hi , does anyone know the deal with acrylic overlays and chemo. is it good bad or indifferent. have heard tax plays havoc with your nails but not sure wether acrylics need to come off or not. help
Hi, l finished my chemo last September, and also at the time asked about acrylic’s, my bcn said NO! my nails became very painful and brittle, lost most of them and my toe nails! Did have acrylics put on in February this year, because l was fed up looking at the poor condition, but they were just not growing right, so had them removed and some gel painted on, which has strengthened them, they are now almost back to normal. My friend who had the same treatment didn’t lose any nails, they just got very sore.
Good Luck
xxx
Hi
I have gel overlays on my nails and I have managed to keep all of mine,they have become discoloured but have remained really strong.
good luck with your chemo
Helenx
It does depend on what type of chemo you’re having too. Tax (Docetaxel/Taxotere) is much harder on the nails than FEC. I’ve had FEC and my own nails are actually a lot stronger than normal!
Hi, I had 3 fec and my nails long and strong, but 10 days ago had the firt of 3 taxotere so dont know whether they will suffer or not yet a heard can be bad, but interested re the gel nails, would that help to protect them…
Hi
I had 3 x EC and 3 x Tax.
I have had gel nails on toes and fingers since january, have them done every 2-3 weeks. They look lovely. No nail droppage! A bit of tenderness but that has almost gone, i havent been poisoned for about 2 weeks now.
x sarah
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also, keep your nails short as they tend to split. If I let mine grow they would tear 8-(
x sarah
I have had fec and my nails have been very strong. I always pre chemo had gels on nails but my onc said no cos of the filing to remove the gel /acrylic your cuticles could get caught, bleed and get infection.
I also have 2 friends who are nail tech and they said that the chemo can make the gels acrylics pop off after a few days, so it could prove expensive. I’ve been painting mine and that’s lasted well.
BD xx
Thanx girls for some great feed back and tips. Will be seeing onc on tues so will pop in and speak to bcn whilst there. Dont realy want to take them off as i bite my nails and no matter how much i try not to i do it without realising. I think that if i was without the acrylics at time of diagnosis i would of bitten down to my elbows by now. May try the gel and see what happens. Still have two fec to go then three tax. What other lovely side effects do i hve to look forward to?? .
xx
hi all.
iam a trained nsi nail tec and like dragonfly said. you must be carefull when having infills. some nail tecs can make you bleed when filing and this can cause infection. also with a overlay over the natural nail you cant get a clear look at the natural nail and if there is any fungal starting in the nail bed. hope this helps. xxx gaynor
Hi givli
I have been having acrylics for 8 years. I’ve just got 5 year all clear. I remember being on an American forum and being told that acrylics were a no no because of the risk of infection. I think you have to be careful but also realistic. I have a very good technician that knows about the risks and never nicks cuticles. I 've also had butchers that have been very careless. It is just as easy to scratch hands doing normal everyday things which could also introduce infection but we can’t wrap ourselves in cotton wool all the time.
Having my nails makes me feel good and painting them is a great stress buster. I too would bite nails and skin down the side if I didn’t have them which is surely just as bad a risk for infection.
I remember that just about my first trip out after surgery was to get my nails put back on.
Enjoy living with your nails.
Love Chinook
I have acrylics … had them for years … have had two EC and asked about my acrylics and my onc and the nurses all told me I would be fine if I was careful when I had infills. So far so good. I have french … never paint them, so can always see if there is anything untoward under the nail!
hi,
I completed 6 tax, 29th april, now heres the thing all my finger nails are at various stages of falling off, not everyone gets this side effect, but all I can say is if I had any type of false nail attached I would have been in very big trouble,
my fingernails got so sore I couldnt even touch them, two of my fingers on my right hand were swollen on the end to at least 3 times the normal size, full of blood, which I couldnt have relieved because I was neutopenic and couldnt risk infection, they both eventually burst absolutely revolting,
be very very careful what you are having attached my advice would be not to, you may not have the ses but better safe than sorry, believe me even soaking my hands in water was sooo painful in the end I couldnt even do that, so how would you get the false nails off?
all the best and hope this helps Liz xxx
Had EC3 today and checked about acrylics again today … because I am on EC not TAX they think I should be fine … they’ve never had a patient on EC with nail problems.
Hi
I had 3xEc and 3xDocetaxel. I finished my chemo 20th May,a couple of weeks ago I noticed my nails were coming away from the nail bed and smell disgusting. the Dr gave me some cream to rub on them but unfortunately today one of my lovely nails has dropped off! I have gel overlays done every 3wks and they have been beautiful until now.
Helen x
Checked yet again today with hospital about my acrylics and they said they havent had experience of anyone on EC having nail problems … guess there’s always a first … but I am going to keep my acrylics. I suggest everyone checks with their onc and nursing team and speak to other patients on the same regime before making any decision.