A woman says that she can barely use her hands after she developed a suspected allergy to nail products, New York Post reported. 36-year-old Lisa Dewey said she had been getting her nails done for years with no issues. However, after having a full set of gel polish done in February, her nails became inflamed and started peeling away from her nail beds.
Doctors initially attributed the symptoms to a bacterial infection, for which she was given a steroid cream and antibiotics. When the signs of infection seemed to go away after taking the medicines, she decided to get acrylic nails in April. However, the symptoms returned and she found her nails to become "very aggravated" yet again.
"My nail bed started going purple, and I worried I would lose my whole finger. When I had them done again recently - this time acrylics - the same thing happened,'' she explained.
She described her skin as like ''paper tearing away'' from her fingers, leaving her in so much pain that she could ''barely'' move her hands. She even struggled to wash her daughter's hair, do up a seatbelt, hold a pen and wash up, Independent reported.
''It has knocked my confidence so much too - it's so embarrassing and I'm always hiding my hands away,'' she added.
It is now suspected that she had developed an allergy to nail products.
According to a BBC report, dermatologists have recently reported seeing an increase in allergic reactions to acrylic and gel nails. Methacrylate chemicals used in acrylic and gel nail manicures are known to trigger contact allergies.
The chemicals can cause a severe, itchy rash anywhere on the body, making the source of the reaction difficult to diagnose, the British Association of Dermatologists noted. In some cases, people report their nails are loose or falling off.
