot tubs, and bath sponges.

Infections can be caused by two main causes when it comes to fake nails. The first one is that you haven’t fully removed the bacteria from your nail during prep, so it is already on it.

Water, dirt, and bacteria were allowed to penetrate between your natural and artificial nails due to the nail fittings being put on incorrectly.

Is There a Way to Prevent The Greenies From Happening?

One way that can help is to use a hand sanitizer containing alcohol to eliminate bacteria frequently. But don’t use it too much that it dries your hands out.

After cleansing your hands, dry them thoroughly. In cases where you suffer oily nail beds, ensure that your nail beds remain dry by using an additional dehydrator.

Before doing your manicure, ensure your nails are perfectly prepared. This is particularly important when you’re doing a manicure that involves false tips like acrylics.

You should re-attach your nails quickly if and when they lift to prevent bacteria from getting under and colonizing them. Do not wait a few days to take action.

You should re-attach your nails quickly if and when they lift to prevent bacteria from getting under and colonizing the. Do not wait a few days to take action.

To re-adhere the nail and prolong the mani, you can remove them or use nail glue (or a nail glue alternative).

Before gluing down the lifted part, clean and dry the nail completely. The gaps that form under your dip could trap bacteria if you don’t do so.

Green Spots Under Nails: What Causes Them?

Water-related activities like swimming and doing the dishes significantly increase your risk of exposure to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. What’s the reason? Many things contain pseudomonas bacteria, including water. Your nails get trapped with bacteria-laden droplets.

A moist, warm, and almost oxygenless environment is ideal for these invasive Pseudomonas. So if you didn’t thoroughly remove moisture before applying your manicure or let it sit too long after experiencing lifting, you are at risk.

You’re inviting Pseudomonas in, making your nails green with their presence.

Therefore, nail preparation is a crucial part of any nail enhancement. As well as preventing bacteria from spreading and lifting, good prep will make your manicure last longer!.

What Can Be Done About Green Nails?

As far as the infection is concerned, even though it is gross looking, there is no real reason to be concerned. However, there are various options for treatment:

Getting medical attention and following their instructions is the best course of action.
It is important to keep your nails clean and dry.
For a DIY treatment, soak the hands in vinegar. To do this, you need to mix one part of vinegar. Aim for one that is 5 percent concentrated. Mix this in with 4 parts water. Do this a couple of times a day. Thoroughly dry afterward.
Once your nail has grown, it can be trimmed back.
A doctor might prescribe 1% acetic acid, a course of antibiotics, or an antifungal ointment.

The nail can be examined physically to determine the diagnosis. Gram staining or bacterial cultures may be used to detect bacteria. The process of conducting a culture is not without its shortcomings, however. Infections can occur far away from nail sites, leading to false negative results.

For example, suppose you soak infected nails in distilled water for 24 hours in order to test pigment solubility. In that case, the solution will turn blue or green within 24 hours, indicating Pseudomonas Aeruginosa infection.

In most cases, the color of the nail is all a medical professional will need to diagnose green nail syndrome.

Are Green Nails Safe to Be Painted With Acrylic?

Painting over green nails will require treating the fungus first. A fungus infects nails and stains them green. The nail will remain stuck to the cuticle as long as it is still growing.

If you want to gradually remove the green growth, the best bet is to let them grow and cut away the affected nail.

You can use paint over them with acrylic, but that just covers the problem, and the color stain may spread further.

Painting over green nails will require treating the fungus first. A fungus infects nails and stains them green.

Can Green Nails Be Dangerous?

In most cases, green nail syndrome does not cause any bodily complications. However, there are rare reports of patients accidentally scratching themselves with an infected nail and infecting themselves with bacteria.

There are rare reports of patients accidentally scratching themselves with an infected nail and infecting themselves with bacteria.

Can Green Nails Be Contagious?

No, green nails don’t spread from person to person. The infection can be transmitted into a scratch if you were to scratch someone’s skin with that nail, but this is highly unlikely and considered very rare.

Conclusion

Greenies under acrylic nails are a frustrating, but not particularly huge, problem. The bacteria will often cover the whole nail, and may even spread to other parts of the body. The polish on your nails does not cure the problem; it only covers it up.

In order to get rid of green nails, you must seek medical attention. Despite proper care for the “Greenies”, stained nails can persist for a long time.

Cleanliness, maintenance, and proper care are essential for maintaining healthy nails.