When most people think of dangerous jobs, one of the last things they would think of is working in a nail salon. Unless you have a dissatisfied customer, you shouldn’t be in any real danger. Right? Wrong.
You actually face several dangers every time you go into work. The more you understand about the injuries or illnesses you could suffer, the better prepared you may be to protect yourself.
Common nail salon worker injuries and illnesses
You could end up suffering from one or more of the following illnesses or injuries during the course of your work:
- The most obvious injury you could suffer from is muscle strain. Leaning over tables and customers’ feet all day will surely take its toll.
- Performing repetitive motions, such as buffing and filing, can cause issues like carpal tunnel.
- Leaning your hands and wrists on hard surfaces for extended periods can strain your nerves, tendons, ligaments and joints.
- Your job exposes you to numerous toxic chemicals, such as formaldehyde, ethyl acetate, acetone, dibutyl phthalate or combinations thereof, which could make them even more dangerous. Some refer to the combination of toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate as the “toxic trio,” which could cause birth defects or cancer.
- You could also end up exposed to blood-borne pathogens, such as HIV, hepatitis or other infectious diseases, if exposed to a customer’s blood.
- If a client suffers from a nail or toenail fungal infection, you could contract it.
- You could cut yourself with one of the sharp instruments you use.
- The skin on your hands could become cracked, dry or broken due to the amount of times per day you wash your hands, which could also make you more vulnerable to infections and topical ingestion of the toxic chemicals you use.
Wearing gloves and facemasks, and working in a well-ventilated area, could help you eliminate a good amount of the risk. Using ergonomics could help you avoid muscle sprains and strains, and taking frequent breaks could help with possible repetitive motion injuries. Unfortunately, if you aren’t working, you aren’t making any money, so you probably push through the pain. You may think all this is just part of doing your job, but that isn’t true.
These are serious work-related injuries for which you may be entitled to North Carolina workers’ compensation benefits. However, obtaining these benefits is not always as easy as it should be. In order to help ensure that your application process goes as smoothly as possible and that you receive all the benefits to which you have the right, you may want to consider working with an attorney experienced in this area of law.