Paronychia

[Ricky Newman]

I've always had a lot of difficulty finding comfortable fingerpicks. After a bad injury to my right index finger a couple of years ago (I can't lift a beer keg and move it carefully anymore, but I can sure swing them around), the nail came back all wonky and I finally sought medical attention. The doctor took one look at my hands and diagnosed me with chronic paronychia. Apparently, it's common condition among us cooks/bartenders. Simple treatment has me back behind a steel guitar with a lot of confidence that there won't be other long layoffs in the future. The world will not miss my piano stylings.*

I was wondering if anyone else has received this diagnosis and managed it. It's possible that metal picks could do enough cuticle damage to actually create it, although this wasn't the case for me.

Mostly, I just wanted to put the name of the condition out there in case anyone else thought they just had bad fingers for steel guitar. It really gets better fast if you know how to treat it.

Hope everyone is staying safe and getting by!

*Come to think of it, no one is clamouring for my Kohala March either.

[Rich Upright]

I had one a long time ago on my thumb, before I played steel. It was green & pretty gross.