ASSESSING THE HAIR

Equipment: clean glovesImplementation:

1. Inquire if the client has any history of the following: Recent use of hair dyes, rinses or curling or

straightening preparations Recent chemotherapy Presence of disease

2.Inspect the evenness of growth over the scalp Evenly distributed hair Patches of hair loss (alopecia)

3. Inspect hair thickness or thinness Thick hair Very thin hair (hypothyroidism)

4. Inspect hair texture and oiliness Silky, resilient hair Brittle hair, excessively oily or dry hair

5. Note presence of infections or infestations Flaking sores, lice, nits and ring worms

6. Inspect amount of body hair Hirsutism, naturally absent or sparse leg hair

7. Document findings.

ASSESSINT THE NAILS

1. Inquire if the client has any history of the following: Presence of diabetes mellitus, peripheral

circulatory disease, previous injury, or severe illness

2. Inspect fingernail plate to determine its curvature and angle

Convex curvature Angle of the nail plate about 160 degrees

Nail Abnormalities: Koilonychia – spoon shape nails Beau’s line Paronychia Onycholysis-separation of the nail plate from the nail bed Clubbing

3. Inspect fingernail and toenail texture. Smooth texture Thickness and thinness Discolored or detached nail

4. Inspect fingernail and toenail bed color Highly vascular and pink Bluish or purplish, pallor

5. Inspect tissues surrounding nails Hangnails

6. Perform blanch test or capillary refill. Prompt return of pink or usual color

Lifespan Considerations:I. Infants

Nails grow very quickly, extremely thin and tear easily

II. Children Nail biting

III. Elders Longitudinal bands develop White spots Toenail fungus Nail grow more slowly and thicken