the ses havent let up as yet, i have painted my nails dark blue throughout my treatment, cut them quite short, as advised by nurses on the chemo unit.
they have been a bit ‘sore’ on and off pretty much all the time, but nothing too bad,
however my middle finger on my left hand has woken me up at this ridiculous time absolutely excruitiating pain, it is literally throbbing, i cannot touch it,
does this mean the nail is going to drop off?
what should i be doing, i carnt even touch the key on the computer,
Excuse the bluntness, but is it ‘smelly and weepy’ ? It’s just that mine went like yours and were soooo painful so I went to the docs and she gave me some antibiotics; the nail eventually dropped off and there was a very thin but new nail growing underneath.
just all veeeerrrryyyy sore, they feel, and a couple of them look purple you know like they do when you hit them with a hammer lol,
i think the purple is actually blood, they do look bad i must admit,
but now at least i know its the tax, i will put some nail oil on them, use hand and nail cream, i have a good one which i get from avon, and see what happens,
i couldnt believe it this morning when it actually woke me up it was so bad, throbbing like i dont know what,
all the very best to you, i dont know carnt even pick my nose in peace now…
… and all the best to you too Liz and get to the gp if they go smelly! My toe nails went the same way too so watch them too - thought I’d trodden in something they were that bad!
thats something to look forward to, my oh’s feet are enough to put up with without mine as well lol
thanks for the advice and info and if they do get worse i will go and see my gp, in fact i think i will give him a ring on monday he is pretty good and will give me a prescription for anti biotics so i can get them straight away if i start going rotten !!!
Oh Liz, my heart goes out to you, the TAX truck is determined to run you over one more time before it moves on!
I have become obsessed with my nails since I found out what can happen, have painted them deep purple and massaging in Sally Hanson Diamond Strength cuticle + nail oil in the hope that makes any difference.
Not that this will help you, but I also read somewhere that keeping the fingers and toes cold during chemo (same principle as the cold cap) may also reduce the effects on nails and so I sat there with my feet in a cool bag sandwhiched between two ice bricks, don’t know if it will make any difference but it gave everyone else there a laugh!
Still, it is encouraging to know that there will be a nail underneath if they do fall out.
Gentle fingers crossed that your nails stay attached!
i kept my nails dark blue the whole time, i googled it and guess what, it says to avoid nail polish, particularly dark!!!
I couldn’t believe it, now i am wondering…should you paint them or not,
i actually thought mine would be ok, but i am not so sure now, i woke up this morning, the middle finger on my left hand was throbbing as if i had just hit it with a hammer lol,
anyway i am using hand and nail cream and plunging them in cold water for a little bit of light relief,
i will keep you posted, i feel like the fly at the moment waiting for bits to start falling off lol,
do i just have to put up with this pain or what, gp said phone chemo ward, chemo ward said phone gp.
i have done both, i am taking paracetamol for the pain, i am typing using a pencil, as i cannot touch the keyboard,
my fingers and nails are reeeaaallly sore now, middle finger of right hand now worse than the others, i am in absolute agony what can i do to ease the pain, will it be like this until the nail falls off, any experience of this anyone love liz xxx
Hi Liz - I’ve not posted on this thread before so hope you don’t mind. I finished chemo at the end of Feb and my nails turned a yellow colour but stayed attached. About 3 weeks ago some of them turned white at the bottom and have started to crumble. I have now got 4 very sore nails with one hanging on by a thread, theres a tiny sliver of new nail underneath but it looks digusting, in fact all my nails look horrible now! I haven’t been to the doctors about them as although they are sore they are not inflamed or red, just keep the bad one covered up but its amazing how many times you bash you hands, you just don’t realise.Sorry haven’t got a remedy but just to let you know you’re not alone. Love Lin x
Can only support what Lin has said as mine went the same way as hers and her post brought it all back to me and how sore mine were. I can only sympathise wth you and I too was advised to take painkillers. They got that sore and delicate that when they were ‘hanging loose’ I put finger bandages over them (I got them from Tesco - about six in a box for less than £1.50 I think), doesn’t stop the soreness but helped with the ‘mishaps’ and plasters aren’t much use.
Not much of an answer I know but just know what you’re going through but I can assure you it does get better.
yep i ended up at the a and e department, i have also got anti biotics now, on my right hand my middle finger is slowly rising with what underneath i havent a clue, the tip of my finger is about 3 times bigger than the middle finger on my left hand, and you all know about the pain dont you?
omg they just throb dont they? How long is it before it gets better usually, i am getting a bit fed up now, although there are only the two fingers at the moment, that are really hurting bad.
Hi Liz,
Just noticed this thread. I’ve had exactly the same as you. All my nails are dropping off. Many of them are dry but a few have been smelly and weepy. One was so painful like yours the pain was all up my arm. This is because the fluid builds up under the nail and can’t escape. If you get a cup of hot water with a good bit of salt in it and keep soaking it frequently it comes to a head sort of and the fluid can be released. I did it with a scalpel as i’m a chiropodist and had one handy but you need to be careful to avoid infection.
Polly x
I’m in the same position as lindsaym - my nails don’t hurt but they are all giving up the battle to stay attached. I’m 6 weeks post chemo now and I thought I’d got away with it but over the last week or so they’ve been getting worse.
I’ve been taping them down with micropore; I use just enough to protect the nail without overdoing it and the micropore is breathable which is better for the new nail growing. It all looks horrible though!
Wish I could offer something more concrete to help!
its re-assuring as always to hear that i am not on my own, although unfortunate more of us are suffering with yet another se of the tax,
i had been soaking my fingers in salt water my gp advised me to, but they seemed to be aching more, obviously now polly i realise they were coming to a head,
i feel like the fly, bits dropping off everywhere!!! now i am wondering whats going to be next lol.
the doctor at the a&e wouldnt put a needle into mine, because of infection but i told him it feels like there is a build up of fluid, how revolting isnt it, its starting to turn me a bit sick.
oh well hopefully they will fall off soon, the sooner the better to be honest,
Must admit when one of mine got to ‘hanging by a thread’ I did the gory bit and got my hubby to pull it off as I couldn’t bear it anymore! Yes it hurt but I soaked it in salt water sprayed it with some savlon spray and covered it with a dressing and micropore, took some painkillers and went to bed. Must say it def got better after that and now the new nail is just like the others. They’re still sore when you squeeze them but massive improvement of where you’re at now, but just takes time and now all I’ve got is the tax numbness and tingling in them if anybody has that so I tend to be a bit more clumsy than I was before lol…
Ps forgot to add that my last TAX was three days Christmas last year - wham bam what a lovely day I had with the SE’s - but that’s another story!
Wow, I am seriously impressed! There is no way I’d want to pull off those nails that are barely hanging on (nearly all of them), I am far too wimpy to do that! Every few days I trim mine as the new growth pushes the damaged part up, but I have to admit that I live in trepidation of getting an infection just from things like having a bath/shower etc. Maybe I should be a bit braver and just bite the bullet and remove them all. . .
Nymeria if you leave the nails to drop off when they are ready the skin underneath is not so sensitive. One of mine which I didn’t think was the worst surprised me by coming off when I was drying my hands. There was a new nail underneath although only half the length. Others I’ve trimmed back and the skins been quite sensitive for a couple of days. Mine have been weepy for quite a while and no infection so try not to worry too much.
Polly x
Every few days I trim mine as the new growth pushes the damaged part up, but I have to admit that I live in trepidation of getting an infection just from things like having a bath/shower etc. Maybe I should be a bit braver and just bite the bullet and remove them all. . .