A 23-year-old woman is suing a nail salon in Portland, Oregon, claiming that a manicure she received in June 2023 left her with a herpes infection on her finger. The woman, who has chosen to remain anonymous, filed the lawsuit against PDX Nails, alleging that the salon's negligence caused her to contract herpetic whitlow, a painful finger infection caused by the herpes simplex virus.
According to the lawsuit, the woman visited the salon for an acrylic nail manicure on June 1, 2023. Hours after the service, she noticed swelling on her right index finger and began to feel unwell. Four days later, she developed painful blisters on her fingers and sought treatment at an urgent care clinic. Tests confirmed that she had herpetic whitlow, a condition that typically affects about three out of every 100,000 people in the US annually.
The woman claims that the nail technician did not wear gloves during the procedure and stored manicure tools in an Altoids mints tin. She also states that she had no prior history of the infection. Herpetic whitlow can be transmitted through contaminated objects such as shared nail tools, and the virus can cause recurring flare-ups of blisters and sores. There is no cure, and treatment focuses on managing symptoms.
The plaintiff alleges that her infection has persisted for years, with multiple painful flare-ups. She told The Oregonian/Oregon Live: 'The flare-ups can be super, super painful. It's always on my mind.' The woman has been forced to bandage her fingers repeatedly to prevent spreading the virus to others. The lawsuit seeks damages for her pain, suffering, and medical expenses.
