A mortified student was left with green mouldy fungus sprouting out of her nails for over two months after she underwent back-to-back acrylic manicures.
How it happened
Phoebe Sheppard, 21, got her initial set of nails put on in October last year and it wasn’t until January that she had them taken off.
Upon removal, she discovered her fingernails were covered in green ‘mouldy spots’.
Horrifying pictures show all 10 of the student’s nails dotted with green, murky spots – as fungus had grown under them from water getting trapped.
After making the grim discovery, Phoebe went to a pharmacy for advice and was handed a fungal serum to apply to her infected nails.
But when her blotches didn’t disappear after using the ointment and trying several other remedies, the teenager had no choice but to leave the spots to grow out on their own.
Phoebe said she spent two months ’embarrassed’ as she waited for them to grow out and said her friends joked about her having ‘mouldy’ claws.
How to avoid green nail syndrome
The beauty-loving teen has now urged other people to give their nails a chance to ‘breathe’ between manicures to avoid the same fate that she did last Christmas.
Phoebe, from Birmingham in the West Midlands, said: ‘After getting my first set of acrylics in October for my birthday, the nail lady told me it was okay for me to keep getting them infilled instead of having them removed every time.
Stunned Phoebe said she received conflicting advice over her nails, with her technician reassuring her it was ‘normal’ while horrified social media users urged her to get treatment.
Green nail syndrome
After researching her symptoms, Phoebe now believes the green spots were caused by moisture getting trapped under her nails, which is known as chloronychia or green nail syndrome.
Green nail syndrome is often caused by a bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which causes the green discolouration.
Phoebe, a student at Falmouth University, said: ‘My nail tech told me that the green spots were normal but everyone on TikTok was telling me it wasn’t and I needed to get treatment.
‘It’s just trapped water under my nails. It’s when the acrylic isn’t completely sealed onto your nails and moisture gets in. It’s completely put me off having acrylics done.’
