Can You Wear Acrylic Nails During Surgery?
What is a Pulse Oximeter?
A pulse oximeter is a small device that is placed on a patient's finger, toe, or earlobe to measure the oxygen saturation of their blood. Oxygen saturation is the percentage of oxygen-carrying red blood cells in the blood. Pulse oximeters are used to monitor a patient's oxygen levels during surgery and other medical procedures.
Why Can't You Wear Acrylic Nails with a Pulse Oximeter?
Acrylic nails can interfere with the accuracy of a pulse oximeter reading. This is because acrylic nails can block the light that the pulse oximeter uses to measure oxygen saturation. As a result, the pulse oximeter may not be able to get an accurate reading of the patient's oxygen levels.
What Should You Do if You Have Acrylic Nails?
If you have acrylic nails, you will need to remove them before surgery or other medical procedures that require a pulse oximeter. You can remove acrylic nails yourself using nail polish remover and a cotton ball. You can also have your acrylic nails removed by a nail salon.
Other Things to Remove Before Surgery
In addition to acrylic nails, you may also need to remove other items before surgery, such as:
- Nail polish
- Gel nail polish
- Artificial nails
- Fake eyelashes
- Piercings
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