Vinger kwijt door kunstnagel

Voor nog geen vier euro kocht ze het flesje lijm om een set kunstnagels op te plakken. Een kleine, maar ingrijpende aankoop. De 17-jarige Sarah Greenaway liep door de lijm een infectie op en raakte haar hele vingertopje kwijt.

De tiener kocht de lijm bij een drogist in haar buurt, de valse nagels had ze al thuis liggen. In eerste instantie leek alles goed te gaan, maar na een paar dagen is ze met spoed naar het ziekenhuis afgevoerd met een ernstige infectie. De wijsvinger aan haar rechterhand werd groen en begon langzaam af te sterven. Om haar hand te kunnen redden, waren artsen genoodzaakt haar vingertopje te amputeren en de hele vinger grondig te desinfecteren.

'Pijn en angst'

Sarah: ''Alles wat ik wilde was dat mijn nagels er goed uit zouden zien, maar de volgende dag deed mijn vinger zo'n pijn dat ik de nagels er weer af heb gehaald. Ik ging naar de huisartsenpost en ze gaven me in eerste instantie antibiotica. Toen bleek dat dit niet werkte, moest er met spoed een operatie worden uitgevoerd. Ik huilde van de pijn en angst.''
Na een urenlange operatie moest Sarah in het ziekenhuis blijven ter observatie, nog steeds met veel pijn. Alsof dit allemaal nog niet erg genoeg was, bleek het meisje ook nog eens een bacteriële infectie te hebben opgelopen waardoor ze twee extra nachten geïsoleerd in het ziekenhuis moest doorbrengen. Op dit moment volgt Sarah fysiotherapie om het gevoel in de rest van haar vinger weer terug te krijgen. Ze heeft gezworen nooit meer kunstnagels te dragen.

Schuld

Een woordvoerder van de drogist zei tegenover de Daily Mail: ''Wij voelen ons niet genoodzaakt om hierop te reageren als de klant een rechtszaak aan kan spannen tegen de fabrikant, het is hun schuld.''
Bekijk de foto's van Sarah hier. Let op! Deze kunnen als schokkend worden ervaren.

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'False nail glue rotted away my finger': Teenager's horror as index finger turns green and has to be amputated

Sarah Greenaway, 17, applied false nails and developed a finger infection
She was rushed to hospital in agony when it started to die and turn green
Doctors had to cut the top off her finger to save the rest of the digit
They also had to cut the whole finger open to clean it out and save it
But a skin expert says the infection was probably caused by the false nail being applied to a wet or dirty nail

By Emma Innes

PUBLISHED: 12:18 GMT, 21 March 2014 | UPDATED: 14:20 GMT, 21 March 2014

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A teenage girl who glued on false nails lost the top of her finger after it rotted away.
Sarah Greenaway, 17, applied her own false nails at home with cosmetic DIY glue bought in Boots - but days later she was rushed to hospital with a serious infection.
Bar worker Miss Greenaway was in agony as the index finger on her right hand turned green and started dying.

Sarah Greenaway, 17, had to have the tip of her finger amputated after it became severely infected. The index finger became infected after she used some nail glue that she bought from Boots

Doctors had to cut off the top of the finger to save her hand - and cut the finger open from tip to palm to clean it out.
Miss Greenaway bought the £3.20 Broadway Jet Dry Nail Glue at a Boots store in Pontypool, South Wales.

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She said: 'I bought the glue for a set of nails I had at home already. All I wanted was for my nails to look nice.
'But later the next day my finger was really hurting, so I took the nails off.
'My nail had turned a greeny-black colour underneath.
'I went to A&E and they gave me antibiotics. But when they didn't work I was rushed in for surgery.

Miss Greenaway went to hospital with a severe infection in her nail (left). She had to have surgery to remove the tip of her finger (right) and save the rest of it. She also had to have the whole finger opened up and cleaned

Miss Greenaway was also given IV antibiotics to combat the infection

'It was very frightening - I was crying in pain, it was so scary.'
Miss Greenaway had an hour-long operation and was kept in hospital for observation.
She said: 'The pain was still so bad and I was put on a drip for antibiotics.
'Doctors didn't know then if they'd saved my finger. They said it might still have to be amputated.'
While she was in recovery, Miss Greenaway contracted the serious bacterial infection MRSA and had to spend a further two nights in an isolated cubicle at Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport.
The teenager, of Pontypool, is now having physiotherapy sessions to help with getting the use of her finger back.

While Miss Greenaway was in hospital after the operation she also developed MRSA

She said: 'I cannot understand how my finger became so infected. It may have been a bad batch of glue and we are thinking about taking legal action.'
Her mother, Gayle Druce, 40, said: 'It was difficult to see Sarah in such pain.
'It was such a relief that she didn't lose her whole finger.
'For a long time her right hand was very touch sensitive and caused lots of pain, even just placing her finger flat down was terribly sore.'
Now the teen has vowed that she will never wear false nails again.
A spokesman for Boots said: 'It is a matter for the manufacturer. We don't feel able to comment at this time as the customer may pursue a legal case.'

Sarah (pictured in hospital) said: 'Doctors didn't know then if they'd saved my finger. They said it might still have to be amputated'

However, a skin and beauty therapist told MailOnline that it is most likely that the infection was not caused by the glue, but that it was caused by poor nail preparation before the glue was applied.
Louise Thomas-Minns, who owns U And Your Skin, said: 'It's likely to be to do with the application process and the care of the nail.
'I always get very worried about these at home treatments. It's really unfortunate, and I have massive sympathy for that, but it is probably down to her ability in applying it.
'If there is water under the nail that could give rise to an infection. As with many things, its usually consumer error and not being equipped with the right knowledge.
'If the glue hasn't bonded properly, or the nail is wet or dirty before the glue is applied, it allows infection to breed.'
She added that people should always ensure their nails are clean and free of dirt and oil before false nails are applied.

Sarah (pictured with her mother, Gayle Druce) is considering taking legal action against the glue's manufacturer. Image shows how her finger looks now that it has recovered from the amputation