Brittle nails with acitretin

[numpty23]

hello I'm on acetretin 25mg my nails r so brittle does anyone else have this prob. thanks Linda

[Fred]

I can't help with Acitretin, but brittle nails are common with psoriasis.

I'll move this thread to Prescribed Treatments For Psoriasis so it will get noticed better.

[JohnB]

hello I'm on acetretin 25mg my nails r so brittle does anyone else have this prob. thanks Linda

Hi Numpty

I'm on the same as you and yes my nails are appalling. They grow really quickly are horribly soft and split if you look at them the wrong way.
The only thing I have been able to do is to keep them hacked back really really short. And I hate short nails. I do use them a lot in my life. I cant even open a ring pull at the moment.
I could do with a nail hardener of some description.

I am really not impressed with this but still happily put up with it for the greater good.

[jiml]

Hi numpty I'm not on acetretin but suffer with brittle nails and like John try to keep them short, my left thumb nail is always split so I keep that very short ...so it may not be the acetretin but just the psoriasis misbehaving

[Kat]

For what it's worth, I used Acitretin and didn't have a problem with brittle nails. My nails have always been fairly strong and fast growing and I didn't notice any difference. As others have said, it could be the psoriasis causing it and not the medicine but it is worth mentioning that "weak nails" can be a side effect of Acitretin.

[Ever-hopeful]

Hi there, I always keep my nails short anyway so can't tell if they're becoming brittle. I have noticed that since starting Acitretin (although still on a low dose) the skin around my nails has become inflamed and swollen. Nails are pitting too but others have said this is probably due to the psoriasis itself.

[Grizzly Bear]

Thinking of brittle nails, isn't there some sort of nail varnish or nail hardener that you girls can buy ?

I wonder if that might work ?

I keep my claws nails short because when i itch, i scratch like a bear dog with fleas & bleed like hell.

[elyl]

I've had the opposite experience.  I had psoriasis in my nails prior to taking Acitretin.  They were a mess, really brittle, or thick and uneven.  Putting my previous steroid cream on the nail bed made no difference, doctor said you can't really treat nail psoriasis topically.  After about 6 months of Acitretin, they were almost back to normal, apart from some slight pitting.

The only thing I can suggest for the brittle nails is to cut them as short as you comfortably can, and keep them short.  When they're longer, even a mm above the finger, they're more likely to have stress put on them.  I used to have my nails bend backwards quite often, which is really painful, and makes you wince.  Keeping them short helps.

[D Foster]

Hi , I had very bad ingrowing toe nails with the dam stuff so much so I had to remove both my big toe nails. I still had problems with all my nails the nine plus years I was on MTX and it was not until I started on Stelara that my nails improved.

[kh924]

My nails are paper thin on Acitretin. They rip and split easily. I have to go to the Salon for an acrylic manicure and pedicure every week. It is not cheap but my nails look presentable. It's a double edged sword - The chemicals in nail polish (acetone) dry your nail beds badly which contributes to the splitting and peeling, yet without hardening polish my nails are junk.