Thursday, May 18, 2017

No One Wants To Talk About This

No I'm not talking about miscarriage today. I'm talking about something less important but important none the less. I'm talking about something that 35 million people around the world have experienced.

Nail fungus.
totally my thumb nail

Ewwww, gross! Yuck! I know that's what you are thinking but guess what? It can happen to you! It happened to me a few months ago and I want to bring more awareness to how it can start and how to get rid of it.

Take a look at these beautiful nails. Look at all the fun, colorful designs that I displayed.
 
How did I go from super cute nails to a nail fungus? Well let me tell you. For a year, I was going to a nail salon about every three weeks. I started with fake nails being placed on my real nails and once my real nail became long enough they could just start filling them in. I kept doing a fill for months. My real nails were doing great and growing out like clockwork. At least that's what I thought. Once day I was working and I noticed that my thumb kept itching. I noticed that it was a little red and swollen around my nail. I was only a few days away from getting my next fill so I decided to go home and remove the gel color to see why my finger was itching so bad.

I got home, removed the gel color and once my fingernail was clean proceeded to immediately freak out at what I saw. My nail had black underneath. The sides were completely loose from the nail bed and my poor little nail was barely hanging on. So then I took off all of the gel polish and took stock of my real nails. I had this black fungus under 8 of my ten finger nails. Guess what I did once I calmed down? I called the nail salon and cancelled my appointment. I told them that I got a nail fungus from them and their response to me... We can give you some free nails.

Um... no. You need to learn how to clean your tools.

Think about it. Even if they clean the tools, all it takes is one person who has a nail fungus to have picked the same polish that you do. If miss may over there picks that seafoam green you were eyeing for vacation and has a fungus that's going all over the brush that's in that polish bottle. You use the same one and then bam! So obviously the salon wasn't watching this or they weren't cleaning their tools after each use.

So then I went on a 9 month quest to get rid of the fungus. I tried over the counter nail fungus. I tried a prescription cream. The doctors took a nail culture and still couldn't get a final name on what kind of fungus it was. Then I started asking my friends, my mom then suggested that I try Apple Cider Vinegar. I went out and bought the biggest bottle that I could find of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar that I could find, got a bowl and dunked my fingernails into it for 5 minutes at a time. Have you ever just smelled it? It's a very strong smell. My fingers would reek of the smell but I didn't care because guess what? After two uses, I could tell my nails were looking a little better. The fungus started to pool together under my nails and was getting closer and closer to the edge. 

Once the fungus got so close, I actually had to dig the fungus out and trim the nail to the quick. I thought I was going to lose all of my nails. I had to keep trying things. I had to explain to people that my nails were not going to cause them to immediately get it by being in a room with me. It was rough but after a few months the fungus was gone and then began the long repair of getting my nail shape to take hold. Because the fungus had lived in the dark under the gel paint, it had got really strong and reshaped how my nails looked. Slowly, my nail beds took their normal shape and finally 10 months later my nails are starting to finally go back to what they were before. Granted my nails are really short but that's better than a fungus and that's better than them being an inch from falling off.

I have no idea if I'll ever go back and get my finger nails done again. If I do, I definitely won't be going back to that same salon. I'm also going to ask them about how they clean their products and how often they change out their nail polish. Remember it can happen to you! Even if your just getting a manicure. So ask questions! Watch them clean their tools! Ask for a new nail filer, etc! Keep your nails looking good and fungus free!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

But can we take a moment to also say, you have the most beautiful wedding rings!

Why Girls Are Weird said...

Aaaaaand this is why I do my nails at home (that and I'm cheap, my haircuts cost enough money). Ugh so icky! I'm sorry you went through this!