Man Chews His Fingernails And Ends Up Almost Dying Of Sepsis

Aug 08, 2018

While fingernail chewing isn’t the most attractive look, it’s actually quite a dangerous habit, too. If you or someone you know chews on their fingernails, 28-year-old Luke Hanoman‘s story might make you decide to take out your nerves and habits elsewhere than your fingernails. Over in the UK, Luke certainly has decided to nix the fingernail habit after almost dying from sepsis.

According to Luke, he had been biting at his fingernails when he accidentally broke the skin around the side of a fingernail. It wasn’t long before he says he stared feeling nauseated, experienced cold sweats, had swelling and pain around the area, was unable to focus, and suffered general flu-like symptoms. He didn’t suspect anything serious and went on with his daily routine as best as possible.

Luke’s mom became worried when Luke slept until 2 p.m. and woke up very sick. She called the paramedics, and Luke was transported to the ER for evaluation. ER doctors noted that Luke had a very high temperature and noticed red lines running over his body, which are both signs of a serious infection spreading rapidly through the body. Doctors took immediate action.

The doctors admitted Luke to the hospital and began antibiotic therapy to treat the infection. Several days and antibiotics later, Luke was lucky enough to make a full recovery from the infection and overcome the sepsis.

Sepsis is basically blood poisoning that occurs when an infection is free to run rampant without intervention. Once sepsis sets in, killing the source of the infection with antibiotics doesn’t moot the cycle of sepsis-related inflammation, tissue damage, and organ damage done and continuing within the body. According to the Sepsis Alliance, around 250,000 Americans alone die from sepsis each year.

You probably already know that proper hand washing is the best defense against germs, but did you know that even the best routine and hand washing adherence doesn’t rid the subungual region under the fingernail of the hundreds of thousands of types of bacteria living there?

When the skin around the nail is cracked or injured during fingernail chewing, all that bacteria now has an entry point into the bloodstream. Plus, your ingesting a lot of this bacteria as you place your finger and/or fingernail in your mouth.

Did Luke’s story and the facts about germ-ridden fingernails give you pause in your fingernail chewing habits? Have you experienced infection, sepsis, or another health ailment linked to fingernail chewing? We’d love to hear your thoughts and stories in the comment section.