Sydney Journalist Hospitalised After Manicure

A Sydney-based news reporter has been hospitalised after allegedly receiving an infection from a manicure.

Alex Bernhardt, journalist for A Current Affair, reportedly didn’t even realise the state of her infection until during an interview with Wentworth MP Professor Kerryn Phelps, who noticed bruising along her arm and diagnosed her with septic olecranon bursitis. Prof Phelps is said to have pointed out the small cut on Bernhardt’s finger, said to have been incurred during a recent manicure, as responsible for her condition, directing her to visit the hospital straight away.

“This isn’t for show,” said Bernhardt. “A trip to the local nail salon landed me here, at the Royal North Shore Hospital. A small cut to my finger sparked a severe infection that spread to my elbow and almost required surgery. I spent the next three days in hospital on intravenous antibiotics. At one stage, doctors warned they may need to operate.”

Bernhardt stated that her experience is yet another reminder of the need for improved hygiene requirements throughout the industry, while Prof Phelps warned the public of the steps they should be taking to safeguard themselves before receiving manicures and/or pedicures.

“You can ask questions, you can see if there’s autoclave, you can ask what the sterilising procedures are, you can ask about the training with the technicians,” she said. “In the end you’re really reliant on those procedures being conducted on a routine and regular basis and not having anything slip through the cracks.”

According to reports, the Current Affair team revisited the Sydney nail salon in question following the events, where the owner claimed Bernhardt’s infection had nothing to do with her recent manicure there, even allegedly demanding to see a medical certificate to prove the source of the infection and accusing her of “making up a storm”.

“I’ve worked in nail salons for 10 years, and if your finger had an infection it would be swollen,” she said.

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