Ive been weirdly sick...

[JazzyJazzdotnet]

Hey friends,

This sucks. I dont know if anyone has noticed, lol, but I havent been interacting on MSP much the last few weeks & havent been online much at all, lately.

Just thought Id share the disturbing news; I came down with this weird allergic reaction (I think) ......

I am a girly girl so I am always down to get my nails done, hair done, etc.
My whole highschool life & on I have gotten fake (acrylic) nails and been fine.
The last year everytime I got my nails done I came down with this annoying rash-like thingy on my fingers & fingertips. Very itching, bumpy, and burning. But it would go away after a few days.

So finally, I changed over from getting acrylic to getting gel nails.
Which girls you know, is more expensive, and look a little better...
Needless to say I have been getting gels the last few months and been fine.
Than all of a sudden out of no where last week when I got my nails filled, the next day I got this damn rash again!!!

Here it is almost a week later and it has NOT gone away.
And the last few days red dots started appearing up my arms, they would be there for a few hours, then go away, then come back.
Then I started feeling feverish.

I have cystic fibrosis so my closest doctor, which is my specialist is like an hour away, and I barely have transportation. I'll only go there for an emergecny.
So I've been doing research online, hoping to find answer to what this may be, if anyone else is experiencing this from fake nails, etc...

Today I came across some answer, FINALLY.
You can check out the link below, i seriously think this IS what I have!
So I ripped off all my nails today and super-cleaned my house just incase.
Hoping this will fade in a few days, and if not, Ill have to see a doctor.

BEWARE, the pictures on this site are kinda gross.
My hands dont look like that thank god.
The first picture is the closest to what mine is like, except I only have a few on my fingertips and a little on my fingers closest to my nailbed.

Does anyone know anything about this sort of eczema, or allergic reactions?

And PS- hopefully when my hands/fingers arent that sore anymore Ill get back into the swing of things with my site, friends online, and MSP ;)

http://www.dermnet.org.nz/dermatitis/pompholyx.html
(sometimes the site above works, sometimes it doesnt, jsut keep checking)

[Anne]

Actually, it sounds like you may have a chemical burn from the chemicals in the nail products.

The website didn't open for me, so I couldn't see the pics.

I once had this happen to me, but it was from using cleaning products. If you have little red bumps, itchy as all get out, and then they kind of pop when you scratch them, that's probably what it is.

Try a little bit of hydrocortizone cream, see if that helps any.

[JazzyJazzdotnet]

Hey Anne

Thanks, that could be another possibility. Because I colored my hair myself that day too. So I was thinking that jsut from all the chemicals on my hands, that is what might of caused it.

But that website also says that this outbreak can be caused by nickel, which is in alot of fake jewelry and I wore fake earrings last week, which i dont normally do. But they were cute little studs...

I have been using some hydrocortizone cream tho, so hopefully that will help.
thanks for the advice, makes me feel better :)

[Anne]

Welcome, hope they go away soon, we've missed ya!

[gowanstl24]

I've heard about infections caused by places that use the same files and such from person to person. Clean nail places will replace every file - the ones on the electric things as well as those buffer blocks, every time. Do you think it could be an infection like that?

My husband has that allergic reaction to jewelry and metals like you mentioned. He can't wear his gold wedding ring, otherwise a rash like the one in the picture will go around his finger. It's so hard to tell what yours could be! :(

I'm really sorry you have to deal with this. I would stay away from that nail place for sure. I'm also sorry to hear that you have CF. My cousin had it when I was young and I always felt bad for everything she had to go through. I'm hoping treatments now are better than they were in the early 80s.

I hope your rash goes away soon. Keep us updated!

Tammy

[Jazzylee77]

I've become a big fan of oil of oregano. Helps with all kinds of diseases including most skin issues. 2 main things to watch out for, get real 100% wild mountain oregano oil, and be sure to dilute it with some olive oil. (I know a cheap source if you can't find it) I'm starting to feel like the father in "My Greek Wedding," but instead of running around with my Windex bottle I'm always passing out dropper bottles of oregano oil. But it just works on everything I try. I'm actually looking forward to my first case of poison Ivy in the gardens this spring to see how it handles that!

[Kasami2k4]

Ive gotten a chemical burn from nails before. Thats when I decided to just grow my own :/

[Ajay]

oh that sucks. i sorta had that gross peeling action on my left hand earlier this winter, it went away though. Hope you get better soon.

[heliosangel]

sorry to hear about that :( my mom deals with eczema and can hardly wear jewelry. it also sounds like it could be a reaction from the chemicals with the hair dye and the nails but i'm not to sure, so i won't give any more medical theories lol. so instead, i'll just say that i hope you get well soon :)

[MKInfo]

I get the same thing but with me it is metal.
Metal watches, belt buckles etc and even the back of the metal button on jeans!!!!!!!

You describe it to a tee "Very itching, bumpy, and burning"
With me it's an allergy. I haven't always had it. It just sorta started happening a few years ago.

[JazzyJazzdotnet]

Wow, thanks for everyone's replies...

Jazzylee, you are too funny; windex bottle.

And MKinfo, same here, I have never had this up until the last year or so.
I thought for sure it was from the acrylic nails, as it always happened after I got my nails done, but only lasted a day or two.

But here it is, and its been a week & although I took my nails off yesterday it doesnt seem to be getting any better......hmmm..

I think it could be a number of things:

The "pompholyx eczema" can be triggered by chemicals; those found in nail glue, and in nickel which is in fake jewelry.
Which I had my nails filled last week & wore fake earrings all weekend.

And then also.... Anne could be right; it could be some sort of chemical burn;
as I did color my hair on Friday, I used gloves, but those chemicals are STRONG!

Im jsut hoping whatever it is will clear up soon. I miss my nails already. I feel short and chubby fingered without them, haha.