Bashed up a nail -- is it too gross to get a manicure?

June 19, 2018 9:11 AM

I was moving furniture and bashed up a finger so badly that the nail bed got infected. Right now there's about a quarter-inch of dented regrowth at the cuticle. (I'm not posting a picture, but trust me, it's pretty gross.) I'm wondering whether it's OK to go to get my usual gel manicure, or whether I'm risking infection on that fingernail.

I'm assuming the nail technicians have seen everything, but really don't want to gross them out either. Can they just lacquer right over the regrowth and provide protection for the nail as it grows? Or should I just get a manicure and skip that finger this time? It doesn't hurt, and it isn't infected -- I've been good about cleaning it.

The nail bed is soft because I've been keeping a band-aid on so I don't bang it again, but is that hindering its healing?

posted by vickyverky to Health & Fitness (8 answers total)

One concern I would have is that a nail technician might have the idea to file your nail smooth, which goes against my general philosophy when it comes to nail injuries, which is to leave it alone.
posted by lilies.lilies at 9:22 AM on June 19, 2018 [2 favorites]

I personally wouldn't get anything put on that nail, nor would I get that nail manicured in any way (touched, filed, etc.), not because I have any medical knowledge about damaged nails but because it seems counter intuitive to me to *do* something sort of unnatural to a damaged part of my body.

As for keeping the band-aid on, I'm kind of with lilies.lilies in that I just kind of leave nail injuries alone. I take band-aids off once the bleeding is done, I guess because I was always taught that you uncover stuff once the immediate threat of infection is gone. Again, IANAD.
posted by cooker girl at 9:27 AM on June 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

Do not set foot in a manicurists. They will be tempted to meddle with it with the best of intentions and you really do need to just let it alone. Don't pick at it or cover it, let it breathe. Even though the immediate threat is gone, it is recovering from the infection and is still sensitive.
posted by domo at 10:16 AM on June 19, 2018 [3 favorites]

I would get the manicure and skip that nail, keep the bandaid to signal you don't want them to mess with it.

My nail techs are great about skipping fingers if they're in bad shape, and you definitely don't want your bad nail manicured, especially if it's the kind of gel where they have to use the electric file to remove a layer of nail first. You can always paint it with regular polish at home if you want it to look similar to the others once you're ready to take the bandaid off!
posted by stellaluna at 10:21 AM on June 19, 2018 [4 favorites]

Noooo don't put anything on there! Don't let a nail place touch it! Let your body heal the nail without interfering. (I have gotten nail infections from nail places when I had completely healthy nails! The very idea of a not-healthy nail in a nail place makes me cringe super-hard.)
posted by rabbitrabbit at 10:52 AM on June 19, 2018 [3 favorites]

I have worn acrylic and/or gel nails for nearly 30 years. I would leave that nail alone until it grows out. At the very least you are going to be hitting it, which will aggravate the injury. You may find that it needs to be drained and you wouldn’t know if it was under a fake nail. Maybe leave the bandaid off for a few hours each day and then cover it if you are going somewhere.
posted by tamitang at 8:02 PM on June 19, 2018

do not get that nail touched! i wouldn't even get a manicure until it was healed, because i have gotten cellulitis in my foot at a pedicure place which now has me wary of everything. if you do get the mani, don't soak that finger and don't let them do anything anything anything to that nail. also, you shouldn't clip it or file it or anything like that--just let it grow.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 8:18 AM on June 20, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Update: I went to my usual salon with a band-aid on that finger and explained what had happened. The manicurist didn't bat an eyelash; he cleaned that nail very carefully and didn't touch the cuticle or the new nail bed that is growing back in.

He painted the half-nail that is growing out, so I have nine and a half manicured nails. It doesn't look too weird now, but he said I should skip getting that nail painted until the new nail has grown all the way in.

Thank you for all the good advice here. I'm keeping the band-aid off my finger so the new nail can harden up and grow.
posted by vickyverky at 6:23 PM on June 25, 2018