Ms. Lisa Dewey, 36 years old, lives in the town of Pattishall, county Northamptonshire (England). For many years, she had a hobby of gel nail polish. This is a method of nail polish that uses liquid gel to create a hard, flexible polymer layer on the nail, according to the sheet New York Post (America).
Lisa Dewey suffered a severe allergic reaction after years of nail polish
This gel layer does not dry on its own, but only hardens when exposed to UV or LED lights. The advantage of gel nail polish is that the owner of this nail can clean the house, wash the dishes or do all the daily tasks without fear of peeling off the paint color.
However, Miss Dewey's health problems began to arise in February 2.2023. Not long after applying the gel nail polish, she noticed that her nails were swollen and the polish was starting to peel off.
When she went to the doctor, she was diagnosed with an infection and was prescribed steroid cream and antibiotics. The signs of infection then disappeared.
In April 4.2023, she decided to get her nails done again. However, this time she did not do gel nails but acrylic nails. This is a manicure that combines polymer powder and liquid monomer to create a hard layer that covers the nail.
But just a few days later, Ms Dewey's fingernails began to peel off and reveal the nail bed. The nail bed is the part directly underneath when the nail falls off. Ms Dewey described the condition as causing her so much pain that she could barely move her fingers and hands.
“I was afraid I would lose my whole finger,” Ms. Dewey said. This concern was even greater when not long after, the finger began to turn purple. This condition led the woman to suspect that she was allergic to the nail product.
The prolonged pain made her body weak and made it very difficult to do even the smallest things, such as holding a pen or washing her hair. She has to rely on her husband, Mr. Lee Dewey, 45, to help with all household chores.
Due to allergies, Ms. Dewey could no longer continue to use nail products. She shared her allergy with the media to raise awareness about the risk of allergies when doing nails, according to New York Post.
The British Association of Dermatologists says the cause of allergies in acrylic and gel nails is usually exposure to the chemical methacrylate found in nail products. Signs of a methacrylate allergy are itching, redness, some nails will be weak, wobbly, and even fall off.
