Question about nail care during chemotherapy

ktj1947

I was told by the Dr that Taxol can cause a problem with your nails during chemotherapy.  Does it help to keep something on your nails or doesn't it matter.  I don't usually get manicures but I do use a strengthener on a regular basis.  Does anything help?  I would appreciate it if someone could help me out with this one.  I start on January 6th.

Faith316

Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!  All day long and at night.  I had problems during Taxol -- it is called hand and foot syndrome. Swelling and little cuts around the nails.  Also some neuropathy, though not severe.   I also got white horizontal stripes across my nails.  After every weekly treatment, another stripe.  I am now on a different drug called Xeloda and the hand and foot syndrome it is causing is WAY worse than what Taxol caused for me.  Some of the other side effects that Taxol caused for me were nosebleeds and leg swelling.  I know it sounds horrible, but actually being on Taxol was pretty easy.  Way easier than the Adriamycin and Cytoxin I took prior to Taxol.  Taxol caused no nausea nor hair loss.  It shouldn't be too bad for you.  Good luck.

konakat

My onc said not to use any polish or strengthener on my nails.  Lots of moisturizer is important.  I found mine split a lot so I kept them cut very short to minimize the damage. 

otter

ktj, I had Taxotere, not Taxol; but they're similar drugs. I was one of the lucky ones. I did not lose a single fingernail or toenail from chemo, and none of them even turned funny colors.

I did develop a thin, white, chalky line across the width of each nail corresponding to each chemo treatment (4 rounds of Taxotere & Cytoxan). The only other thing I noticed was a little bit of "receding" of the nailbeds under a couple of my fingernails.  My remedy was to stop trying to clean so diligently under my fingernails (I wanted them to stay attached and not peel off), and keep my fingernails trimmed really (really) short, so the ends would not catch on anything or collect debris.  I did that for the duration of chemo.

Good hygiene is important, but IMHO don't overdo the cleaning and primping. Some people say they used "tea tree oil" to coat their nails, but I didn't.  Mine didn't get fragile, except for those 4 lines that gradually grew out and got trimmed off after chemo was done. Some people say they painted their nails with black polish to protect them; but I haven't found any scientific, medical, or physiologic reason why that would make any difference. One thing it would do is hide the white lines and cover any dark discoloration that might appear.  Since my nails never turned dark, I didn't worry about hiding anything.

Bottom line:  keep your hands and fingertips clean and well-moisturized, and keep those nails trimmed short. I should mention that I never have used nail polish or "strengthener" -- my nails are tough all by themselves; and I've always kept them fairly short.

otter 

konakat

I wouldn't use tea tree oil.  A friend did on some cracked skin and it got worse. Her doc said quite a few people get allergic reactions to it.  So, unless you know you're OK with tea tree products it's not the time to start experimenting.

Otter's right about over-care on the nails.  I used to gnaw away at hang nails or rip them out (yeah, I barbaric) but changed to gently clipping them down with chemo.  Any sign of redness or distress, slap some antibiotic in the area.  I never had much of a problem though, I guess caution equals prevention.

chainsawz

I was on taxotere which I've heard referred to on this board as the evil twin of taxol :>  I didn't have any issues with my nails during chemo, but 6 months after they started crumbling.  Nail strengthener didn't seem to help any...maybe because the damage was already done and I continued with herceptin and tykerb which aren't kind to nails either?  Anyway, I put a ton of super strong clear polish on all my nails and made sure they were kept on the short side.  That seemed to help keep them together a bit more.  And moisturize tons to keep the finger splits to a minimum :>  When I get really bad sores around my nails, I put on some clindamycin gel and a bandaid or sometimes a strong hydrocortisone and that helps with the healing and swelling. 

CoolBreeze

I took the Look Good, Feel Better class and they recommended putting clear strenghtenor polish on and keeping them short.

I cut mine short (taxotere for me) and am contemplating the polish. (I usually keep my nails polished, but the issue for me is that polish chips after one day, no matter what kind I use).  If I use remover on it nightly, I'm afraid they'll get worse than if I just leave them alone. 

I gues if they start to get icky I'll try it. For now, I'll leave them natural unless I have to dress up.

ruthbru

I would polish my fingernails AND toenails. I polished my fingernails during chemo ('cause I always polish my fingernails!); they were fine but my unpolished toenails got all soft and weird. My cousin went through chemo at the same time. She polished her toenails, they were fine. She didn't polish her fingernails, they were soft and weird. We never talked about it until afterward, but it seems too strange to be a coincidence. Good Luck!

Bloomer

I found a product at target, or wal mart, called Post Trauma Nail Treatment by Revlon, had some discoloration and ridges and it fills in the ridges and helped with the color.  Good luck

GryffinSong

I never had any trouble with my fingernails and I did nothing special except drink plenty of water and use moisterizer. My toenails, on the other hand, were something else. I've had some toenail fungus for years. Chemo made them MUCH worse, and the nails were thickening to the point where I'd grind them down with an electric grinder. Gross, right? BUT, after the chemo was over, months later, the nails started growing out clearer than they'd been in years. One nail has NO evidence of fungus, and a couple others are almost clear.

apple

(that tea tree oil can be toxic to babies and pets).

I just kept my nails very very short, particularly on taxol.. maybe a light coating of shimmery gloss occasionally.

Anonymous

I had similar problems with my nails while i was undergoing chemo treatment. My nails were discolored, brittle and sore. Sore mouth was yet another side effect of taxol i witnessed. My onc told me to take plenty of water, keep my nails trimmed and clean, to wear gloves in order to minimize damage and prevent infections. I followed all the instructions carefully and also started using evonail hydrating solution regularly. In just about 2weeks of application my nails felt much better. My nails were back to normal state in about a month and started to grow naturally. This product is very effective and i still use it sometimes.You should check the website www.myevolife.com to know more. I have also used its evomucy mouth spray and rinse for my sore mouth. I am equally satisfied with these two products.Thanks to evolife for making such wonderful products!!

