Hi, I have Raynaud's and suffer with chilblains, mainly on my fingers. They lead to swollen, itchy, 'sausage' fingers which lasts for a few days. In the past my fingers would return to normal between attacks but this year I've suffered from a number of fingernail infections, losing 3 nails over the last year, and I wondered if it's linked to the poor blood supply to my fingertips.
The infections start with an area of red swelling close to the cuticle (although the cuticle is unbroken) and develop into an area of pus which moves from the skin behind the cuticle into the nail bed itself. The infection seems to get in between the layers of the nail itself and the top of the nail gradually detaches leaving a very soft, wrinkly and thin layer of nail behind. It then takes a number of months for the nail to regrow fully (I know this is always a slow process). I've tried antifungal lacquer and had multiple courses of antibiotics but I really don't want to keep taking antibiotics if I can help it. I just wondered if anyone else had experienced this or had any advice? Thanks!
FYI Even my healthy nails aren't that good, in a number of them the white area is increasing in size as the nail appears to be detaching from the bed although there is no evidence of infection.
I generally manage my Raynaud's by keeping warm, wearing gloves, using handwarmers, avoiding fluctuations in temp etc. I did try Nifedipine for the first time this year as my symptoms were getting me down. I took 10mg, 3 x day for about 3 months, but I saw no improvement and therefore the GP agreed that I should stop taking it.