This is the strange marking on my big toe, that was the only sign that I had a murderous ‘invisible’ situation

They cut our hair, polish our nails and facilitate our tired muscles – but beauty muscles, manicurists, hairdressers and hairdressers can do much more than that.

In fact, many have now been trained to save our lives.

The charity Skcin has, for example, offered training to hair and beauty professionals to help them see possible signs of skin cancer among their customers.

Louise Whymark, 35, and Essex, a customer service assistant from Harwich, sent a photo of her toe to her nail technician, after he had seen a strange brown marking.

She said: ‘When I saw the strange brown mark that suddenly appeared on my left big toe in January 2022, I thought it didn’t look good – but I didn’t think it was bad enough to see the doctor.

‘Instead, I took a picture of the nail and sent it to my nail technician. I’ve been going to her for years for ordinary manicures and pedicures.

Louise’s brown toenagel was a sign that her kidneys were not functioning properly

“She said it looked like an infection, but added that she was taught that brands could be signs of more serious things and that I should go to a doctor.

“If she didn’t say that, I would have ignored it.”

Louise saw her ‘concerned’ doctor, who performed a blood test to check her liver and kidney function.

A few days later the operation went and asked Louise to come in more blood tests and referred her for an ultrasound of her kidneys.

She said: ‘I thought it was a lot of fuss about nothing, but to my surprise the scan revealed that my kidneys only worked 25 percent of their capacity.

“I was absolutely stunned. I had no other signs than this brand on my toenail.

‘I had to be admitted to the hospital and when they also discovered that my blood pressure was so high (213/100) that I threatened to have a stroke.

“I was held in the hospital for a week, while they tried to get blood pressure low enough to be safe for me to have a kidney biopsy.”

A week later, Louise received a phone call from the consultant who told her that she had a kidney disorder called Iga Nephropathy – a disease that causes kidney inflammation that can disturb the ability of the kidneys to filter waste from the blood over time.

She was warned that her kidney was so badly damaged that she needed a transplant and would be placed on the waiting list of the kidney donor.

She added: ‘I was in shock – I was urinating well and never had pain – apart from that sign on my toe.

‘I now have dialysis in the hospital three times a week for four hours a week, pending a transplant.

‘I usually feel good with dialysis, although I can become breathless.

‘If it wasn’t seen when it was, I would be in a much worse state. I am so grateful to my nail technician. I believe she saved my life. ‘

Professor Simon Davies, a consultant -Nefrologist at the University Hospital of North Midlands and Trustee at Kidney Research UK, says that chronic kidney disease is often ‘quiet’, without clear symptoms.

He said: ‘This is why signs that something is wrong should lead to rapid checks – and an inexplicable nail infection in an apparently healthy person can be one of those signs.

‘When kidney disease occurs, the body has difficulty removing waste products such as urea, nitrogen and creatinine and as a result these substances build up in the body tissues – including the nails – so there may be changes in the texture, shape or natural color of fingernails and toenails.

‘When nails become unhealthy and brittle, they are also more susceptible to infections, so it is important to visit your doctor if you (or indeed your nail technician) notice these changes.

‘Screening for kidney disease is simple. Checking blood pressure (which is often high in people with kidney disease), a quick urine test to look for proteins in the urine and a blood test called EGFR would quickly pick up a kidney problem.

“The great thing is that there are now different medicines that can delay the progression of kidney disease, which prevents the need for a transplantation or kidney dialysis if it is caught early enough.”