Is gel nail polish harmful to your nails? NHS cleaner can barely move his hands after developing ‘allergies’

The woman can barely use her hands and says her confidence has taken a hit after she developed a suspected allergy to nail products.

Lisa Dewey, 36, has been doing her nails regularly for years without a problem.

But in February, a batch of gel nails got infected and started peeling away from the nail bed.

At the time she was put down to a bacterial infection, and Lisa was given steroid cream and antibiotics to fight it off.

But after she decided to put on a set of acrylic nails last month, the mom-of-two found she was splurging again.

Again, her nails became “extremely aggravated” and she could barely move her hands because of the pain.

An NHS cleaner struggled to wash her daughter’s hair, buckle up, grab a pen and wash it.

Now, despite years of no-hassle nail treatments, she can never get gel or acrylic nails again, and she thinks it’s an allergy.

Lisa, of Pattishall, Northants, said: “I’ve been doing my nails my whole life for acrylics or gels.

“So when it first happened after a bunch of gels in February, I thought it was a bacterial infection.

“My nail bed was even starting to turn purple and I was afraid of losing my entire finger.

“When I did it again recently – this time in acrylic – the same thing happened.

“Now my skin is like paper tearing from my fingers and I can hardly move my hands in pain.

“It’s also really bothered me with my confidence — it’s so embarrassing and I always hide my hands.”

Lisa, a mom of two girls, ages 3 and 12, noticed a reaction after applying gel nails in February.

Despite getting the same treatment she’d been receiving for years, within days her nails started peeling from the nail bed.

One of them even went violet – while the others got very itchy and sore.

She never suspected her manicure might be the problem — and doctors prescribed her a dose of antibiotics for what appeared to be an infection.

Lisa said: “It happened all of a sudden – I was afraid I was going to lose a finger when it turned purple around the nail.

“I was afraid he might be starved of oxygen – but it ended up being something completely different.”

After removing the gels and taking a break from nail products, i thought it was over.

But after applying a set of acrylic nails back in April, the problem reappeared.

But not only did her nails start to lift again, but the skin around her nails became “paper”.

She was recently prescribed a different medication to treat it.

Lisa explained that being a mother to a young daughter presents problems.

The pain in her hands and nails makes daily tasks difficult and she is constantly forced to seek help from her husband, Lee, 45.

She said: Washing my daughter’s hair is difficult because you have to bend your fingers.

“Even if I strap it on in the car — if I catch my finger on the strap, I shiver in pain because the skin is peeling.

“It gets worse but wearing gloves doesn’t even help because sweaty hands aggravate it too.

“Anything scented or scented makes it worse—I can’t put a conditioning treatment or mousse in my hair.

Lisa has now vowed to stay away from nail products forever — and she’s warning others.

She added: “People can get their nails done for years without problems until one day it hits them.

“I’m going on holiday in August and my hands and feet are booked. Now I’m not getting it done.”

“This has shaken my confidence a lot – I don’t usually care what people think of me, but now I’m hiding my hand away.

“It’s such an embarrassment to have hands like that – there’s a coronation this week, and if my hands aren’t better, I’m not going.

“I just want to do my part in trying to spread the word that things may not be as good as they seem.”