Your nails and your skin have this in common: they both tell tales about your health. Not everyone has the same shape of nails, but certain things all healthy nails have in common. They are smooth, strong, and their color is neither white nor yellow. Many things can contribute to diseased nails, such as injuries to the nail, malnourishment, or a disease somewhere in your body, among other things.
Habits
If you are someone who likes to fiddle with her nails, always clipping or even ripping off hang nails, or compulsively trimming cuticles and even drawing blood, you might want to reconsider. You really risk injuring your nail beds doing this, opening the door to bacteria entering the area. Gradually this can discolor your nail, something that you might even be unaware of if you always wear nail color, for instance. Eventually, if there is a serious bacterial infection, you might actually lose the entire nail.
Illness
You might well know you have an iron deficiency before you find anything amiss with your nails, but just in case you missed other sign of anemia, in nails it manifests itself in raised ridges, with the nail bed curved inward. Liver and kidney disease can also damage nails. If you have nails that, for no apparent reason, appear injured, you should see your doctor. And if you have a lot of acid reflux, together with unusual looking nails, you might want to inform your doctor. A condition called primary amyloidosis can cause GERD, carpel tunnel, malabsorption, kidney failure, and heart muscle damage. The cause is an abnormal production of antibodies in the form of plasma cells which are deposited on organs and smooth muscle tissues, among other places.
Warnings
Severe illnesses can cause extreme nail conditions. Clubbing, for instance, is characterized by thickened flesh under the nail, with the nail curving downward. This can appear in your fingernails or toe nails, and it could be a sign of lung cancer, liver disease, or a gastrointestinal disease. You should inform your doctor immediately if you notice clubbing. Also, if your nails are bifurcated by red lines, it may be a sign of heart disease.
Brittle Nails
With age, things deteriorate, including nails which can start to look somewhat brittle. The brittleness could also be related to something else, like psoriasis, or, more seriously, an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), or overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) which can cause nails to be brittle and even to separate from the nail bed.
Prevention
Taking good care of your nails goes a long way toward making them appear healthy, and you might also be more aware if suddenly something starts to look amiss. It really helps not to always wear nail polish. Get acquainted with your nails' natural look so that you can spot something unusual.
Nail Care
You should always make sure, by the way, that your nails get their share of lotion when you moisturize. Nails are just as starved for moisture as skin is. As far as acrylic nails, they are generally safe unless in these situations: the fake nail separates from the natural nail, creating a space for bacteria and fungi to make a home and cause an infection, the nails are left on for too long, or the nail salon used dirty equipment and introduced bacteria to your nail beds.
Member Comments