Surprisingly, I was able to get my nails done for my birthday. well i hot my left index finger and it ripped half the nail off. I just got them done yesterday so the part of the new "tip" totally ripped off, my finger bled like crazy, and now my arm is on fire. Since I am on a pain contract I cant go get help till the morning. Does any one know any tricks, that wouldnt hurt more? I dont think a bath would help and the water would inflame my finger...

Ouch!

I had this happen to a thumb nail about a year ago, and was so frightened the CRPS had spread... It didn't, but it felt weird for a couple of weeks and made me worry.

This is what i did: Elevate your hand as much and as often as you can, but keep your fingers gently moving so that the hurt doesn't sit still for too long. At night, rest it outside the covers. Don't use cold water or anything like that (ow) but put a tiny smear of something like Savlon on a soft plaster over it for the first day or so just to stop any germs from getting a hold - then leave it open. Keep it as dry as possible, so no washing up and try to avoid anything like hoovering that has it hanging downwards and with pressure on it. Distract yourself as much as possible - the brain and CRPS are closely linked, so try not to concentrate too much on the pain from that finger. Start doing the motor imagery stuff of stroking the good finger and concentrating on what it feels like, then stroke the hurt finger and think of how it felt in the other one. Do it as often as you can over the whole hand.

It will probably be fine in a week or two, but I know what you mean, you just think OH NO what have I done, it's going to spread now and the pain and hotness just sort of confirms it...

Your brain is over-reacting to the pain because of the CRPS, it is a common side-effect of the condition (fun, thanks ), but it doesn't mean it will spread to that area. Just keep it gently moving and don't guard it, even if it is damn painful for now. It does subside...

I have my fingers crossed for you (no pun intended), let me know how you get on.

Bram

the problem is the crps is in my entire left arm and hand already It wouldnt " spread" It's just exacerbating the CRPS

There are topical gels/ointments with lidocaine or benzocaine you can buy now that will numb the fingernail area.

Zcaine, Topicaine, and Americaine are some brand names.
Ask your pharmacist. I use Americaine myself for injuries, etc.

This is the Americaine.
http://www.amazon.com/Americaine-Hem...caine+ointment

These may be found with the hemorrhoidal products, or in the
first aid section. Americaine spray is often used for sunburns, but I'd get a gel or ointment form for your purposes. Read the ingredients and look for either lidocaine or benzocaine on the package.

Lidocaine typically is 3 or 4%.
Benzocaine needs to be higher and Americaine is 20%.

Sorry if i wasnt clear . I had the early stages of some spread in my left arm when it happened to me, it was why I was so scared... I didn't mean spread as in brand new spread, more that I was scared of the CRPS being enraged in that hurt area and it staying as painful as it felt after the injury. My arm in general was a bit worse for a week or so, and I can imagine that in an already very painful area it must be horrible. I took some tramadol for a few days, which did help a bit with the pain. To be honest, even paracetemol helps with injury-type pain, which surprised me as I've got so used to nothing much helping the CRPS pain...

The CRPS has stayed in my arm, and a year later it is more consistent in terms of soreness and general pain, but my damaged thumb nail area is no worse than my other fingers, and I think that's positive considering what I thought had happened!

Hopefully yours will settle back down to the 'normal' and not be any worse than before.

Bram.