This Is What a Black Line on Your Nail Means

Your nails can reveal a great deal about your health. One thing to look out for is a dark mark on your nail, which might be more serious than you think. That's the warning one woman received when she complained to her nail technician about a black vertical line on her thumbnail. Initially, she had wanted a dark nail polish to cover the stripe on her nail, which ran from her cuticle to the edge of her nail. 

 

The woman had been going to salons for years where workers told her the black line was either a blood blister, a sign of calcium deficiency, or just a hereditary mark. But, in this visit, the nail technician told her to go see a doctor immediately - and she did. A couple of weeks later, the woman called to tell the nail technician that the vertical black stripe on her nail had been diagnosed as an aggressive melanoma, which had spread to her lymph nodes. 

Nail melanoma is officially called subungual melanoma if it is under the nail, or periungual melanoma if it's around the nail - rare, but potentially deadly. Half of all melanoma cases occur in those of Asian decent, 35% in darker-skinned people, and just 2.5% in white individuals. 

 

One of the reasons why this is so serious is because more often than not, patients do not receive an accurate diagnosis right away. In fact, more often than not, the average delay of diagnosis for subungual melanoma patients is two and a half years, and it's not because people don't notice the black mark, but rather because it is usually attributed to something else. 

 

In addition, a subungual melanoma looks like something called a subungual hematoma, or a 'blood blister. This is usually caused by some kind of trauma, which may be caused by slamming your finger in the car door. This will cause the tiny blood vessels underneath your nail to rupture, causing blood to leak out and discolor the nail. 

 

In this instance, however, a new, healthy nail will begin to grow in and the discolored nail will grow out. The pattern of discoloration also tends to be more irregular, with puddles or drops, while with subungual melanoma, it develops as an organized band, arising in the root of the nail and extending to its edge. 

 

So, if you notice a new, dark mark underneath any of your fingernails or toenails, and can't remember any kind of trauma that could have caused it. Your doctor will probably do a biopsy to check for melanoma. The good news is that if you catch it early, surgical removal can get rid of any of the cancerous cells before they're able to spread.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

 

COVID Shot While on a Blood Thinner?

As COVID-19 vaccination continues to roll out to older and medically eligible people across the country, many questions arise for those taking blood thinners.

The most important point is that COVID-19 vaccine is fine for pretty much all individuals, no matter whether they have a thrombophilia, a prior deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE), or are on a blood thinner.

Reasons not to get the vaccine have to do with allergies but not with the fact that a patient has had a clot or is on an anticoagulant. While COVID-19 infection is associated with an increased risk of DVT and PE, particularly in the very sick and hospitalized patient, there is no reason to believe that the vaccine would increase the risk for blood clots. Recent concerns with thrombotic side effects after vaccination with the AstraZeneca shot in Europe appear to be chance events, not casually related to the vaccine..

Most patients do not need to interrupt their anticoagulant before getting the vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine is given as a shot into the deltoid muscle, just like the flu shot. The needle diameter used for injections is very fine, typically 22-25 gauge. It has been shown that intramuscular flu shots in patients on full-dose warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven) do not increase the risk for bleeding at the site of the injection.

Similarly, it is reasonable to think that the risk for significant bleeding into the muscle is also not increased in a patient who takes a direct oral anticoagulant -- apixaban (Eliquis), dabigatran (Pradaxa), edoxaban (Savaysa), or rivaroxaban (Xarelto) -- or other anticoagulant like enoxaparin (Lovenox) or fondaparinux (Arixtra).

The FDA's COVID-19 vaccine factsheet calls for patients to tell their provider before getting the vaccine if they have a bleeding disorder or are on a blood thinner but does not provide any guidance for the provider. A few formal documents from societies and federal agencies provide useful input.

There is no benefit of giving a vaccine subcutaneously when it is really meant to be given intramuscularly, as that would not change the bleeding risk. That's true even in the patient with a bleeding disorder or on an anticoagulant, according to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

That group recommends scheduling vaccination prior to taking the blood thinner for the day, if possible. It also suggests using a fine-gauge needle (23-gauge or smaller) and applying firm pressure to the injection site, without rubbing, for at least 2 minutes. The patient or family should be given information on the risk for development of a hematoma.

The International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) recommends applying pressure to the injection site for longer -- at least 5 minutes -- to reduce the risk for bruising. It also suggests that patients on warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven) wait until the INR drops below 4.0 before getting the injection.

For the patient who is on a blood thinner, I am a little more cautious than what is stated in the ISTH document. My suggestion is to use a 25 gauge needle or the smallest available caliber. I even suggest the patient ask the person injecting what gauge needle will be used and request a 25 gauge needle if the answer is any larger. However, if the 25 gauge is not available, the vaccination should go ahead with the smallest needle available.

I also recommend to consider skipping the morning dose of the blood thinner before the vaccination or the evening dose the day before vaccination in the case of a drug taken once daily in the evening.

Skipping one dose, or even two, may be particularly advisable for the patient who is on one of the blood thinners mentioned above plus another antithrombotic, whether aspirin, clopidogrel (Plavix), ticagrelor (Brilinta), or another anti-platelet drug.

If on warfarin, I recommend getting INR measured 2 to 5 days before the injection. If the INR is 3 or less, proceed with vaccination. If above 3, consider whether the patient should skip or decrease the next two warfarin doses or delay the immunization.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

 

DON'T NEGLECT BLACK LINE ON YOUR NAIL

Your nails can reveal a great deal about your health. One thing to look out for is a dark mark on your nail, which might be more serious than you think. That's the warning one woman received when she complained to her nail technician about a black vertical line on her thumbnail. Initially, she had wanted a dark nail polish to cover the stripe on her nail, which ran from her cuticle to the edge of her nail.

 

The woman had been going to salons for years where workers told her the black line was either a blood blister, a sign of calcium deficiency, or just a hereditary mark. But, in this visit, the nail technician told her to go see a doctor immediately - and she did. A couple of weeks later, the woman called to tell the nail technician that the vertical black stripe on her nail had been diagnosed as an aggressive melanoma, which had spread to her lymph nodes. 

 Nail melanoma is officially called subungual melanoma if it is under the nail, or periungual melanoma if it's around the nail - rare, but potentially deadly. Half of all melanoma cases occur in those of Asian decent, 35% in darker-skinned people, and just 2.5% in white individuals.

One of the reasons why this is so serious is because more often than not, patients do not receive an accurate diagnosis right away. In fact, more often than not, the average delay of diagnosis for subungual melanoma patients is two and a half years, and it's not because people don't notice the black mark, but rather because it is usually attributed to something else.


In addition, a subungual melanoma looks like something called a subungual hematoma, or a 'blood blister. This is usually caused by some kind of trauma, which may be caused by slamming your finger in the car door. This will cause the tiny blood vessels underneath your nail to rupture, causing blood to leak out and discolor the nail. 

In this instance, however, a new, healthy nail will begin to grow in and the discolored nail will grow out. The pattern of discoloration also tends to be more irregular, with puddles or drops, while with subungual melanoma, it develops as an organized band, arising in the root of the nail and extending to its edge. 

So, if you notice a new, dark mark underneath any of your fingernails or toenails, and can't remember any kind of trauma that could have caused it. Your doctor will probably do a biopsy to check for melanoma. The good news is that if you catch it early, surgical removal can get rid of any of the cancerous cells before they're able to spread. 

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES. PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO VIEW MY BLOG-                      

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