QuestionQUESTION: Hi.
Sometime in August I got some French tips because my real nails do not grow, and when they do, they are thin and brittle. (any help with that would be appreciated too)
I got my nails done with pink and white gel.
Well.. 2 days ago I smashed my hand in the dishwasher :)
And my left ring finger got caught. It made a perfect break in the middle of my finger, breaking the gel AND breaking my real nail.
My finger has since bruised up and there is a lot of blood underneath my fake nail.
Is there anything I can do???
It is still attached, and I keep snagging it on things which makes it hurt worse.
Should I just leave my nail on and hope it heals?
I have doctored it with peroxide and wrapped a bandaid around it to try and keep like.. gross stuff out of it.
Any help?
ANSWER: Ouch. You're going to need a doctor. A doctor can lance the nail for you to release the pressure from the subungual hematoma-- the build up of blood under your nail. That will help with that hot, throbbing feeling you're probably experiencing.
The doctor may also be able to remove the nail and gel past the break under a local anaesthetic and get you all bandaged up with some antibiotics to make sure it doesn't get infected.
It'll take a few weeks to a couple of months for the nail to grow out again so you can put gel back on that nail. There's a chance that the natural nail won't reattach to the nail bed over the tip of the finger, that doesn't mean you can't put product over it again though. Just be prepared for the possibility that your nail may never be the same.
In the meantime, I would suggest cleaning the wound very well and soaking the finger in hydrogen peroxide or Bactine so you can make sure that the wound is clean all the way down under the gel and the natural nail.
Then you can wrap the finger tip up with gauze to help with getting it caught.
I recommend AGAINST gluing the crack together-- at least not until you've consulted with a medical professional-- because there's a chance that you could trap bacteria into the wound and add insult to injury. But if the doctor is unable to remove the nail, gluing the crack back together will help a lot with the discomfort of the nail constantly getting hit, caught, or bending at the crack. It kind of acts as a splint for the nail until it can grow out past the point where it broke. Just remember that it is VERY important to keep the wound under the crack clean!
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: I suggested going to the doctor to my grandma but she laughed and said it wasn't serious enough.
:(
I have been soaking it in peroxide several times a day. Usually after 2 or 3 soakings it no longer bubbles.
It is mostly bruised and tender to the touch, no longer searingly painful like it was the first 2 days after it happened.
And yes that was one thing I was worried about, if my nail would ever be the same.
I experienced a deformed nail when I was about 5 and got my thumb broken down the middle on one of those gumball machines, and 15 years later that thumb nail STILL grows with a split down the center.
Thank you for your advice.
AnswerIf your grandmother is anything like mine, you could probably tear off your entire finger and she'd tell you it wasn't serious enough to go to the doctor!
It sounds like you're on the right track. Once the break through your natural nail starts to heal you should be able to "bandage" the crack in the nail with glue.
