Skin under fingernail pain

Is anyone had issues with pain underneath the tip of the fingernail?

There are two cases I've noticed:

1) When the nail splits from the skin (obvious why it hurts)

2) And when it doesn't (not obvious)

Is there a nutritional solution to this problem, or perhaps a topical product?

I soak my tips in super hot water, damn near boiling. Try it.

June 2020

In answer to your first question: yes . I’ll just leave this here ! Happy to report my new nail only took 6 months to grow back. Once the injured nail fully separates there’s no saving it !

It happens to me when I’ve been doing a lot of crimping. A bit of super glue under the nail relieves the pain for me, but I’m not sure it helps with the splits healing at all.

Second the super glue under the nail! 

Eric Berghorn wrote:

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June 2020

In answer to your first question: yes . I’ll just leave this here ! Happy to report my new nail only took 6 months to grow back. Once the injured nail fully separates there’s no saving it !

That is very interesting. Do you remember what happened in climbing to create this situation?

The tip of my middle finger was caught between a rock and a hard place when I carelessly smashed it doing trail work. I was wearing a glove but the damage was done. Some bleeding but not too much. This is the type of injury which could be caused by slamming your finger in a car door... The nail separated immediately except along the rear of the cuticle... The tip of the finger swelled up but whatever little bone is at the tip seemed to heal over 6 months. The injured “dead” nail did not come off completely until 2 weeks later... I eventually pried it off the cuticle (not pleasant) 

In the beginning of this “recovery “ I thought the injured nail might re-adhere, but it gradually became obvious that was not going to happen. There was lots of advice on the internet about how blood pooling under the smashed nail can cause pressure... the pain from which could be relieved by burning holes through the top of the injured nail with a red-hot paper clip (did nothing to help in my case) I tried glue along the sides and various other pain relieving methods. The grossest part of this experience... Well... have you ever played “smell my finger” ?

The first 2 months were band-aids and tape to protect and attempts to hide it from others during my time at work...very awkward.  No hard crimping or fingerpicking guitar strings with that finger for quite a while. Eventually the sensitivity subsides as you slowly wait for the new nail to grow back. 95% regrown after 6 months. I hope this post helps people stay positive when experiencing this painfully inconvenient but not life threatening experience. 

Not trying to sound dismissive, but you'll just have to deal with it. 

This happens to me all the time when I crimp hard. Sometimes the nail separates from the bed other times it doesn't -- just like you. I haven't found a solution that works, but it'll always go away after 15 - 20 minutes for me.

One time I remember it being so excruciating that I couldn't talk for a couple of minutes. Do you climb a lot of credit-card crimps or slab climb a lot?

Cory Lowery wrote:

Is anyone had issues with pain underneath the tip of the fingernail?

There are two cases I've noticed:

1) When the nail splits from the skin (obvious why it hurts)

2) And when it doesn't (not obvious)

Is there a nutritional solution to this problem, or perhaps a topical product?

This is not uncommon- happens to me, particularly when climbing all day, multiple days in a row.  On top of the cumulative effect of the repeated pressure on your tips, the chalk and dirt under the nails pulls moisture.  When your fingers swell, the dry skin under the nail separates.  Pain gets worse at night for me.  

Tip maintenance is an art, not a science, but here is my treatment for the symptoms you describe: At the end of the day I embrace the pain and use a nylon brush to scrub under my fingernails with water (and soap if available).  Getting all dirt and chalk out is key.  Then force moisturizer under each nail; many people like triple antibiotic; chapstick works in a pinch.  Thicker products seem to stay in there longer, but expect to reapply a few times throughout the evening.  I have even used bandaids to keep them moist.  Ibuprofen if needed to get started in the morning.  Clean and dry well before chalking up again.  

Hope that helps...

yeah, this happened to me the other day after a night of crimpy climbing. i didn't know what it was about.  hurt like hell for a couple hours, but was gone when i woke up the next day.

I often do gel nail polish. This is probably the most common reason why my nail plate hurts. I don't know if the skin hurts, but I think I feel discomfort if I press on the nail. The master tells me that I'm probably not comfortable with her materials. However, she will not change anything, and it upsets me. Anyway, I can not refuse a manicure because the gel polish protects the nail from external factors (as I was taught in the nail courses at http://www.nwcollege.edu). Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

My partner for my last trip used hydrogen peroxide for his partially separated tips and reported that it was soothing.   It helped my ragged cuticles (I guess we climb differently and/or have different skin).

Start taking an over the counter supplement called Biotin. I haven’t had this problem in 2 years and it used to be regular issue from tips cracks and crimps.