Cancer, Nail Fungus and Press-on Nails

[LipstickLady]

Hi Friends!

I'm a co-founder of a small company called, Chemo Diva and primarily, we work with ladies who suffer from hair loss; we provide free assistance with make-up application and skin care along with help in wig selection, all in a private, non-hospital/medical environment. I'm a skin and make-up geek and I serve women all over the USA. We all know that looking pretty on the outsides makes us feel much better on the inside and when cancer/chemo patients loose their eye lashes and eyebrows, along with their hair, no one feels pretty.

My help question relates to your field of expertise: As you know, chemo and radiation treatment causes many problems but one is nail loss for some. Many women healing from cancer stay home for a period of time to heal so not having fingernails or toe nails doesn't matter much. If it's important, doctors and nurses simply recommend Press-on nails while the nail bed is healing and growing.

My client completed her treatment and is back to work and wants to look nice so she just started wearing press-ons as advised by the medical staff but now she's got fungus!

Here's where I need your professional advice:

- What do you recommend as a GENTLE and SAFE treatment (maybe organic?) to cure her nail fungus (nothing harsh -- chemo patients are prone to infections while their immune system is down)

- Is there an alternative to press on's if one has no nail bed? (no question is dumb when you're trying to help someone in need so I'm asking!)

I'd love your ideas!

Thanks so much in advance, Hugs, kelly

 

[Cathie!]

Hi, are you 100% sure that it's fungus as this is pretty rare. A more common explanation, especially following the wearing of press on nails could be a bacterial infection which would manifest itself as a yellowish/green stain.

It's quite common to experience bacterial infections on the nail plate when adequate preparation and sanitisation hasn't taken place before their application and/or if they haven't been applied correctly.

I had a quick look and found a thread that may help.

http://www.salongeek.com/nail-geek/78263-greenie.html

Good luck with your venture.

 

[Carmen]

If it is a greenie, you could clean it really well with tea tree oil. Put some on a cotton pad and really scrub the nail. Do that often and it should help. Also, make sure the greenie is not being covered by anything (ie. another press-on nail).

ps - I never knew chemo patients lost their nails. That makes me sad. What an awful sickness.

 

[cro-mari]

Greenies and fungus can easily be mistaken to untrained eye, so the best thing is to ask the doctor. Especially if person had such radical therapies, then certanly prescribing something other than from the doctors is not advisable.

The tea tree oil or apple vinegar is something you can hear about, but it's more like prevention. If that's really fungus, it will not go away without proper medical treatment and it can only get worse, or even spread around on other nails or surrounding skin. Fungus is easily spreading, especially if one's immunity is weak.

Here I've got some 'results' of press on nails. Those are greenies.
http://www.salongeek.com/members/cro-mari-albums-damaged+nails-picture6246-a.html

Also, if nail is infected with fungus, any enhancement will only make it worse, because fungus (or greenie for that matter) like closed, damp, moist, dark environment. More to that - if there's fungus, the product won't adhere properly and will fall of, making it worse again.

So doctor's opinion and gentle manicure (no polish) is what I would say.

Hope that helps.

 

[Carmen]

Just to clarify - I was only recommending tea tree oil if it is a greenie, not a true fungal infection.

 

[cro-mari]

Just to clarify - I was only recommending tea tree oil if it is a greenie, not a true fungal infection.

I know but I said that because lot of times you'll find tea tree advised for fungus also.

 

[Cathie!]

Also, if nail is infected with fungus, any enhancement will only make it worse, because fungus (or greenie for that matter) like closed, damp, moist, dark environment. More to that - if there's fungus, the product won't adhere properly and will fall of, making it worse again.

So doctor's opinion and gentle manicure (no polish) is what I would say.

If it's a bacterial infection (greenie), once the press on or enhancement has been removed from the nail plate and the bacteria exposed to air and the nail plate sanitised it's safe to reapply. If the infection is a true bacterial infection such as paroychia, in the living tissue, not simply on the nail plate, a visit to the GP is needed.

 

[LipstickLady]

I love you all so much, thank you! I am so blessed to be a member here at SG and I can't tell you how very much I appreciate your time and expert advice and opinions. I love this business!

Hugs and kisses, oxoxo kelly

 

[VillageNails]

ps - I never knew chemo patients lost their nails.

SOME chemo drugs cause damage to nail growth in the same way it causes hair loss by damage to the hair follicle.
Some patients may only have ridges on finger or toe nails - they can often be counted (mimics the no. of courses of chemo have been given.)

 

[LipstickLady]

Update-
I passed along all your info to my client and it sounds like her problem is on her nail plate, not within the living tissue.

She's not in any pain, no swelling, no throbbing (I got paroychia myself years and years ago from what I suspect was an unsanitized instrument breaking my cuticle - it was miserable; I rec'd antibiotic treatment (injections and oral) and my nail fell off TWICE! Yuk).

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I promise to pay-it-forward ladies oxox

Hugs:hug: