Nail Bed Separation?

[lpa53]

I had either a fungal or bacterial infection under the nail of my ring finger on my picking hand. The infection has been eradicated but the aftermath has left the upper layer of nail separated from the bed for a bout 1/4" back from the tip.

I've tried using an Impress nail but the leverage on that appears to have lengthened the area of separation. An Alaska pick, which I've tried in the past and have not liked, would likely produce the same result.

Has anyone had this problem and if so, am I facing months of time off from playing while it repairs itself, or worse, having a nail that will never heal?

[jaybones]

Probably wait for the nail to grow out and it'll come back together.

I have a deformed index finger on my right hand. Third degree burns on both palms from a campfire injury when I was 3 1/2 (thanks to an older brother who never liked me getting in his way- guess I shouldn't have peed in his face when they were changing my diaper when they brought me home from the hospital).

The scar tissue has been repaired, but it didn't grow with the rest of the finger. As a result its shorter than it should be (tip to knuckle is shorter, but measured on the outside of the curve it is as long as the left one).

When I tried out for the junior high basketball team, catching passes would cause the skin to pull away from underneath. Could actually start bleeding, and was really painful.

I tried to compensate by wrapping the tip with tape. But it never really helped that much.

[jstroop]

I’m no expert but this seems like a could be low-to-moderately serious. I’d suggest going back to the dermatologist who treated the fungus for his/her recommendation. Or you could take my Texas Certified Mechanic approach - wrap it in duct tape until it heals itself.

And in case you need it someday here’s my Handy Dandy Approach to Auto Repair: Turn up the radio.

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by lpa53

I had either a fungal or bacterial infection under the nail of my ring finger on my picking hand. The infection has been eradicated but the aftermath has left the upper layer of nail separated from the bed for a bout 1/4" back from the tip.

I've tried using an Impress nail but the leverage on that appears to have lengthened the area of separation. An Alaska pick, which I've tried in the past and have not liked, would likely produce the same result.

Has anyone had this problem and if so, am I facing months of time off from playing while it repairs itself, or worse, having a nail that will never heal?

Don't think twice about it. It takes quite a while for a nail to grow out all the way from the cuticle.

In the meantime, however, get yourself a couple of Pro-Pik Fingertones. A company called Guptil makes them.

I have been gluing plastic tips on my fingernails forever, but at some point BOTH my ring fingers developed splits, so I started using the Pro-Piks, and they work wonderfully. It's very easy to set the contact point to fit your particular hand position, and the open finger-pad loop does wonders.

Yes, it will take some getting used to, but it's way better than not playing for an extended period.

Regards,
Howard Emerson

[ntotoro]

Not to be a "me, too" post, but I can verify what others have said.

It will take some time for the nail to reattach itself to the skin as new nail material grows out. This happened to a toe of mine and revealed itself when I dropped something on it and the nail cracked. I'm surprised the Doctor didn't file away the portions of the nail that wouldn't attach to the skin, but just give it time for the nail to grow out from the cuticle. It could take a couple months.

Nick

[JayBee1404]

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

In the meantime, however, get yourself a couple of Pro-Pik Fingertones. A company called Guptil makes them.

I have been gluing plastic tips on my fingernails forever, but at some point BOTH my ring fingers developed splits, so I started using the Pro-Piks, and they work wonderfully. It's very easy to set the contact point to fit your particular hand position, and the open finger-pad loop does wonders.

Yes, it will take some getting used to, but it's way better than not playing for an extended period.

Yes, this! I used to have my picking nails done with fibreglass wraps and acrylic gel, but my natural nails thinned and became very painful. I tried every finger-pick I could find, including Alaska-Piks (useless unless you already have good nails) and Fred Kelly Freedom Picks (useless and painful to wear). I didn't like the clicking and squeaking that standard finger-picks create, but Pro-Pik Fingertones are something else - very little pick noise, the open finger-pad loop gives 'feeling' that standard picks can't, the band can be adjusted to fit the finger easily using a pair of fine-nosed pliers, and I don't have to wear Marigolds to protect my nails when I'm washing the dishes!

I'm on to these Fingertones permanently now, no wish or need to go back to nails.

[ship of fools]

I do not want to alarm you but nail separation could be from a simple fungal/bacterial infection or it could indicate something much more serious.
I would like to suggest that you see a doctor to rule those other things out, mine is from I.P.F. and there are other things to like clubbing and such.
So while it probably is something real simple but not to leave it as the nails and hair are the first runners up for other things not obvious at first.Better safe then sorry. ship
in my case the nail bed will never heal again

[thegreatgumbino]

I slammed my thumbnail in the car door a few years ago and the first half of the nail separated from the nail bed. It wasn't fun. I keep getting the nail hung up on things and it would pull it away from the bed even more. I finally cut that portion of the nail off and then suffered from the pain of bumping/impacting it regularly. I eventually made a fake nail out of super glue and baking soda. The baking soda acts as an accelerator and creates a very hard and durable finished product. You can then use a series of nail files to rough shape, smooth and polish it. Doesn't look exactly like the real thing, but it sure protected the nail bed and over time my nail grew back to normal. I've since used this process whenever I have nail problems.

[Swamp Yankee]

What everybody else said - but also - EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

[lpa53]

Originally Posted by Swamp Yankee

What everybody else said - but also - EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

'

"Ewww" is right! It looks pretty darned creepy and getting it snagged gives me the shivers!

Thanks for all the suggestions, though!

First off, I didn't go to a dermatologist to get rid of the fungus (or bacteria), though I probably should have. I used an over the counter fungal cream and it seems to have worked. However, I do think I'd be more reassured if I had the opinion of a professional (thought it could be bad news, too, I suppose).

Secondly, I looked up several of the pick suggestions and will consider trying a few I haven't yet tried. But this morning I remembered that several years ago I had purchased some Butterfly Finger Picks and, after some digging (we recently moved and things go stuffed in odd boxes) I finally found them. Although it it would take a lot of getting used to to use them on my index and middle fingers, something about the attack angle of the problem finger, the ring, makes it fairly comfortable and decent-sounding. They come in a coated version for a softer sound and I ordered one of those to try.

But I do think I'll make an appointment with the doc to get a good long term view of things. If the nail grows back okay, I may abandon acrylics (which I know the doc hates), and either work on getting used to picks or try using Impress nails, which I recently discovered.