hideous nail! *grim photo*

[stuckinahole]

Ok so I've had this "bad" thumb nail for coming up 3 years .....

It hurts. It grows, however, the nail is soft and just grows & crumbles off.

I have seen 3x Harley Street Dermatologists. All of them have tested for fungal conditions & all have come back clear.

There was no trauma to the nail, it just appeared!!

I'm fed up with it, it hurts, it looks vile & I just want to know if I will ever have a thumb nail again

Would welcome any feedback if anyone has had anything similar or any medics, homeopath, natural medicine etc that could help! I hate it!

I had a similar nail once, it sort of blistered away from the nail bed, I had it for a couple of years and then it just grew normally, very sore at times it was :(

It doesn't look so awful! It's clean and tidy!

I've similar on my middle toe. Likewise has come back negative for fungus and I'm at a loss what to do. I've tried every otc piece of rubbish. I hate it so much I nearly hate summer and having it revealed

What are your other nails like?

That's exactly what happened suzanne it blistered!

It's clean & tidy because I snip it with clippers, if I left it, I would look like the treeman

All other nails are perfectly healthy. It's just the thumb nail it will be 3 years in February!!

Is it psoriasis stuck? It looks like a picture I saw once. Did they test you for that? Have you tiny dimples / pits on any other nails? If so you have psoriasis.

I sometimes get atopic dermatitis on my hands from soaps etc, and my nails get blisters underneath.
I have to keep them clipped quite short or they lift. I use a cortisone creme betnovate from the doctor.

That nail looks like it has dried out a lot.

Can you soak it in warm water, then gently scrape away the dried crumbly looking stuff with an orange stick? Then apply moisturiser, and a barrier creme.
Your cuticle looks dry, so keep it well moisturised with burts bees cuticle creme.
The nail may grow out smooth and thick, or may always be spongy and prone to breaking.

I think it's important for my hands to keep them dry as possible, so maybe it will be the same for you?

I use plastic catering gloves for wet work.
Take a multivitamin and mineral.

I cants see that it's any kind of deficiency, all my other nails were perfectly normal and unblemished, if it was an infection it would spread wouldnt it...not just stay for a couple of years and then clear up

Were you tested for psoriasis?

I wondered about psoriasis, or some kind of eczema, but are those conditions every quite so localised?

It was suggested it could be psoriasis, I was given these creams ..... Neither have worked.

Will try soaking & gently scraping, then applying creams!

Thanks all - just nice to actually chat about it as everyone usually goes OMG that is a fungal!