Our hands are one of our most important body parts. We use them as a way to make our first contact with other people and we can learn a lot from people by their hands. The last thing any of us wants to deal with are fingernail disorders because they would literally cramp our lifestyle. Probably the most well known disorder is fingernail fungus, or Onychomycosis. It is very common, and most common among among women. Tradition has it that it happened because of poor hygiene, but that is not true. Fingernail fungus is an unsightly and embarrassing bacterial infection that is common and hard to get rid of. One common cause is the use of acrylic fingernails. Probably the best form of treatment is to see your physician and get on a regimen of oral antibiotics. You will need to use some precautions because you can spread the fungus to other nails. For example, give up nail polish, wash your hands after you have touched the infected nail, and do not pick at the infected area, etc.
Another fingernail disorder that is quite common is the digital mucous or mysoid cyst. This is found on the finger right where the fingernail and the skin of the finger meet. It is a tough cyst to treat. Sometimes, your doctor will treat it with injections. He/she may advise you that as the cyst forms with pus, just drain the cyst with a sterile needle at home. If you continue to battle with this cyst to no avail, you will always have the option to have the cyst surgically removed.
There are numerous other obnoxiously difficult, yet serious fingernail disorders that happens to our hands. Some of them are as follows: subungual kyperkeratosis or skin thickening under the distal edge of the nail. As the skin becomes thick and harder, one tendency might be to want to pick at the skin, but please do not do that as it could cause infection. Please consult with a dermatologist to find the best course of treatment. Another related disorder is Onycholysis in which the actual fingernail is lifted off of the bed of the finger. Again see a physician as this could easily catch and cause your fingernail to rip off. Sometimes the nail plate does actually shed from the finger, this is known as Onychomadesis.
As we age, we may notice other fingernail disorders on our nail that are age related such as: pitting, transverse ridging, ragged or absent cuticles, red skin around the nail and blisters on the fingertips. Never be embarrassed about any of these problems. In fact be proud because it means you have been a hard working individual all of your life, and your fingers are showing some of the signs of wear and tear because of it. Consult with your doctor to see if there are creams or other treatments to give some much deserved ease to these problems.
