Hi Lulu,

A very warm welcome to Cancer Chat.

I am sorry to hear that you are so worried about your finger nail. Try not to panic, it can take several months for a bruised nail to grow out. You are very lucky to have got an appointment with the dermatologist so quickly, and I sincerely hope that he can put your mind to rest.

Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you whenever you feel like talking.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Thanks so much for your reply Jolamine.  I’ve always had gel on my nails and every month when I had my nails done, I mentioned the colour to my nail technician.  She just kept  saying that it takes a long time for bruising to grow out - but it’s easily 6 months now.  Anyway she buffed the gel off the affected nail and that’s when I went to my GP.  The nail has split because it’s so thin (but that does happen when you buff the gel off).  I’ve got a quick appointment as I’m going private.  Not sure whether I should have the gel buffer off all my other nails before I go to see my dermatologist on Thursday or if it’s ok to leave them.  There’s no marks on any of them.  Thanks for listening xx

Hi Lulu,

The nails usually take about 8 months to grow up completely. Now that you have the gel off, you should be able to see if there is any sign of a new nail beginning to appear at the base of the nail. If it is bruising, the old nail gradually grows up and you will see more of the new nail appearing until it eventually pushes the old nail off.

Wearing varnish on the nails all the time doesn’t allow the nails to breathe, so you can also develop a fungal infection in the nail which causes it to blacken. This is treatable and I hope that this is your problem.

I am glad to hear that you are going private, as this should reduce your waiting and therefore your worrying time considerably. If you are sure that all of your other nails are clear, you possibly don’t need to take off your other gels.

I shall be thinking of you on Thursday and wish you the best of luck.

Regards,

Jolamine xx

Thank you so much for your kind words xx