When should a newborn baby's fingernails be cut? How should a newborn baby's fingernails be cut?

Newborns always like to move around and grab things. If their fingernails are long, they may scratch themselves, so they need to be trimmed appropriately. So when should newborns' fingernails be trimmed? How should newborns' fingernails be trimmed?

When should newborn baby's fingernails be trimmed?

It is usually not recommended to cut the nails of children under 1 month old, that is to say, wait until the nails are fully formed. Unless the child scratches everywhere or the nails are too long and torn, then it is necessary to cut the nails. Babies aged 1-3 months are very active with their hands, and often scratch their faces unconsciously with their nails, leaving small scratches everywhere. Some babies also like to suck their fingers. Long nails will harbor dirt, and babies will bring bacteria into the body when they suck their fingers. Babies' toenails are too long and often rub against pants and socks, which is easy to split. Therefore, the fingernails and toenails of babies aged 1-3 months should be cut frequently.

How to cut newborn baby's fingernails

1. Correct posture: Let the baby lie flat on the bed, the mother leans on the side of the bed (fix with arms to ensure the hand is stable), hold the baby's hand close to you, preferably in the same direction and angle (so that it is not easy to cut too deep and hurt the baby). The mother sits, holds the baby on her body, with his back against her, and then holds one of the baby's hands in the same direction.

2. Handshake method: Separate the baby's five fingers and focus on one of them. Cut one finger and then switch to another. It is best not to hold a row of nail clippers at the same time, so as to avoid the baby's fingers suddenly moving together, which is difficult to control and the scissors may accidentally hurt other nails.

3. The order of trimming: trim the middle first and then the two ends. This will make it easier to control the trimming length and avoid cutting the corners too deep.

4. Rounding: After two trimmings, the nails may have sharp corners. Be sure to trim these sharp corners to make them smooth to avoid them becoming weapons that scratch the baby.

5. Check: The mother can use her fingers to touch around the baby's little nail to check and remove any sharp corners in time.

6. Burl treatment: timely find and deal with burrs on the baby's nails. Never pull them out directly with your hands to avoid pulling too much and injuring the surrounding skin tissue. Please carefully cut off the root of the burr with scissors.

7. Cleaning dirt: For some dirt hidden in the nails, it is best to clean them by washing after trimming, and it is not advisable to use hard objects to pick them out.

8. Avoid "ingrown toenails": The corners on both sides of the nails should not be cut too deep, otherwise the grown nails will easily embed into the soft tissue and become "ingrown toenails". Ingrown toenails can damage the skin around the nails, cause purulent infection of the subcutaneous tissue, and trigger paronychia or other inflammations.

Precautions for cutting nails of newborns

1. Choose nail scissors with sharp blades, thin blades and good quality to cut the nails of infants and young children. Do not use ordinary scissors to avoid cutting the fingertips of infants and young children.

2. Depending on how fast the nails of infants and young children grow, they can usually be trimmed once a week. If you find that the nails are split, you should trim them at any time. The nails on the feet are hard and thick, or they become soft naturally after washing the feet, then they are easier to trim.

3. As long as babies are awake, they love to move their hands and feet. It is much safer to trim their nails after they fall asleep. For older children, you can tell them stories while trimming their nails.

4. When cutting the nails of infants and young children, the action should be brisk. Do not cut too much or too hard at one time to avoid pain. Cut the nails smoothly to avoid cutting them into sharp edges. After cutting, parents should touch the nails with their own hands to see if the cross section is smooth. If it is not smooth, use the small file on the nail clippers to make it smooth.