Health

My client's nails are constantly lifting away from the nail bed. What causes this? How can it be treated?

February 22, 2005 | Bookmark +

My client's nails are constantly lifting away from the nail bed. What causes this? How can it be treated?

Answer

Onycholysis (separation of the nail plate from the nail bed) is a condition with many different causes. The more common causes include fungal infection (particularly the yeast fungus candida), psoriasis, trauma, or perhaps sensitivity to certain nail products. Usually, nails will not reattach on their own unless the causative factor is eliminated. Sometimes cutting back the nails and removing the lifted portion and then treating the nail bed or skin underneath can be helpful, but it is difficult to know which treatment is correct unless the patient is evaluated medically (by a dermatologist) with proper tests that point to a specific diagnosis. Once the diagnosis is made and the client is treated for the disorder, it usually takes anywhere between 3-6 months for the nails to reattach, depending upon the extent of the lifting. Sometimes the nails never reattach. If the cause of the lifting is allowed to continue affecting the nail, it can eventually create a scar in the nail bed and the nails won't be able to reattach. Scar tissue typically accumulates over a very long period of time.

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What’s the cause of the pinkish-red oval area on the pad of my client’s toes?

I have a client who has a recurring problem with her fourth toes during the winter months. Both of her “ring finger” toes develop a pinkish-red oval area on the pad. Then a month later, when I see her again, the skin has become dry and hard like a callus, with the layers of skin peeling away to reveal a deeper, dark epicenter.  It’s extremely painful for her and, needless to say, we do not touch it. But it clears up in the summer when she’s wearing open-toed sandals, so I suspect it has to be due to the boots she wears in the winter. Plus she never puts lotion on her feet or uses a foot file in between visits. What do you think causes this?

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What are the big white spots on my natural-nail client’s nails?

I have a client who has been with me for about two years. She used to wear acrylic nails but has been a natural nail client for eight months or so. She has these white spots on her nails — big spots that are dry, but not flaky, right in the middle of the nail. I did try to buff them lightly but they do not come off or grow off. I had a new client come in last week who had the same on her toenails. She said it started after she had a pedicure done at another salon. Can you help?

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