Re: Parasites/worms in/around my finger nail beds/cuticles/where nails connect to skin.

Hi,

Interesting you should bring that up.

I really wasn't suffering from any similar symptoms (or so I thought) so I was inspired to do some research, a little experiment. I've had cuticle problems forever. Nervous habit. I get a teeny piece of dry skin sticking up so I pick at it incessantly and end up ripping it off then it bleeds and scabs. If I get my nails done, they look great until the manicure gets old in about 5 days (imagine the germ orgy in salons - gross). Additionally I am a compulsive nail cutter. Beyond the wick. There is no white in my nails.

I read your post and then, I googled. Pinworm eggs are deposited under fingernails & toenails, and pinworms think cuticles & wick areas are cozy places to hang out in, so they will live there. No one teaches us that do they? We are told to just do tape tests.

So, anyway, no you are not crazy.

I decided to experiment. "Don't try this at home," unless doctor after doctor blows you off, are essentially useless, demeaning, and the equivalent of lighting your cash on fire.

1. Bought Pin-X after I checked to make sure it wouldn't react with my other medications & took as directed. It paralyzes pinworms. Not sure about other helminths. Also got ethyl alcohol based hand sanitizer gel.

2. Waited roughly 12 hours.

3. In meantime, sterilized nail cutters & tweezers as best I could with home cleaning agents since no access to an autoclave.

4. Identified targets. Depending on how well the Pin-X worked, and if I chemically-provoked them with the gel, they signaled "mayday" to each other and likely tried to escape thus revealing themselves so I could clearly differentiate them from cornified/keratinized cuticle, skin, or nail - simply because that white thing wasn't there an hour or two ago. Holding onto it did not hurt. If I was holding on to a piece of myself, it hurt.

5. Grasped at base with dull tweezers. I DID NOT PULL THEM TO AVOID RIPPING THE BODY. Just gently held taught. Slowly millimeters of worm eased out. Took at least 15+ minutes. Encouraged removal with gentle wiggle. Regrasped at base. The repulsive critters changed thickness. When they got thread-thin I had to really finesse it because they were so fragile. Again, kept regrasping at base.

6. I felt a teeny tiny pop when it was entirely removed. Earlier, I felt nothing (but ticked off) when it broke and I only achieved partial removal. There was no bleeding.

7. Could store for lab but thus far doctors refuse to submit my samples.

8. Resterilized tweezers.

SO CONSIDER:
Keep using the hand gel religiously and keep nails short. Eggs are viable (even in/on dust/fomites/cloth up to 20 days! Plus they can be airborne!) Don't reuse towels. DO launder sheets frequently in hot water, +/- bleach, & hot clothes dryer, keep hair up, shower daily, keep keybords, doorknobs, steering wheels, etc clean. Make sure family members practice good hygiene. Only have sex if your partner has washed his/her hands!

Lastly, the Pin-X: I'm a little wary about dosing/timing because the half-life, as far as I could find, is unknown, and there is an outside chance this is a different helminth, which may be unresponsive to Pin-X.

There you go. Your question helped me so much because now I have a way to screen my hands (used roughly 100 mL hand sanitizer massaging my fingers throughout a day). And they've never looked better. Night & day in 24 hours. I would venture helminths play more of an active role in cuticle & nail health than we've considered, and that traditional soap & water hand washing is not enough...

DD
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