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Fingernail lifting from nail bed (Read 7202 times)

Simon P

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Fingernail lifting from nail bed
October 06, 2018, 09:23:47 am
I keep having a lot of problems with my finger nails lifting off the nail bed whilst climbing.  It's not a huge issue as it only lifts off a little bit but it lifts off just enough to bleed a bit and be quite painful.  This mostly seems to happen on my index fingers (e.g. see mildly disgusting photo here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pg5vuimwqtxov77/fingernail.png?dl=0).  Has anyone else experienced this?  Is this a result of over/under-trimming my finger nails?

tim palmer

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#1 Re: Fingernail lifting from nail bed
October 06, 2018, 10:24:51 am
Yep, suffered with this for years.
 Super painful, could ruin a trip, the two things i do now which have almost stopped it being a problem are:
Trim the thick skin from under the finger nails using a razor blade preferably. Obviously just the bits which protrude from under the nail, don't stick a razor blade under your finger nail.

Carmex lip balm, a magic potion for this problem, when the skin builds up or your finger nails get sore use it or regular if you remember.

As to why it happens, no good idea, i think i get it as my fingers are slightly clubbed and my nails come to the end of my finger tips so that nail- finger junction gets traumatised.

Murph

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#2 Re: Fingernail lifting from nail bed
October 06, 2018, 02:46:16 pm
I get it (more mildly than you, mind) when I use metolius chalk. Wild country and friction labs are definitely fine though and I think so is moon.

Not sure, but think metolius has drying agents in it? So could be that in my case.

What chalk are you on?

monkoffunk

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#3 Re: Fingernail lifting from nail bed
October 06, 2018, 05:15:09 pm
I think the reason this is happening is because of the torquing forces occurring between the pulp of your finger tip and the nail bed as you crimp and release and the associated movements there when climbing.

It seems to be clear from the photo what is causing the problem. The skin there is particularly tough and dry so that it is acting in one block without the normal elasticity or supplety of the skin of a non climber.

To echo Tim, the thing you need is skin management. I personally use a bit of sandpaper for those particularly hard flakey white bits, and then I moisturise (at night) when climbing volume is high or on trips or when I think I need it with climb on or lip balm or Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream, which is expensive but the absolute shit.

Yossarian

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#4 Re: Fingernail lifting from nail bed
October 06, 2018, 05:44:57 pm
Has anyone else experienced this?  Is this a result of over/under-trimming my finger nails?

I had a really bad case of the exact same thing this week - exacerbated by I think taking a hold a bit clumsily. I get it much more frequently down the side of my nails, which bleeds more but is less painful.

I was treating it by staring really hard with a look of angry frustration (pro tip apparently) and then wiping on jeans, chalking up and grimacing. But interested in hearing more preventative measures...

cheque

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#5 Re: Fingernail lifting from nail bed
October 06, 2018, 07:47:30 pm
I get it (more mildly than you, mind) when I use metolius chalk. Wild country and friction labs are definitely fine though and I think so is moon.

Not sure, but think metolius has drying agents in it? So could be that in my case.

Yep, Metolius Superchalk has drying agents in it (their normal chalk which comes in a block and you see much less often, doesn’t) which is good for people who suffer from sweaty skin but dreadful if you have naturally dry skin- I remember Dave saying something on here along the lines of “Superchalk gives you leprosy” which is certainly my experience of it.

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#6 Re: Fingernail lifting from nail bed
October 06, 2018, 08:34:44 pm
Had it loads, very painful. The best preventative measure I found was filing my nails down instead of cutting them, it works a treat for me and It is very rare I get it nowadays and when I do it is more a result of bad luck, I.e jabbing a finger into the back of the wall or a hold.

Fiend

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#7 Re: Fingernail lifting from nail bed
October 06, 2018, 09:26:20 pm
Superchalk was nowhere near drying enough for me.... I prefer Beta Blocks for the slightly crunchy feel, with regular anti-hydral. My nails and skin are soft as shit anyway but I concur with skincare regimes to keep such areas flexible.

