10 Nail Symptoms And What They Mean For Your Health
10 Common Symptoms Seen on the Nails
Many people are not well informed that the shape, color, and texture of your natural nails can be a real window of your body. The American Academy of Dermatology claimed that nails often reflect our general state of health and any changes in the nail, can signal particular health problems, such as liver and kidney diseases, anemia, heart and lung conditions, and diabetes.
You should even look at the growth rate of your nails that may give indications about your underlying health. For instance, healthy nails grow, on average 3.5 millimeters a month, but there are many factors that can influence specific changes.
Any change in your nails should be reported to a dermatologist, who will diagnose the health condition of your body. You can notice changes in the shape of the nails, discoloration, swellings, or thickening. It might be a sign of something less dangerous, but also it can indicate a serious health issue.
Here you can read about 10 nail symptoms and their meaning:
1. Cracked, Dry or Brittle Nails
The common use of nail polish remover can cause the cracked and split nails. Also this condition might be a result of exposure to chemicals, living in a low humidity area, or often having your hands in water.
Additionally, this condition of the nails can be caused by fungal infections, thyroid disease, vitamin A and C deficiency, or biotin deficiency.
2. White Spots
White spots usually appear in case of trauma and stress, and sometimes they indicate a fungal infection.
3. White Nails with a Strip of Pink
This condition of the nails can be caused by the liver disease, diabetes, a heart failure, or a kidney failure.
4. Yellow Nails
Very common causes of this condition can be aging, using nail polish too often and smoking. In addition, if they are crumbly and thick, you might suffer from a fungal infection, as well as diabetes, thyroid diseases, respiratory diseases or even psoriasis.
5. Pitting
The nails with multiple pits might indicate psoriasis or according to Chen in 80% of the people that are having psoriatic arthritis. Additionally, this might be a sign of alopecia areata and connective tissue disorders.
6. Clubbing
In the situation when the fingertips are enlarging, the nails can grow downwards. This condition can indicate low oxygen supplies in the blood and lungs. It also can be a sign of kidney issues, inflammatory bowel disease, heart diseases, or even AIDS.
7. Vertical Ridges
The vertical ridges are caused by the aging process and occur in the elderly people. In addition, this might be a sign of vitamin B12 or magnesium deficiency.
8. Horizontal Ridges
According to a dermatologist John Anthony M.D., at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, horizontal ridges mostly occur in case of very frequent stressing or constant trauma. Sometimes this symptom can be due to some more serious illness, especially if the symptom is on more nails than one.
The message that this condition sends is that it can reduce the growth of your nails.
Horizontal ridges (Beau’s lines) are usually a result of a circulatory disease, psoriasis, zinc deficiency, or diabetes. Mee’s Lines are another type of horizontal lines. They can indicate arsenic poisoning, carbon monoxide poisoning, leprosy, malaria, or Hodgkin’s disease.
9. Spoon Nails
When nails are curving upwards on the edge, the body is lacking iron or the person is suffering from a hypothyroidism or heart disease.
10. Dark Discolorations
In case of dark discolored nails, visit your doctor and check if the dark streaks on the nails indicate melanoma.
Look at those useful nail care tips:
– Avoid nail polish and artificial nails
– Your diet should be enriched in nutrients and balanced
– Protect the nails from excessive exposure to chemicals
– Keep the nails short and trimmed
– Protect the nails from too much water
– In order to supply the nails with the needed nutrients, rub some organic coconut oil on the nails, and keep them hydrated
Source:
– Mercola
– WebMD