Today I'll tell you how to get instant relief from the excruciating pain caused by a buildup of blood under your nail from an injury. And stay tuned until the end of this episode for the question of the day; if you answer it correctly, you'll have a chance to win a free skincare product! Hello I'm Dr. Neal Schultz. And welcome to DermTV. When you get your finger caught in a door, drawer or any place where the injury causes bleeding under the nail, the pain from the blood under the nail borders on torturous. It builds rapidly and it's unrelenting for a few daysโ€ฆ unless the blood is removed. The reason it's so painful is that as the broken blood vessel leaks more and more blood, the volume of that little bubble of blood presses against the plate of the nail above and the bed of the finger below. Since the nail is rigid and doesn't get pushed up, that expanding bubble instead very painfully compresses the skin of the nail bed below. The nail bed has lots and lots of pain nerves that send a violent message of pain, pain, and more pain, to your brain as they are stretched by the pressure of the sheer volume of the expanding blood bubble. A quick visit to your dermatologist or t he hospital emergency room gives unbelievably but joyfully instant relief when the doctor painlessly makes a tiny hole in the nail plate above the blood to allow it to flow out, releasing the pressure and stopping the pain immediately. On the other hand, if you don't visit your dermatologist and can bear the pain, in a few days it will subside on its own. Want to see how I do it in my office? This is the dremel tool that I use in my office. Not very pretty but it sure works great. I use a sterile drill bit and painlessly drill a hole in the nail... ...to allow the blood to flow out, relieving the pressure on the nerves and stopping the pain instantly. The reason it's painless is because as I feel the drill popping through the nail plate, which doesn't have any nerves in it, into the bubble of blood, I stop the drill before it touches the sensitive nail bed below. There's even a DIY technique to stop the pain, but it's not for the faint of heart. You take the end of a paper clip and heat it red hot in a candle... ...Then slowly push the red hot paper clip tip through the nail plate which quickly and painlessly melts from the heat of the clip... ...And voila! It accomplishes the same pain relief as the drillโ€ฆ as long as you don't push the hot tip into the sensitive nail bed below. But on second thought, maybe you should just let the doc do this one! Now for today's skincare trivia! Answer today's question correctly and you'll be entered in a drawing to win a free skincare product! Submit your answer at DermTV Dot Com Slash Trivia, within three days of this episode's airing. Today's question i 33What viral infection is easily spread by nail biting? Don't forget. You can find the answer to all questions in past DermTV episodes.