Cat eye nails are quite the fashion statement – but could also hinder wearers during an emergency.
One woman shared a video of herself sitting in a hospital bed after suffering a medical episode as her friend hurriedly removed the nail polish before should could get an MRI scan.
In the video, TikTok user Kristina explained that she had a public service announcement for people with cat eye nails – a popular polish with magnetic properties – particularly if they need medical attention.
‘In case of a medical emergency you can not get a MRI due to the magnetic particles in the polish,’ she wrote.
Cat eye nails are a type of nail art with a metallic line running across the nail, often looking like a light is being reflected, like a cat’s eye.
The nail art uses metallic polish and magnetic glitter to create the illusion.
According to Kristina, her friend, who is a nail artist, rushed to the hospital to drill the polish off so she could undergo the emergency testing.
‘They made me take off anything metal I had on my body! Permanent bracelets, and belly button piercings,’ she wrote in a comment.
In the video, TikTok user Kristina explained that she had a public service announcement for people with cat eye nails – a popular polish with magnetic properties – particularly if they need medical attention
She added that the technicians said wearing the polish could distort the MRI images, but they wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to get hurt as well.
‘My fingers could have gotten hot, my nailbeds could have burned or simply just change the cosmetic look of the nails. But they did not want to take the risk!’ she explained.
Many viewers were terrified at the thought of getting into the the imaging machine, which has a powerful magnetic field that can attract objects made from certain metals.
‘Thank you for sharing this. I have serious health conditions that land me in the ER frequently. I would never have known this. You literally are saving me. Thank you!!!!’ gushed one user.
Others commented claiming they have worn the nail polish before and it was fine.
‘Just had an MRI with cat eye nails and literally nothing happened,’ one user wrote.
‘I’ve participated in tons of MRI studies. In some I even wore a wired bra and was in there for hours. Nothing happened. It moved a tiny bit, that’s all,’ noted another.
Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is a medical imaging test that provides detailed images of the body.
Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is a medical imaging test that provides detailed images of the body (stock image)
According to the Radiology Information website, makeup, nail polish, or other cosmetics that may contain metallic particles.
In May last year, a patient suffered horrific injuries after leaving a sex toy inserted in their rectum during a medical procedure, which contained metal.
The device was inside the patient’s back passage during a routine MRI scan, resulting in a hazardous reaction between the powerful magnets and the metal parts of the toy.
The story was shared in a post shared to X, formerly known as Twitter, detailing how powerful magnetic forces used to create an MRI’s detailed scans reportedly pulled the metallic core of the silicone toy through the patient’s rectum and up into their chest cavity at the ‘speed of sound.’
The patient reportedly purchased the sex toy on the basis it was ‘100 per cent silicone’ which — while still unadvised to have inserted during a scan — would have been safe for interaction with magnetic energy.
But unbeknownst to purchaser the toy had a metal ‘core’ that reacted to these magnetic forces.