Just thought I’d share this diagnosis of an ongoing battle I’ve been waging against “nail fungus” for the past year. It’s kinda lengthy. . . .
It started about a year ago, when I noticed an accumulation of dead skin at the nail on my right hand. When the dead skin came off, it healed back, and no problem.
But I kept watching it.
Several days later, I noticed a number of tiny, tiny “blisters” under the skin–too small to cause the skin to raise (most were about the size of periods in this message).
Then, they would turn dark, and after several more days, that skin also caked up (at, but not under, the nail), and eventually came off.
Then about a month later, I saw “blisters” appear not just on my middle finger, but the index and ring fingers–in all cases, right at the nail.
I thought to myself “nail fungus.”
I had an appointment already scheduled for my dermatologist for an unrelated reason, and when I saw him, I asked him about it.
He looked at my nails and said, “Your nails are pretty short. Do you bite them?”
I said, “No, but I do pick at them a lot.”
He said, “Do you work at a keyboard a lot?”
I said, “Yes.”
He said, “The blisters turn dark as the result of blood seeping in from surrounding tissue, since they’re constantly banging away at a keyboard.”
He then gave me an anti-fungal prescription.
And it worked!
Well, it worked as long as I used it. Just a couple of days of the topical ointment, and they were back with a vengeance. (The other side effect of the “dead skin” is that it is not “sensitive.” It’s like having a home-grown thimble on a couple of fingers.)
The a week or so ago, I started paying closer attention to the pattern of where the blisters occurred. This is what I found (assume you’re looking at your right hand, palm outward, fingers spread out, and the blisters all formed at the nail margin, but never under it–and, again, they are clusters of tiny blisters):
Thumb: The blisters formed consistently on the right side (although they would spread to about the middle of the top of the thumb and also downward a small distance.
Index finger: Consistently formed in the middle (top) of the nail margin, then spread down both sides.
Middle finger: Consistently formed on the top left “corner,” then spread downward and across the top margin.
Ring finger: Same as middle finger.
Pinky: None ever showed up.
During all this time, I kept wondering “Well, when is this stuff going to go away permanently?”
I then started doing research, and found that “nail fungus” can sometimes take many months to get rid of.
I kept looking, and found that my condition might not have actually been nail fungus–but eczema or some other skin irritation.
That news was not encouraging either: Eczema can be treated, but a lot of times, it’s not possible to tell what is actually causing it–so you might have to treat it for years!
Then the revelation!
I was looking at my hand on my mouse, and noticed that everywhere my fingertips touched (and rubbed against) the desk surface (following the pattern I outlined above)–that’s where the blisters started!
But why all of a sudden last summer?
Last summer, my trackball broke at work and at home. Work had some extra mouse devices, so that’s what they gave me as replacements.
I had always preferred the trackball, but I didn’t complain. (Heck, they were paying for it.)
So, I personally bought a couple of trackballs for work and home.
Guess what??? No blisters. No dead skin. And I’m not putting that cream on my fingertips before bed at night anymore.
And the alleged “nail fungus?” Well, the dermatologist never said those words. I made that assumption, since it was around the nails. And the prescription for the “anti-fungal” ointment bolstered my belief.
But it wasn’t just an “anti-fungal,” but a combination “anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory,” the latter probably being the ingredient helping out my case.
So. . . .
Just in case anyone else uses a mouse with “blistering” speed, keep this in mind.