A mum says that she’s hardly able to move her fingers and claims her confidence has taken a knock from years of using nail products.
36-year-old Lisa Dewey says that she’s been getting her nails done for years without having any problems, but now she seems to have developed a suspected allergy, which caused her nails to start peeling away from the nail bed.
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If that made you shudder just a little bit, then you’re definitely not alone.
At the time, Lisa was prescribed a steroid cream and some antibiotics, as the doctors thought that she had a bacterial infection.
However, after getting a set of acrylic nails last month, the problems and pain came back once again.
This time – like the last time – her nails became ‘very aggravated’ and she could hardly move her hands because of the pain.
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Lisa, who works as a cleaner for the NHS, said that she can’t do her daughter’s hair, buckle her seatbelt, wash dishes, or even hold a pen.
What’s more, she doesn’t believe she can ever have acrylic nails or gels done again, because of the suspected allergy.
The Northants resident explained: I've been getting my nails done all my life for acrylics or gels.
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"So when it first happened after a set of gels in February, I thought it was a bacterial infection.
"My nail bed even started going purple and I worried I would lose the whole finger.
"When I had them done again recently - this time acrylics - the same thing happened.
"Now my skin is like paper tearing away from my fingers and I can barely move my hands from the pain.
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"It has knocked my confidence so much too - it's so embarrassing and I'm always hiding my hands away."
The mum-of-two started noticing symptoms in February, despite having the same stuff done that she always has.
One of her nails even turned purple, with the others becoming extremely painful and itchy.
Of course, she didn’t think her manicure was responsible.
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"It happened suddenly - I feared I might even lose a finger when it went purple around the nail,” she continued.
"I feared it might be starved of oxygen - but it ended up being something completely different."
Now, she has vowed to stay away from nail products, even though that hasn’t been great for her confidence.
Lisa warned: "People can get their nails done for years with no issues until one day it hits them.
"I am going on holiday in August and I was booked to get my hands and toes done. Now I'm not getting them done.
"This has knocked my confidence so much - I don't normally care what people think of me, but now I hide my hands away.
"It's just embarrassing to have hands like this - there's a coronation party this week, and if my hands aren’t better, I won’t be going.
"I just want to do my bit in trying to get the word out that things might not be as good as they seem."
Tom Wood