What causes darkening of nail beds, purplish fingers, and open cuts that won't heal?

Have been to 3 different doctors and cannot get a clear diagnosis. Nail beds are darkening, and fingers turning a purplish color. Hands are cutting open at the finger tips and have not healed in more than 2 months. Have used neosporin and vaseline to remedy. Nothing is working.What causes darkening of nail beds, purplish fingers, and open cuts that won't heal?
Are you a smoker? Do you take birth control pills? Do your toes look the same? Are you a diabetic? Do you have other symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest discomfort? Are your fingers cold? Do they turn white when you go out into the cold? Do you live in a cold climate? You might try something like bag balm on your fingers during the day. Put vaseline on the fingertips during the night, and sleep with some thin cotton gloves to keep the moisture in. It's not good to use neosporin on open wounds because you may absorb too much into your system and cause allergies or a resistance issue.





My first inclination is poor circulation, because of the duskiness which could indicate a lack of healthy, oxygenated blood to the extremity. That would also cause unhealing wounds. The poor circulation could be caused by a faulty heart valve or some sort of occlusion of the arteries. You could also have bacterial endocarditis, which is a medical emergency.





You could also have Raynaud's syndrome. That can be a syndrome in itself, but it can also be a part of Lupus, Rheumatoid arthritis, Scleroderma, hyperthyriodism. http://www.medic8.com/healthguide/articl鈥?/a>


http://www.medicinenet.com/raynauds_phen鈥?/a>





Go back to your doctor and ask them to run a ANA and ESR, if they haven't already. You need to be followed up because the compromised circulation is causing sores, which can easily become infected. You can't just let this go without a diagnosis and plan for treatment. Good luck!!What causes darkening of nail beds, purplish fingers, and open cuts that won't heal?
Your comment made my day. I hope she will continue being monitored by a doctor that she trusts and who is thorough. Also make sure she is eating a diet with enough protein, Vit C and drinking water, to help the healing of her fingers. Good luck!

Report Abuse

You need to be seen at a hospital, rather than by a local physician.


Darkening nail beds usually indicate poor circulation and poor oxygenation of the tissue. Heart problems, as well as early onset diabetes can do this.


The splitting indicates that insufficient oxygen is present to nourish and repair tissue and it is breaking down.


Hospitals have a wider variety of medical personnel skilled in specialized areas of medicine and should be able to find someone to initiate the proper tests to get you on the road back to good health. DO NOT LEAVE THIS ANY LONGER!
Darkening of nails is due to insufficient intake of vitamin B12.


Lack of vitamin A and calcium causes dryness and brittleness.


Vaseline is not going to help, you need help from the inside, have your family doctor do some blood work to find out what vitamine you need. Good luck, those cuts on the tips of the fingers really hurt.
If none of those doctors were one, see a dermatologist. You may also want to get your blood sugar checked as diabetes can also result in difficulty healing. You can put crazy glue on the splits (seriously, it works) in the meantime.
You need to see a Wound Care specialist or clinic for those wounds that won't heal. Sounds like you have a circulation problem on top of it. Seek out a specialist immediately.
maybe a circulation problem? keep your hands in gloves with the neosporin on at night. %26amp; there's a product called ';crack cream'; (no i'm not kidding) that has helped me when my hands/feet get really chapped. good luck
looks like the white blood cells are not doing there job. I mean if a doctor was not able to help I don't know how i can.





try going to an other doctor and see what she/he thinks





good luck
You are definitely not going to the right doctor.





You should get blood work done. Your platelets may be low that is why your cuts are not healing. Your white blood cells help heal your skin when you get a cut. The reason it's not healing is probably because you have low platelets.





Blue nails





Nails with a bluish tinge to their colouring around the lunula. The causes of this if due to lack of oxygen in the blood stream, usually resulting from poor circulation or heart disease.





Bruising





This is a condition whereby a clot of blood forms under the nail plate. The clot is usually caused by injury to the nail bed. In some cases the nail will fall off during the healing process.