Simon P

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#8 Re: Fingernail lifting from nail bed
October 10, 2018, 06:31:16 pm
All, thank you for the helpful replies.  It's kinda refreshing to hear that others suffer from this issue - I thought I was suffering alone!

To check I'm understanding it right: my skin is very tough and dry, and this is causing the skin under the finger-nail to act as one solid block and then climbing is causing this to separate from the finger nail?

I was a bit bored at work today and managed to do this to the skin on one of my fingers, does this confirm the above suspicion?  Warning image is mildly disgusting, don't click if you're easily offended: https://www.dropbox.com/s/odfkolfbxmln4yt/finger-tip-skin-peeling.jpg?dl=0

The solution: make this skin softer by sanding the skin and using lip balms/moisturisers to avoid getting a tough block of skin under the finger nail?

Also filing nails rather than clipping might help matters?

Simon P

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#9 Re: Fingernail lifting from nail bed
October 10, 2018, 06:45:49 pm
Murph I use the blocks of beta chalk as my go-to and liquid DMM on special occasions  ;D

Bradders

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#10 Re: Fingernail lifting from nail bed
February 10, 2019, 03:02:05 pm
Having recently suffered with this issue, two things worked really well which I thought I'd share; 1) packing Climb On or Rhino Skin Split Stick in the gap between nail and bed, and 2) putting a small amount of superglue in the same split and then squeezing it together until the glue set.

The latter in particular worked like an absolute charm in order to continue climbing, and would be a great option for a trip (although it's clearly not a long term solution).

tomtom

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#11 Re: Fingernail lifting from nail bed
February 10, 2019, 05:28:51 pm
I have this problem in my toe nails sometimes....

SA Chris

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#12 Re: Fingernail lifting from nail bed
February 12, 2019, 04:53:12 pm
That's from too much running.

My number of toenails at any given point is an arbitrary number between 6 and 9.

tomtom

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#13 Re: Fingernail lifting from nail bed
February 12, 2019, 04:58:29 pm
That's from too much running.

I can categorically assure you its not from running. Unless too much running is the c.1 min I do a week if I’m in a rush for something... :D

monkoffunk

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#14 Re: Fingernail lifting from nail bed
April 06, 2023, 01:37:36 pm
Resurrecting this post to ask a question about a similar issue. In the last three months I’ve been increasing training but with soft unclimbed on skin. Tips were quite soft to start with but index finger tip on right hand has been getting tougher faster. Then I had Hand, Foot and Mouth disease which meant I had these tiny blisters under the skin, worst on that index finger. Those have now recovered, but the top skin is a bit screwed and is separating slightly from fresh skin below.

Yesterday tried some hangs and the nail on that index finger started to lift, as in above descriptions, caused by pressure of hard skin below. Not too concerned about this, but after I noticed a small split on the tip of finger with the separation kinda spreading below. I trimmed off a little obvious dead skin and result is in pictures which hopefully are visible.

Question I have to anyone who has had similar issue: what to do about that hard white patch of dead skin on the tip? It’s already peeling a bit with raw soft skin below. I’m thinking probably best to just leave alone continue with normal skin care etc, but also hoping to get out on rock next week and don’t want it to start peeling off or separating more when climbing. Is this one for shoving some super glue down on the day prophylactically? Would anyone glue anyway or if doing hangs or something?




cheque

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#15 Re: Fingernail lifting from nail bed
April 06, 2023, 05:54:20 pm
Sand it off? My solution to having soft unclimbed-on skin has always just been to batter it with a sanding block, give it a day or two and repeat if necessary.

Everyone’s skin’s different though so maybe that’s terrible advice. Apologies if so.

monkoffunk

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#16 Re: Fingernail lifting from nail bed
April 07, 2023, 01:33:23 pm
I guess my issue is the shear amount of skin I’d have to sand off and how it would behave after! I’m leaning towards a glue patch job to get it through a session and then sand after as will probably be a month before I can climb again.

 

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