April 13, 2009 – 12:14 pm
Nail problem 1 : Bruised nail
Cause : Your toes have been jabbing the side of your too-tight or too-loose running shoes.
or you dropped a heavy object on your foot. Both incidents can cause blood to pool under the nail
and turn it red or purple and over time, it changes to blue.
Bruising can also occur when the nail is wounded. This can happen when your nail got caught and was torn
in the process, for example while rock climbing or when you accidentally slice into your nails while chopping vegetables.
Whether bruised or torn, the entire finger or toe throbs with ever heartbeat and is painful to touch.
What you can do:
If your shoes are to blame, it is time to do some shopping. Choose footwear with a wide toe box, the shoes shouldn’t
pinch or press against your toes.
Home care is okay if the bruise covers less than half of your nail, the toe is not bent or deformed, and there is no
big cut or wound on the nail. If you are experiencing excruciating pain regardless the size of the bruise, please go see a doctor.
Keep the affected area slightly elevated to release the pressure. But never massage the bruise as you’ll stop clots from forming
and worsen the condition.
Usually the blue bruise that remains will get pushed out as the nail grows. It is good to keep track of the progress of the clot
and not hide it under nail polish. Some black discoloration on the nail could be sign of skin cancer.
Doctor: The doctor may release the blood by removing a portion of the nail or by making a hole in the nail.
This is done by gently hand drilling the nail with a heated hypodermic needle. It is a painless process to let the blood
escape.
If the nail is ripped, the bruising is extensive and the bone is broken, the doctor may remove the nail to examine the nail bed.
Nail problem 2: Nail biting
Cause: Nail biting is a common stress reliving habit and a form of onychohagia. This will result in red and sore fingertips and bleeding
cuticles. in the long run, it can interfere with normal nail growth and caused deformed nails. If the nail biting become more serious like bitting
the nail till none is left, counseling or psychiatric help would be required.
What you can do:
Have a regular manicure or use nail polish. You could try Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Range which contains bioactive glass
an ingredient that bonds to nail proteins to give you a hard, lasting manicure. Wearing artificial nails can also help.
Doctor: To improve the situation, the doctor might prescribe a bitter-tasting polish such as Control-It! or Thum. The awful taste will
remind you to stop each time you start to bite your nails.
Nail problem 3: Fungal Infection
Cause: By walking barefoot at the public pool or in the shower rooms, you may pick up a pathogen or two on the skin
of your feet and toenails. By entering the nail through a small cut or break, an infection can happen and cause the nail to
change colour (patchy or streaky white, yellow or yellow-brown), thicken, become crumbly or lift off the nail bed.
A small portion or the entire nail plate may be affected.
Wearing non absorbing socks or sharing someone else’s pair is like welcoming fungi with open arms. Any sports that involve
a lot of running or wearing ill fitting shoes will traumatise the toenails and the skin around it.
What you can do:
Keep your feet dry by wearing cotton socks as they absorb perspiration fast, air your shoes about a day before you wear them
and when you are in public areas like shower room or pool, make sure you have your flip flops or sandals on.
Wash your feet and and dry them carefully. If you had an infection before, apply an anti-fungal product to prevent a relapse to
treat the irritation and itch and keep the fungal spores from coming back.
At the manicurist, give artificial nails a miss. An infection can occur in the gap between artificial nail and real nail especially when
a loose nail is glued back without any cleaning with rubbing alcohol. If you decide to get artificial nail, go to one that uses sterile instruments
like Polished (695A East Coast Road) which uses autoclaving- a sterilisation standard used by medical professionals. Lastly, avoid cutting
your nail too short as it is a common cause of nail injury.
Doctor: If it is a minor infection affecting outermost part of the nail, ask your doctor for Loceryl, an anti-fungal nail lacquer. It is a substitute for oral
tablets normally prescribed by doctors. It takes only a small dose to improve infected fingernails in 6 and 9 months and 12 months for toenail.
Anything that affect the area near the root of the nail still has to be treated with oral prescriptions.
Seek treatment early for your nail infection even if it does not cause any discomfort. The longer the infection, the harder it is to get rid of it.
Nail infection is infectious and can spread to your family or anyone who share the common facilities with you.
Nail problem 4: Ingrown toenails
Cause: Due to cutting your toenails too short or rounding the nail edges. Wearing ill fitting shoes or tight stocking that press the
nail into your toe is another culprit. You can also develop ingrown toenail after an injury such as stubbing your toe. If this continues,
overgrowth of tissue over the nail can lead to permanent changes in the tissue that can cause infection, more pain and more swelling.
What you can do
In mild cases, soak your foot in warm water for 15 to 20 min. When you are done, place a dry cotton pad under the affected corner of the nail.
In the meantime, wear shoes with a closed protective front. Keep your toenails at a moderate length (your nail should touch the fleshy tip of
your toe) when trimming them, cut your nails straight across.
Doctor : Talk to you doctor if you experience increasing pain, swelling and drainage of the area. Minor surgery can be performed to remove
the part of the nail that is poking into the skin.
Nail problem 5: Yellow nails
Cause: The discolouration you see after removing your nail polish is commonly caused by a chemical reaction between the colouring
agent and the topmost surface of your nail. The common colours that have been known to cause this are darker shades such as black,
burgundy, brown, red and blue.
What you can do
Treating yellow nails is a cinch if you have the patience. Just wait for the discoloured nail to grow out. Generally, it will take around
4-6 months for the entire fingernail and about 10 months for the toenails. Cannot wait? Try Ecrinal ($30 per bottle, Plolished) a peel-
off treatment that also reconstruct cuticles or Scholl Discoloured Toe Nail Treatment ($15.50, selected Watsons). It is a treatment gel
that contains UV brightener to reduce the yellowing and moisturizer to nourish the nails and surrounding skin that have been dried out
by nail polish.
What you can do
Buff your nails once a week to lighten the stain or wait for the stained nail bed to grow out. To avoid staining, alternate between a
light-colored polish and a dark one. Also put on an extra layer of good quality base coat to provide a better buffer before you apply nail polish.
If you have sensitive skin, skip the nail polish completely. That’s because certain nail polish contains the toxic trio: dibutyl phthalate, toluene
and formaldehyde. These are banned from nail polish in the EU because of health concerns that include skin reactions, cancer, reproductive problems
and developmental defects in babies whose mothers are exposed to them. However the US does not has no such legislation and some manufacturers
assert there is no proof that these chemicals area harmful when used in low concentrations found in nail polish.
Doctor: Such discoloration is superficial and not harmful to the nail. However, don’t keep your nail color on for too long. The yellow tint can happen
within days to weeks of using the nail polish.
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