I always loved manicures especially pre-pandemic but I had to refrain from it since getting an infection under my nails. I don’t want to scare you here but this is a very common condition that requires nail avulsion or removal of the nail.
I have been seeing some dry skin on the side of my nail since the start of the pandemic but it didn’t really bother me. At first, I thought it was just an ingrown nail that needed to be fixed by a nail technician. I immediately booked a home-service manicure and I thought it fixed it. But after a few days, dry skin returned and it felt like it has a small painful bump inside.
After a few weeks of pain on the side of my nails, I finally decided to have it checked by a doctor. Dermatologists are the ones who usually check nail issues and abnormalities so I immediately scheduled a check-up.
As soon as the doctor checked the side of my nail, she said that there are warts on the side and maybe underneath my nails. The warts just looked like really small black dots which are not too visible or identifiable by the naked eye. My dermatologist had to use a magnifying glass to make sure of her diagnosis.
When I asked how it can be treated, she prescribed pain relievers and an ointment to see if the warts can be healed with just a topical medicine.
After two weeks, I came back and got the word that the ointment didn’t really work so I had to undergo nail avulsion.
My nail avulsion is performed by a general surgeon where he removed the whole nail on my thumb and cauterized the warts. The surgery used local anesthesia so the surgery was essentially pain-free. The painful part is the next days as I had to clean the area every day with betadine. I also had to cover it when taking a bath or washing my hands because it can’t be wet for at least a week. It also looked really bad and I was afraid of people accidentally touching our bumping it.
After two weeks, the area is totally dry but I still have to go back to the derma to see if the warts will come back. The nails haven’t grown yet and it’ll take at least 3 months for it to fully grow out.
I had a c-section before and this nail avulsion is no joke. It was more painful than giving birth (well, at least for me). So if you love manicures, make sure that clean cutters and other nail accessories are clean and sterilized because these warts can be caught from other people. The infection can start from a small scratch or wound so better be safe than sorry!