208sandy

I too was on taxotere - certainly did do a number on my nails especially toenails - wish I'd listened to the infusion nurses - they said a lot of patients used one coat of clear nailpolish - I put it on my fingernails finally and the trouble stopped instantly (and so did the pain) waited too long on the toenails - finally all but the big toes have grown out o.k. but the big ones are still very damaged and very slowly getting better and it's been two years.  Also get acetone free polish remover - available in any pharmacy.

Pauletta

Good morning,

How often did you have nosebleeds and were they bad? Did all of this go away when the taxol was finished? I just started mine yesterday. I have it once a week for 12 weeks. 

april25

I've just finished my last round of chemo!

So far I've managed to keep all my nails. They have the white bands showing, but no dark areas. They have not been lifting. I had some slight signs of layers peeling at the tips, but have been using clear nail nourishing coats (usually used Horse Power Nail Fertilizer by butter) every few weeks or so (not as often as the instructions, but fairly constantly). That seems to be enough to keep the nails from chipping and peeling.

I also took a bit of biotin and other nail/hair supplements by mouth. And kept all nails clipped short.

I'm still losing hair, though (eyebrows getting super-thin, now), so I may still have some nail problems show up... but so far, so good! I just didn't want them to be falling off...!

april25

Nail Report-- Over one month out from chemo--

My nails were turning white from the moons out, during chemo. Then my pinky nails got some dark pink spots in the middle of the nail... Then these areas quickly turned bright white. I'm getting white spots on my ring finger nails and some on my middle fingers... I wonder if it's just discoloration or if the nails are lifting?

I guess I'll find out!

I don't have the white bands, or any striations, or dark/black coloration... Just the diffuse white (like my moons, but spreading outward). then some darker pink areas. Now white spots--mostly on pinky fingers and slightly on adjoining fingers.

Toenails were getting pale/white-ish too, but I haven't seen the darker areas or brighter white areas so far.

I hear nails can keep falling off or being affected by chemo for many months afterwards. I just would like to know what's going on... but I guess I'll just have to wait and see how it goes!

--

I've continued to use nourishing clear coats. My nails feel pretty strong, but are a little sensitive now and then... the tops of my thumbnails and index finger nails want to split in layers a bit--but they did that even before chemo, so I'm guessing that doesn't really count...!

I've still got other lingering effects from chemo ("D" and upset stomach: gas and burning and general aches and cramps. Some neuropathy--muscle weakness and over-all tiredness). But things are very, very slowly improving... I hope my nails improve and don't get worse, though...

april25

Two months after chemo (TCHP, 6 cycles). Still getting Herceptin every 3 weeks for a year...

My nails are pale-- the darkest pink on ring finger nail is closest to how they normally should be...

There aren't any white striations except on the pinkie finger where you can barely make some out.

The white of the pinkie appeared at first on the pinkest part and has worked to the tip.

The other nails started separating from the tip. I think they are sort of delaminating...there is some sort of thickness of the nail, and splitting in layers right there which pretty much adds up to separation from nail bed at the tips.

I've got the nourishing nail-polish stuff on the nails, but don't know if it's helping.

Man, this stuff creeps me out! I'm worried they will continue to separate... but they don't seem to be getting any worse, although the white parts appeared seemingly quickly... I'm hoping they will stop and the nails will start growing out more normally... !!!

Toenails are pale, but no white lifting like my finger nails. Although, was getting a slight in-grown nail on my big toe... not sure if it is chemo-related or not!

april25

Now a month later... Thankfully my nails didn't fall off! They still want to be splitting-- and the pinkies still have a LOT of white at the tips, but the nails in general aren't getting worse that way, and look a lot more normal (a bit more pink and healthy).

I haven't been doing much for them. Carefully cutting the nails down as much as possible made them look a bit more normal. I tried to moisturize them with hand cream a bit. Gave up on the nail-polish moisturizer because I didn't want to get the remover under the nails. They seem to be very, very slowly getting better on their own, really. Whew!

I hope everyone manages their nail problems as well as possible!

Pipandor

I had the last of 12 taxol/herceptin treatments last week and my finger and toe nails have never looked better. To avoid neuropathy, I put on the cryo mits and slippers15 minutes before the taxol infusion started, swapped them for cold ones after 40 minutes and kept them on 10 minutes after taxol ended during every single treatment. It was uncomfortable, and sometimes downright painful, but seems to have worked. I have only a very slight loss of sensation in 2 fingers and one toe, and I suspect minimizing circulation in the extremities helped keep the nails healthy too.

Because taxanes react to UV in the nail bed, I akso kept my nails coated with clear Sally Hansen polish with UV filter and used top coats with a metallic sheen because I find they last longer. Also, I don't use nail polish removers that contain acetone. I remove the polish at night, wash hands with mild antimicrobial soap, lather hands and nails with rich hand cream and leave them without polish overnight.

The only supplement I took during chemo is vitamin D, which helps to metabolize calcium, so that may have helped too.

Jiffrig

my nail tech said that nails are porous and need to have a protective layer of thick polish to block absorbion of chemo drugs. Keeps them from getting white, spongy and fungus growing

april25

Follow-up!

I just took biotin and used clear strengthening polish through chemo.

My nails looked like they might be lifting several months post-chemo. They were white almost 1/3 or more down to the quick and looked all pale and sickly even in the attached parts. It was pretty scary! --although it didn't hurt or anything like that.

But after that, they gradually grew in perfectly healthy! No problems at all. As good as before, if not a bit better (still taking low levels of biotin). Yay.