How to Take a Nail Sample

Please follow these steps if we have asked you to take samples of an abnormal nail, and any debris between the nail and nail bed:

• Wipe off any treatment creams, lotions, or powders with 70% alcohol before sampling.

If infection of the nail is suspected:

• Use (chiropody) scissors  or nail clippers to sample the diseased part of nail.
• When clipping the nail, include the full thickness of the nail and extend as far back from the nail tip as possible; viable fungi are most likely to be found in the most proximal part of diseased nail.
• Include scrapings of debris from the area between the nail and nail bed (if possible)
• Collect the samples into folded dark paper squares ( if possible) , secure with a paper clip, and place in a plastic bag. Alternatively, use a commercially available fungal specimen packet. Label the sample clearly.
• Keep the samples at room temperature; do not refrigerate them (nail fungi – [dermatophytes] die at low temperatures).