Is This an Infection?

Quinny · ‎03-09-2010

I've probably waited too long to do anything about this, but... Under my fingernail (ring finger) it started turning yellow. It didn't hurt or bother me, so I figured I had just bumped my nail on something and it was reacting. Now, the yellow has spread all the way across my nail and the fingernail and begun lifting itself off of the nailbed. It has a couple big horizontal bumps or ridges going across the nail as well. I caught the place where the nail was coming up off of the bed and tore it about 1/16th of an inch toward the center of my nail. Still, it doesn't hurt, itch, smell bad...it just looks hideous. Have any of you ever experienced this? Is this an infection?

blackhole99 · ‎08-22-2013

I can't imagine that you don't have any pain in that nail bed, but you know how you feel. I would soak the finger in warm water and epsom salts put an antibiotic cream on it and make a doctors appointment.

Baileybut · ‎09-16-2014

I would have Dr check it out asap!

suzyQ3 · ‎03-09-2010

One of the most common causes of yellow fingernails is a fungus infection. That would also account for the lifting of the nail that you describe. Although rare, it can indicate one of a few diseases.

You should see a dermatologist.

~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

JeanLouiseFinch · ‎10-03-2011

@Quinny About a year ago I was rearranging furniture in our living room and I whacked my big toe into the leg of my heavy sofa table. I didn't think much of it at the time, but some time later I noticed my toe nail started looking the same way. It didn't hurt either so I left it alone and kept an eye on it. As time went on, I could see it lifting more and more. Unable to leave it alone anymore, I examined it a little more closely only to find out that the entire nail was detatched and lifted except on one border. I clipped it as close to the border as I could and once the nail was removed, I discovered a new nail had already been growing underneath. Today that nail is still a little shorter than it should be, but attached, pink, growing and approaching normal shape and size.

What I'm getting at is that this seems to be a natural reaction when there's some kind of trauma to fingernails and toenails. It's called "Onycholysis". I suspect you'll experience something similar to what I did, but good for you that fingernails recover and regrow faster than toenails.

Onycholysis

suzyQ3 · ‎03-09-2010

@JeanLouiseFinch wrote:
@Quinny About a year ago I was rearranging furniture in our living room and I whacked my big toe into the leg of my heavy sofa table. I didn't think much of it at the time, but some time later I noticed my toe nail started looking the same way. It didn't hurt either so I left it alone and kept an eye on it. As time went on, I could see it lifting more and more. Unable to leave it alone anymore, I examined it a little more closely only to find out that the entire nail was detatched and lifted except on one border. I clipped it as close to the border as I could and once the nail was removed, I discovered a new nail had already been growing underneath. Today that nail is still a little shorter than it should be, but attached, pink, growing and approaching normal shape and size.

What I'm getting at is that this seems to be a natural reaction when there's some kind of trauma to fingernails and toenails. It's called "Onycholysis". I suspect you'll experience something similar to what I did, but good for you that fingernails recover and regrow faster than toenails.

Onycholysis

Makes total sense. I think I've had the same experience, too. This would be good news for the OP as opposed to an infection.

~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

JeanLouiseFinch · ‎10-03-2011

One more thing....

If it was an infection, I think the surrounding skin would be red, swollen, tight, tender, and hot, with maybe a white spot where puss is ready to pop out.

suzyQ3 · ‎03-09-2010

@JeanLouiseFinch wrote:
One more thing....

If it was an infection, I think the surrounding skin would be red, swollen, tight, tender, and hot, with maybe a white spot where puss is ready to pop out.

Definitely possible with a bacterial infection, but the type of infection I referred to in my first post was fungal. That's a whole different beast that doesn't present in the same way. The symptoms usually include a change in color and a lifting from the nail bed. Nasty things to get rid of, too.

Fortunately for the OP, though, I'm pretty sure that nail fungus is much more common on toenails, simply because they're kept in an environment that fungi love. And fungi love a couple of my toenails.

~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Mothertrucker · ‎01-30-2015

Have you tried soaking it in half peroxide and half cider vinegar? I did this when the same thing happened to mine...it cleared up and never came back..it was my pinky finger...I used to put it in a shot glass, and just submerge the one finger a couple minutes a few times a day.....

btw, a fungal infection is rarely red and puss-y