Medical Questions » Nails Questions » Question No. 712
| Question: | I have had a greyish blister just behind my fingernail for six months. When I nicked it, I got out a clear jelly substance. It is now sore, and X-rays and blood tests for gout are negative. What could it be? |
| Answer: | Without seeing your finger, it is obviously difficult to make a definitive diagnosis, but you may have a mucous cyst of the nail bed. These cysts cause a lengthwise ridge in the nail, and often contain a grey coloured jelly. They are quite harmless, but may be disfiguring.
If your general practitioner is unable to help you, you should ask him/her for a referral to an orthopaedic specialist so that the condition can be appropriately diagnosed and treated.
If your problem is a mucous cyst, it can be cured by an opetation under local anaesthetic, in which the cyst is scraped out, and the skin and nail bed allowed to heal slowly across the defect.
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