Dirt under my nails????

Question

Hey y’all, I am not a dirty person, but as someone with a mental disorder, I find it very hard to shower regularly. I promise I don’t stink, and I keep myself pretty clean, but one thing I can never seem to keep clean is my finger nails. They constantly have that little dark line of dirt under them. I live on a farm, and have recently been doing a lot of work with our cows (quarantine making me want to ride one of them 😂) so they are extra dirty. Any advice on either keeping my nails clean or general mental disorder hacks for someone with pretty severe ADD who struggles with daily tasks like showering? I also just got my hair dyed, so no more steaming hot showers for me, which is another barrier 🤷🏻‍♀️

Answer

If you are working with aninals you need to shower. We raise showstock and for your and their health (transfer of diseases) consider it biosecurity. We don't wear barn shoes inside, we dont wear our barn shoes anywhere else for that matter. We shower when we come home and have. Even exposed to other animals and clothes go straight to the wash. 
Get a nail brush. Put 1 by wherever you wash your hands out with the aninals, 1 at the kitchen sink, and 1 in your bathroom. It is not just dirt under your nails. It is bacteria, parasites, you've likely been exposed to fungus like ring worm if you are working with cattle, mites, and all their dander. 
Make a shower part of your routine. You dont have tonwash your hair every shower. Throw it up and scrub your body down like your cows depend on it

Answer

Farm kid here!
I recommend gloves and/or a nail brush. You could always carefully use a toothpick to remove stubborn dirt from under nails. 
Growing up we used Dawn dish soap or dial to clean our arms and hands.

Answer

Honestly that’s kind of gross - its important to shower regularly, especially if you’re doing a lot of physical labor like working on a farm or exposed to animals/manure. 
You should definitely make it a priority to shower once a day - it could actually help with your mental health. I struggled with my own (and still do from time to time) but taking a shower is something that helped calm me down and kind of get my mindset back on track. You might not always want to, but getting out fresh and clean is a great feeling (especially when your mind feels anything but fresh). 
As for your nails, take a pair of tweezers and scrape the under side of your nails to remove the dirt. Then file your nails, and wash your hands and the tweezers.

Answer

I’m not sure what colouring your hair has to do with showering. You can still shower after getting it done (I’m a hairstylist). If you don’t want to shower, get a nail brush & scrub under your nails, try keeping them as short as possible. You need to keep them clean as they harbour A LOT of bacteria especially in your line of work.

Answer

It makes sense that you would struggle to find time & energy for a whole other thing in your day if you're doing physical labor! I'm curious, with your disorder, is it that you don't enjoy the sensation of the shower, that you don't have the energy, or something else entirely?

Answer

Okeyyy so as someone who was diagnosed with ADD and ADHD as a child. Like I don’t understand the shower thing.. I have never had a problem with remembering to shower. Yah my attention span can be that of a goldfish and I can’t sit still.. but not showering.. that’s just being lazy 🤷‍♀️.  But if your sincerely struggling to shower daily... make a chart list. That’s what my mom would do for me when I was a kid to make sure I got all my chores and stuff done.    
ADD and ADHD deals with your attention to something and being extra hella hyper.. like you can’t focus on task long and always looking for something else to do...

Answer

Okay, when people say you need to shower... just bathe yourself (which I’m assuming you do haha) because showering hair too often will strip the natural oil. Let that shit get dirty girl!
As for your nails, healthcare workers have a certain way they wash their nails on their hands to clean the dirt. I can’t explain, so just look up a video. 
If that doesn’t work, (assuming you’re nails are long) I’d trim them down, but not too short. 
And if that still doesn’t work, take a nail brush and scrub them. Soak them for about a few minutes in warm water and scrub them with soap and the warm water they soaked in. 
I have dirty nails. I find that getting it out with a toothpick helps bc I like the sensation of cleaning things on my own. Hope these suggestions help!

Answer

Nail clippers have a scraper or I just use a needle type item to clean them

Answer

Get a nail scrub brush from the dollar store and bar soap.. scrape your nails a little into the soap then scrub it out with the nail brush and warm water in the sink. You don’t need to take a shower to wash your hands. But dying your hair isn’t an excuse to not shower... you can just turn the water temperature back a little when you rise your hair.