Constant nail biting can cause cancerous tumors

Rare cancer: finger amputation after nail biting

To get rid of the finger nail biting is advisable not only for aesthetic, but also for health reasons. This is particularly evident in a case from Australia. There, fingernail chewing has triggered a rare form of cancer in a young woman. She had to have her finger amputated.

Fingernail chewing can be dangerous

Fingernail chewing is common. It is estimated that up to 40 percent of children and around ten percent of adults nibble on their nails. Often, stress is the reason that the fingers automatically wander to the mouth and become nibbled. Sometimes, however, it is also trivial causes such as boredom. The results of nail-biting not only look ugly, but can also have serious health consequences. That also had to be experienced by a young woman from Great Britain who lives in Australia. With her nail biting triggered a rare form of cancer.

Fingernägelkauen can have fatal consequences. This had to be experienced by a woman in Australia, which caused a rare cancer. (Image: toa555 / fotolia.com)

Rare cancer

According to media reports, Courtney Whithorn's thumb had to be amputated after suffering from a rare cancer.

The cause of the skin cancer disease was probably her habit of chewing on the nails, writes the British newspaper "The Sun".

It all started with the fact that the almost 20-year-old was bullied in school.

Patient was bullied at school

According to the "Sun," the school bullying made Courtney Whithorn's nail biting worse and worse, and in 2014 she broke her thumb nail completely.

Although the young woman quickly realized that part of her thumb became black, she kept it secret from her family and friends for about four years.

"My hand was always a fist because I did not want anyone to see it - not even my parents," the psychology student told the newspaper.

"I can not explain how inhibited I was. I always had false nails to hide because it was so black. "Eventually, she sought medical advice.

Malignant melanoma diagnosed

"I went to my doctor because my skin went black, but I went for cosmetic reasons and he referred me to a plastic surgeon," said Courtney Whithorn, who originally came from the UK, but nine years ago to Gold Coast, Australia, drew.

"I was with two plastic surgeons who were considering removing my nail bed to remove the black part and then placing a skin graft over it so that it would be at least the same skin color - I was happy with that," the young woman says.

"But before my first surgery to remove the nail bed, the doctors found that something was wrong and opted for a biopsy."

Six weeks later, the patient was sent to a specialist in Sydney because the doctors could not clearly tell if the biopsy was cancerous or not.

There it could be determined that in the young woman a rare form of skin cancer, a so-called akrolentiginöses melanoma, had developed.

"They did more tests, and when those results came back, I was told that it was a malignant melanoma that was very rare, especially for someone my age and height," said the 20-year-old.

Finger had to be amputated

Although no cancer cells were found after the next operation to remove the nail bed of the thumb, only a few days later she learned that the specialists in Sydney recommended amputation for their form of melanoma.

In another procedure in which other malignant cells were removed, a surgeon confirmed the need for amputation.

"I also had two lymph nodes taken out to test whether the cancer had spread or not," said Courtney Whithorn. But that was obviously not the case.

A few days ago, her thumb was amputated. Now the student is waiting for the results of new tissue samples. Even if it is classified as "cancer-free," it must be monitored for another five years to prevent the disease from returning.

"There is not enough research to say what the survival rate is or how likely it is that it will come back because - we just do not know much about it," the patient says.

Patient warns about consequences of bullying

Courtney Whithorn now turns to the public to save other people from similar experiences.

"I want to share my story with people who are being bullied and people who are bullying," said Courtney Whithorn, who said her nails biting was getting worse and worse when she was bullied at school.

"I hope it would make them stop what they're doing or give someone the courage to speak up and get help or tell their parents what happened at school," the young woman said.

"I only wish I had been as confident and open as I am now." (Ad)