Diana Armstrong, a woman from the United States, has set the Guinness World Record for the longest nails. She shares the challenges in her daily life with nails measuring up to 1306.58 cm.
An Incredible Record: The Longest Nails in the World
Diana Armstrong (USA) holds the Guinness World Record for the longest nails in the world. The total length of her nails reaches 1306.58 cm (measured in 2022), with each nail averaging about 1.3 meters, a truly impressive figure!
The Reason for Not Cutting Her Nails
According to Diana, she stopped cutting her nails in 1997, the year her daughter passed away from asthma. She recalls: “The day before my daughter died, she spent a lot of time cutting my nails for me.” After the sudden death of her daughter, Diana felt she could no longer cut her nails.
After nearly 30 years of careful maintenance, her nails can now stand upright on the ground.
A Challenging Daily Life
When the record for Diana’s nail length was announced, many social media users were curious about her daily life. The most frequently asked question was: “How does she go to the bathroom and maintain personal hygiene?” “How does she take care of her nails without breaking them?”
To answer these questions, Diana opened up about her life.
Eating and Going to the Bathroom
Eating becomes difficult with long nails. Diana explained that when eating, she often places her right hand’s nails on her left hand for support, with her right hand holding a spoon or fork. This helps her bring food to her mouth but also makes it easy for food to fall due to the weight of her nails.
When getting dressed, she can only choose certain styles, especially those with wide sleeves. Diana cannot wear jeans because she cannot pull up the zipper. Tasks like buttoning or picking up objects require assistance from family members.
Challenges in Personal Hygiene
Diana mentioned that drinking from a bottle isn’t too difficult, but for canned drinks, she needs to use a knife to open them. In the past, she could drive, but as her nails grew longer, driving became dangerous. She decided to stop driving.
Going to the bathroom is the biggest challenge. At home, it is easier, but in public places, it becomes particularly difficult. Diana often chooses the largest toilet stalls, as cramped spaces make it impossible for her to manage. The most important issue is personal hygiene.
Diana explained that her bathroom routine is not much different from others, but the way she positions her nails during the process is somewhat different. She said: “Others may wrap toilet paper around their hand to wipe, but I can’t do that. I can only use a lot of toilet paper and wipe slowly.”
After using the bathroom, washing her hands is also a challenge. She can only wash one hand at a time and cannot rub both hands together with soap like others.
Nail Care Takes Time and Effort
Finally, Diana shared that taking care of and beautifying her nails is the most expensive and complicated task. She has not been to a nail salon in the past 22 years, as her nieces have helped her with maintenance.
When trimming her nails, she cannot use regular tools. Diana has to use carpentry tools to grind and polish. Each nail takes about 10 hours to complete. Painting her nails can consume up to 20 bottles of polish each time. It takes her nieces 4 days to finish painting her nails, which is truly a huge undertaking.
The Meaning of Her Nails
Initially, Diana’s children were not pleased with their mother’s long nails. However, when they realized that it was in memory of their family, they accepted and supported her.
Many people feel uncomfortable with such long nails, considering them unsanitary and somewhat creepy. But no matter what, maintaining such long nails requires admirable perseverance, which is truly commendable!