Chemo Nails

Along with our hair, our nails are fast growing cells that can often be affected by chemo. We have been trying to figure out how to keep my nails strong so I don't have to lose them this time around. For those of you who have been praying, my PET scan went well this morning and once again, they were able to get the IV into my arm instead of having to use my hand (which right now is already messed up enough!) Other than that, we will wait until Thursday when we will get results. For now there isn't much to report.

After my PET scan I had my nail appointment with Melanie at Special Effects. She had a big job today as my fingernails had been causing me a lot of pain. Here is is the gross truth about chemo and fingernails. My fingernails slowly start pulling away from my finger until the first and second fingers and thumbs are pulled away more than half way down.

Earlier this morning my index finger on the right hand popped off and I knew there would be no schlack on my nails today or for the foreseeable future. That is okay. I have been extremely frustrated with my inability to use my hands for anything during the last week and a half. Once the schlack came off we started trimming. It is somewhat gross but here is what happens when your nails pull away from your fingers.

Whenever we scratch something or pick something up, eat something with our fingers or absolutely ANYTHING that we use our hands for, little particles of whatever get stuck under our fingernails. When the gunk under there gets down too far to get out, it is stuck there. When we wash our hands the water gets stuck underneath and everything turns into goo, very disgusting goo.

It is a great place for infection to grow and not only that but the smell is disgusting too. In fact, several times in the last couple weeks the smell wakes me up in the middle of the night if my hands get too close to my nose while I am breathing. Every time I wipe or blow my nose (which is a lot with chemo drippy nose) I can smell the gross smell that rivals dirty diapers!

As much as I hate having to cut my nails extremely short, there is no smell and there is no place where infection to grow. And, as a perk, there is much less pain when I go to pick things up or use  my hands. I am thankful to Melanie who was willing to take on the task of cleaning up the mess that were my fingernails and for God who answered my prayer to boost my morale and give me some relief in my hands. This is a great start. Now, if the lymphedema would just go down in my right hand.