A suffering mum whose finger and toenails have all rotted away said she is at "rock bottom" due to the undiagnosed condition.
Andrea Calland claims she first went to the doctors when the corner of one of her toe nails began to lift.
The mum-of-one said a nail clipping was taken by her local GP and sent away for testing - however the results twice came back negative.
Doctors prescribed Andrea with cream and she was sent to see a dermatologist where a biopsy was also taken from under her nail, which came back inconclusive.
However while awaiting a formal diagnosis Andrea's nails continued to deteriorate.
And, to her horror, she had to watch as all of her finger and toenails flaked and rotted away, one by one.
The 53-year-old, who claims she is yet to be formally diagnosed, said: "It is embarrassing.
"Imagine someone looking down and seeing toenails and fingernails like mine?
"People say 'oh do you bite your nails' or 'what is wrong with your nails?'
"It is just awful.
"I can't wear sandals and don't even like going out anymore.
"No woman would want to have nails like this, it is just horrible."
Andrea said before losing her nails she was already battling an eye condition, which has "completely knocked her confidence".
The mum claims in 2013 she suffered an allergic reaction to prescription eye drops, which has caused her to have constantly swollen eyes and hooded lids.
And she has since been diagnosed with Blepharitis, a condition which causes red, swollen and itchy eyelids, after what she claims was a long battle through the health system for answers.
She added: "I have literally gone from a butterfly to a moth - from hero to zero.
"I used to always be out, I would be at a social gathering every week with friends and in town.
"People used to say 'do you ever stay in?'
"But I don't do anything now, I don't go out at all.
"I just want my life back."
Andrea, from Wavertree, claims she has been passed from "pillar to post" in the health system and given no formal diagnosis for why she lost all her nails.
She said she has taken to treating them herself with a fungal nail treatment but says she has missed out on job opportunities and her relationship has broken down.
Andrea added: "I used to always look after myself.
"I was quite vain really about looks and would have Botox done.
"I did an NVQ in beauty and got a job in a beauty college but I was unable to take it because of all this.
"I had a fiancé but I just think I became too much of a misery and the relationship broke down.
"My nails are better than they were but they are still manky.
"I have to go through such an arduous and delicate process everyday to try and cut away all the skin, because layers and layers of skin just grows back.
"They then rot off, bleed, heal and then regrow.
"I've been through hell and just feel stuck mourning ' the old me'.
"I just don't know what else to do, or where else to turn."
