Cherie Newman faced having to have her thumb amputated after she contracted sepsis. Photo / Caters News
Cherie Newman faced having to have her thumb amputated after she contracted sepsis. Photo / Caters News
WARNING: Graphic images
A mother-of-four was struck down with deadly sepsis and has had part of her thumb removed after ripping off an acrylic nail.
Cherie Newman from Ashford in Kent treated herself to a set of acrylics in July but when she tried to remove them herself, she accidentally tore her own nail.
Some four weeks later the 33-year-old was taken to hospital in agony and faced having her thumb amputated after contracting a potentially fatal blood infection.
Ms Newman said she had been too busy caring for her children aged from six months old to 12 to worry that her cut wasn't healing.
The 33-year-old was taken to hospital in agony and faced having her thumb amputated after contracting a potentially fatal blood infection. Photo / Caters News
But when she visited doctors for an unrelated illness in August she was urged to seek urgent hospital treatment as the tip of her thumb had turned purple.
She was taken into surgery and had the top of her thumb removed, and is now sharing her story to warn others of the perils of removing acrylic nails at home.
She said: "I didn't think anything of the cut because it was so small, so I left it alone and completely forgot about it.
"However in August it started to ooze with puss, so I decided to bring it up in a GP appointment that I had booked for the end of the week.
"Still thinking nothing of it, I was shocked when on the day of my appointment my thumb had changed colour and began tracking up my arm.
When she visited doctors for an unrelated illness in August Cherie was urged to seek urgent hospital treatment as the tip of her thumb had turned purple. Photo / Caters News
"It was obvious that it was infected, but I didn't think that the doctor would send me straight to hospital to get rid of the infection.
"But as soon as I got there I started to feel horribly ill - I had shivers, nausea, dizziness and I was constantly close to passing out.
"When the sepsis kicked in my thumb turned purple, but after the operations it was red raw and had to be dressed in bandages to heal.
"Because the top of my thumb was removed, I now have no feeling in it and I'm prone to infection.
"But despite going through the pain of the operations, I'm thankful that I still have my thumb as it could be a completely different story if I'd left it any longer."
Cherie's thumb had to be sliced open to be cleaned. Photo / Caters News
Ms Newman spent six days in hospital being treated for septicaemia - which led to sepsis - and had two operations to clear the infection.
She added: "I was awake for the first operation that I had, but I couldn't look at it.
"I had to have my thumb sliced open to properly wash out the infection.
