A woman can barely use her hands and says her confidence has suffered after developing a suspected allergy to nail products. Lisa Dewey, 36, had been getting her nails done regularly for years without issue. But in February a set of gel nails became inflamed and started peeling away from the nail bed. At the time it was put down to a bacterial infection, and Lisa she was given a steroid cream and antibiotics to fight it. But after deciding to get a set of acrylic nails put on last month, the mum-of-two found she was hurting again. Once more, her nails became “very aggravated” and she could barely move her hands due to the pain. The NHS cleaner struggled to wash her daughter’s hair, do up a seatbelt, hold a pen and wash up. Now, despite years of nail treatments with no issues, she can never again have gel or acrylic nails, and believes it’s an allergy. Lisa, from Pattishall, Northants., said: “I’ve been getting my nails done all my life for acrylics or gels. “So when it first happened after a set of gels in February, I thought it was a bacterial infection. “My nail bed even started going purple and I worried I would lose the whole finger. “When I had them done again recently - this time acrylics - the same thing happened. “Now my skin is like paper tearing away from my fingers and I can barely move my hands from the pain. “It has knocked my confidence so much too - it’s so embarrassing and I’m always hiding my hands away.” Lisa, a mum of two girls aged three and 12, first noticed a reaction after getting gel nails applied in February. Despite getting the same treatment she had been having for years, within a matter of days her nails had began peeling up from the nail bed. One even went PURPLE - while the others became itchy and extremely sore. She never suspected her manicure could be the problem - and doctors prescribed her a round of antibiotics for what seemed to be an infection. Lisa said: “It happened suddenly - I feared I might even lose a finger when it went purple around the nail. “I feared it might be starved of oxygen - but it ended up being something completely different.” After having the gels removed and taking a break from nail products, she thought it was over. But after getting a set of acrylic nails put on again in April, the problem reared its head once more. But not only did her fingernails begin to lift again, but the skin around her nails became “like paper”. She has recently been prescribed a different round of medication to treat her. Lisa explained that being a mum to a young daughter poses issues. Her hand and nail pain makes everyday tasks tough and she is constantly having to ask for help from husband Lee, 45. She said: “Washing my daughter’s hair is hard because you have to bend your fingers. “Even strapping her in the car - if I catch my finger on the belt, I jolt from the pain because the skin is raw. “It gets so aggravated but wearing gloves doesn’t even help because sweaty hands aggravate it too. “Anything scented or fragranced makes it worse - I can’t put a conditioning treatment or mousse in my hair. Now Lisa has vowed to stay away from nail products for good - and warned others. She added: “People can get their nails done for years with no issues until one day it hits them. “I am going on holiday in August and I was booked to get my hands and toes done. Now I’m not getting them done. “This has knocked my confidence so much - I don’t normally care what people think of me, but now I hide my hands away. “It’s just embarrassing to have hands like this - there’s a coronation party this week, and if my hands aren’t better, I won’t be going. “I just want to do my bit in trying to get the word out that things might not be as good as they seem.” Read More Experts warn of ‘life-long’ effects of nail gel polish Fit and healthy father diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer reveals first warning sign Four bowel cancer symptoms that can show two years before diagnosis Mother left ‘looking like Freddy Krueger’ reveals first skin cancer warning sign Mum put on life support after infected finger led to ‘devastating’ diagnosis Age-defying pensioner shares two simple secrets to her youthful appearance

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Carol Vorderman was well and truly a sun worshipper growing up. “Oh God, yes. I was burning away merrily for many, many years,” she remembers with a groan. The former Countdown presenter, 62, says her generation was the first to really become obsessed with the sun. “I’m of the generation where we started to sunbathe – my mother’s generation didn’t. We were also caught in the formative years, the 60s, 70s, 80s, where we had absolutely no idea of what sun protection was – you just couldn’t buy it. I think it was the 90s that began,” she explains. “So in all of our youth we were encouraging each other to sunbathe doused in cooking oil.” Vorderman remembers the ways people would try and boost their tan – from sunbathing surrounded by metal foil (so you could “get all the rays of the sun” and “burn nicely”) to discovering sunbeds (“we thought they were marvellous”) – and she was particularly keen on soaking up as much of the sun as possible, as she grew up by the sea. She says anyone her age “will remember all that”, but now “we know the dangers”. Vorderman is unsurprised by Cancer Research UK’s latest statistics, showing melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK have reached an all-time high. According to the charity, 17,500 cases are diagnosed every year, with projections suggesting the numbers could increase by 50% over the next 20 years. Research suggests people around Vorderman’s age are increasingly affected, with the probability of people aged 55 and older getting skin cancer almost tripling since the 1990s. Bristol-based Vorderman herself had a scare when she was around 50. She was concerned by some changes in her skin, so went to see a dermatologist – who sent off a biopsy for testing, with results revealing the cells were precancerous. The presenter is at pains to emphasise she doesn’t want people to feel sorry for her – “I had no symptoms, nothing like that” and the cells were removed – but she’s instead trying to highlight how crucial it is to be sun safe. “What I do now is I’ve had a check-up every year, all over, ever since,” she says – and that isn’t the only change she’s made. “I slather myself in SPF at all opportunities. In many ways, the damage is already done, but I don’t sunbathe now, or I cover myself up.” Vorderman has teamed up with Boots brand Soltan and Macmillan Cancer Support on a sun-safety campaign, and her efforts to raise awareness around the issue aren’t just inspired by her own experiences. Her mother died in 2017 after suffering from three types of cancer – the third being melanoma. “Not a single time in her life did she sunbathe – my mum had a different skin to me, she had moles, I don’t,” Vorderman says. “I know that makes you much more prone to melanomas.” Cancer Research UK cites a study that found melanoma risk was higher in people with more than 100 moles compared with people who have fewer than 15 moles. For Vorderman, talking about these issues, whether publicly or among friends, is key. “It’s part of life. The more we talk about it, the better it is – as with everything. It’s like talking about the menopause, talking about women’s issues, talking about all sorts of cancers… As we know with all cancers, the sooner you can have something checked, the better the outcome should be.” Vorderman has in recent years made a name for herself for posting her unfiltered political beliefs on social media, and whether it’s talking about politics or causes close to her heart, she won’t back down. “I’ve always been pretty confident, but now you get to a point in life where you think – I feel strongly about things as they stand in this country at the moment. I’ve never known anything as bad. I think everyone should speak out.” She believes in the old saying: ‘The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to say nothing’, adding: “I take that with me.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Carol Vorderman: Why my skin cancer scare means I no longer sunbathe This is how often you should actually change your razor Are we working out too hard?

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