Nail Psoriasis Or Nail Infection?

Let me know how your results go, I have always assumed its psoriasis as I have scalp psoriasis also, the nail psoriasis? comes and go's though but is exactly how you describe it.

Hi, I also have psoriasis under my nails and have had for several years. Recently though it is getting worse. Your nails tend to go very pitted and you get thickening and a yellow crumbly build up of scales under the nail. Mine sometimes get so bad the pressure feels like when your nail has been trapped and the nail wants to come off! I find sometimes opening cans difficult and have to use a fork to pull the the ring pull forward as the pressure is so painful. Above all it is pretty unsightly too, which can be embarrassing. Sadly, both my GP and various dermatologists at the hospital say there are no treatments for it as the creams etc do not penetrate the nails. I find simply "gouging" the excess out helps to releave the pressure, but this can also be sore

Hi all, This post may seem a bit off-topic, but please do not report it as abuse. I am conducting at the moment, which might be of any help to you in the long term. First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Carina Balbo and I am the Local Project Manager (in the UK) of the MAPI INSTITUTE, based in Lyons, France. At the moment, I need to conduct cognitive interviews to 5 patients based in the UK who suffer from NAIL or PLAQUE PSORIASIS, and by reading some of your posts I thought I found the right people. The aim of these interviews is initially to discuss the wording of self-administered questionnaires used to detect patients with this disease. They were designed in the USA and adapted to UK English. We now have to "pilot" them to make sure they can be understood by all patients. I assure you everything is SERIOUS, and confidentiality is 100% guaranteed. To those of you who are reading this post, and would like to collaborate in this project, please do not hesitate to contact me for more information and/or a reference letter: babell@ntlworld.com. Many thanks in advance. Carina

Instead of using either scissors or usual nail files I would recommend investing in a glass nail file. Bigger chemists or department stores will have them or order from the internet from manicure specialists like Leighton Denny or OPI. I started using one last year and wouldn't go back. They are the most delicate thing you can use to file nails. They don't snag or pull and actually seal the nail as they file. At their worst my nails crumble as I use it but it isn't painful. I still have psoriasis on my nails but it's nowhere near as bad as before. Also don't have any white marks on nails now as apparently that's a sign of damage to the nail bed which I'm sure is down to the glass file being so gentle. I also use a nail oil over the whole nail. It keeps the cuticle smooth and nail well moisturised. Appreciate these aren't treatments and won't get rid of it but they've made a massive difference in reducing pain levels and improving general state of my nails.

My nails are hideous! I usually hide the fingernails with varnish, a pale colour so as not to draw too much attention to them. Toe nails...well, manky to say the least but I hate my feet being touched! I am having to conceed defeat and see a chiropodist next week. Both my dermatologist & rheumatologist have confirmed it is nail psoriasis, I just thought I was going mouldy

I have nail psoriasis and it is very distressing. Has anyone used false nails like Gel or Acrylic to cover the discolouration and did it make their nails worse?

I was diagnosed from a nail sample. The only things I ever tried from a regular Doctor (GP) was betnovate scalp lotion, and a vitamin D cream, but it was too fiddly to do long term and impossible to get under the nails. My toenails are currently the worst - like thickened talons, impossible to cut. HOWEVER, I have been cured of psoriasis completely, in the past. Here's how it happened: I moved from a cold country to a sub-tropical humid, hot country for 2 years. There were a few things that happened there which may have contributed to my cure (I was cured for several years - I now have psoriasis in my toenails, have it mildly on my heels, fingernails, belly button, shin and a few other places, and I live back in a cold country). First, the heat and humidity caused me to sweat A LOT, especially as I also exercised in the humid heat. I mean I was regularly drenched in sweat - clothes soaking. The second thing that happened was the consumption of LOTS of fruit (it was cheap there) and tons of water (it was so hot I drank a lot of water). Coincidentally, I had also contacted a Doctor in India who did homeopathy, and he sent me 'Kali Sulf' a high potency (lowest dose in homeopathy) after extensive online form filling about myself. I dutifully took the homeopathic medicine as prescribed, with nil by mouth for 30 minutes before and after taking these tablets. Nothing much happened at first. Then, after a few weeks, I began going to the toilet more often. I didn't have diahorrea as such, because I had no sore stomach or anything and felt just fine, but every time I went to urinate, suddenly, it would be both that happened, sometimes more than 4-5 times a day. I still felt ok, so didn't worry about it. It got so 'bad' at one point that no sooner had I put something in my mouth and began chewing, that I'd have to race to the toilet. To be honest, I didn't know where it was all coming from - I'm just a normal eater and I was only very slightly overweight at the time, but I did become quite trim (no cellulite, no excess fat). By 6 months, all trace of psoriasis was gone. Please note, that I am normally a vegetarian anyway and consume a lot of fruit every day normally, so I doubt this caused the psoriasis to go away, or the frequent visits to the toilet. My diet didn't change much. The two most likely factors are the extensive daily sweating, and extensive going to the toilet. Whether the homeopathic tablets caused the extensive going to the toilet, I do not know. The homeopathic Doctor was perfectly bona fide and has a lot of online patients worldwide, and the tablets were as normal homeopathic tablets are - just very small crumbly sugar pills with the very diluted 'Kali Sulf' in them. Well, I have not actually tried to use the Kali Sulf again (even though I bought it from a different source), partly because it takes quite a bit of discipline to adhere to the regimen of nil by mouth (including teeth brushing) for 30 minutes before and after taking them. However, now that the dreaded psoriasis is back in my nails, I may indeed try this again. Currently, I am trying to artificially increase my fibre (simply to increase going to the toilet). I normally 'go' once a day and have not been able to increase this, but have increased bulk using Ispagul (a soft fibre which can be bought in bulk from Asian grocery stores - it swells in water or orange juice, then drink it). This is the same fibre used in 'Fibogel' but much cheaper and without the flavourings. I also take some prunes and figs. It is early days, but there has been some improvement. Another approach I may take is to have a weekly sauna to artificially create the sweating that I experienced in sub-tropical climate, but I haven't got round to doing this, partly because it involves wearing a swimsuit, although I could wrap a towel round me. Another thing that I used to find helped, was swimming in chlorinated pools. I haven't tried this recently either (the swimsuit thing again). In terms of actual treatment, it is sometimes coconut oil, but when this itches, then sometimes zinc and castor oil cream (for nappy rash in babies), sometimes Baby lotion (only Johnsons UK brand works at all well), sometimes Germolene cream, sometimes diluted Dettol (one cap in a litre of water) or one cap in a bath - all these help when the scratching has caused infection. I hope I have helped someone somewhere with my post and strange remedies. I haven't seen a normal doctor about it for decades, because I found their things didn't work. As with another post, I scrape under the nail out, if it gets too bad, always put coconut oil on the nails before sleeping and wait until it grows out. Unfortunately, the toenails are not growing out in my case, so I need to implement some of the approaches I've listed above. Contrary to what Doctors say, I do not believe that it is incurable. It is perfectly curable.

I am 61 and have had nail psoriasis for 2 years. I think this has been put down as being hereditary. Mother and father never had it but my grandmother did. I have spent a lot of money privately to try and cure my nail problems because it is an embarrassment but no cures as of yet. I am now in a state of just managing the problem. I file the face of my nails a lot and put on a cream called Calcitriol. I then cover each nail with cheap Elastoplast cut from a strip. Between keeping the nails as short as possible and soaking the nails in this gel, this seems to be controlling the disease. I did try a new wonder drug that is very expensive on the NHS but side effects put me off long term use.