Is cutting nails and the skin around them with scissors harmful?
Q: I cut my nails and the skin surrounding it with scissors. The scissors are mine, but I have other workers in the house. I am worried that the workers might be using the scissors when I am not around. When I cut and strip the skin surrounding my nails with scissors, blood oozes out from it. Can I contract the HIV virus this way? If the workers use my scissors and bleed, and then I use them, what are the chance of being infected with HIV? I don't see big blood marks on the scissors before I use them, so I believe that the workers wipe it clean before they place it back. Does this make any difference? I have talked to the workers and they say that they don't use it. I looked at their fingers and it doesn't seem to me that they have a bad habit like mine. My fingers seem disfigured by the way that I cut the skin around them.
A:Using scissors to cut nails is not proper and a nail cutter should be used for it. In your case you not only cut your nails with scissors but also use them to cut the surrounding skin. This is indeed a very unhealthy habit and should be stopped as it exposes your skin to various kinds of infections. In case the scissors are rusted then it might harm you even more. My advice to you is to stop it as it is unhealthy even If you are the only one using the scissors.