Manicure cost me my finger
GRAN’S INFECTION ALERT
A WOMAN had her finger amputated after contracting a potentially lethal infection during a manicure.
Jose Jackson, 57, was warned she could lose her arm if she did not have surgery. The gran of two was accidentally jabbed in the cuticle – the area of clear skin where the bottom of the nail meets the finger – while having a set of acrylic nails applied at a salon.
Her finger swelled up and went purple, then began weeping pus.
The damage was so bad that doctors had no choice but to remove half her finger.
An inspection at the salon found their tools had not been cleaned properly between customers.
Jose, from Carmarthen, south-west
Wales, later sued and won a five-figure settlement. She is telling her story to highlight the importance of cleanliness in nail bars.
The pub manager told the Daily Star Sunday: “I wanted to treat myself so I felt nice, but it ended up ruining my life and costing me a finger. “The infection had eaten away at my finger and my bone.
“The doctors removed over half my finger; it was either that or I lose my whole arm. Without that finger, I can’t grip or do up buttons – it has changed the way I do everything.”
During the treatment, in December 2017, the salon technician slipped while using a cuticle pusher tool.
Jose said: “She was distracted by the door opening. Her hand slipped and she jabbed my nail, which drew a bit of blood.” Her finger swelled up over the next week. The concerned gran went to see her GP, who gave her a course of antibiotics. But the infection got worse. At a second consultation, the GP sent her to hospital. Jose said: “I was in absolute agony. I went to A&E. The surgeon said, ‘I don’t know how you’ve gone for two weeks with this.’” She was diagnosed a staph infection – which develops from the bacteria staphylococcus entering the skin through a cut. It can be fatal. Doctors were unable to save the fingertip and Jose was sent for an amputation in January 2018. She added: “Losing my finger changed my life. I struggled to do anything, I couldn’t grip a pen or my toothbrush. “I couldn’t open cans, do up buttons and I couldn’t play my guitar any more. I was constantly dropping things.”
Six weeks after her surgery, Jose got in touch with a health inspector who carried out an investigation of the nail bar. They concluded that tools used on nails had not been properly sanitised between uses. A solicitor helped her seek compensation and she won an out-of-court settlement and five-figure payout.
Jose said: “I was terrified that it might happen to someone else so I got a health inspector to check it out.”
Despite the payout, she added: “It doesn’t feel like a win, it doesn’t bring my finger back. “I want to ensure this doesn’t happen to anyone else by highlighting the importance of cleanliness in these places.”