Did you know your nails can reveal clues to your overall health? A touch of white here, a rosy tinge there, or some rippling or bumps may be a sign of disease in the body. Problems in the liver, lungs, and heart can show up in your nails.
"Stress makes it harder for our bodies to absorb the nutrients, so nail ridging, pitting, and shredding are all side effects that weaken the nail." It's also more than likely that you've reverted to nervous tics like biting or rubbing your nails, which Badouri says "causes more damage to the nail bed".
A white nail could signal cirrhosis, chronic renal failure or congestive heart failure. Lunula that have a blueish tint could suggest Wilson's disease, a rare inherited genetic disorder in which copper accumulates in the liver, brain and other organs. Red lunula may indicate heart failure, research shows.
Terry's nails is a type of nail discoloration. The nailbeds look “washed out,” except for a thin reddish-brown strip near the tip. Often, Terry's nails is a symptom of a chronic condition, such as liver failure or diabetes. Sometimes, it is a sign of aging.
Pale nails can mean anemia or congestive heart failure. It is also common among those suffering from malnutrition.
Nail changes.
People who have advanced kidney disease can develop: A white color on the upper part of one or more nails and a normal to reddish brown color below, as shown here (half-and-half nails) Pale nails. White bands running across one or more nails (Muehrcke's nails)
One surprising indicator of potential cognitive decline is the condition of our fingernails. Recent studies have shown a link between certain nail abnormalities and the onset of dementia.
Did you know your nails can reveal clues to your overall health? A touch of white here, a rosy tinge there, or some rippling or bumps may be a sign of disease in the body. Problems in the liver, lungs, and heart can show up in your nails.
Koilonychia is an abnormal shape of the fingernail. The nail has raised ridges and is thin and curved inward. This disorder is associated with iron deficiency anemia.
Mental and emotional stress can affect nail health and growth. Severe emotional stress, such as a divorce, death in the family or job loss, can cause Beau's lines. Anxiety disorders are another possible cause.
Effects of Stress on Nails
Nails require protein, silica, magnesium, zinc, iron, biotin, and other vitamins and minerals to grow strong and healthy. Because stress makes it difficult for your body to absorb the nutrients it needs, nail pitting, shredding and ridging frequently flare under stress.
This article therefore helps clinicians to find the right treatment of the 5 most common nail disorders (brittle nails, onycholysis, paronychia, psoriasis, and onychomycosis) and provides practical tips that might improve patients' compliance.
Not being able to see a half-moon, or lunula, on the nails may be a sign of a vitamin deficiency, vitiligo, kidney failure, or another health condition, some of which can be serious. Nails grow from a pocket under the skin that doctors call the matrix. The matrix helps make new cells.
In some people with diabetes, the nails take on a yellowish hue and become brittle. This is often associated with the breakdown of sugar and its effect on the collagen in nails. In certain cases, this yellowing of nails can be a sign of a nail infection.
Nail color changes.
Nail plate discoloration can result from several nutritional deficiencies. Research has shown vitamin B12 deficiency to cause brown-gray nail discoloration. White nails can be the result of anemia and pink or red nails may suggest malnutrition with several nutrient and vitamin deficiencies.
If your nails are peeling, brittle, or have vertical ridges, you may be vitamin D deficient. Dubbed “the sunshine vitamin,” one of the best sources is sunlight. It can also be found in fatty fish, beef, liver, egg yolk, and fortified dairy, orange juice, and cereals.
The nails change with aging, growing more slowly, and becoming dull and brittle. The color may change from translucent to yellowed and opaque. Nails, especially toenails, may become hard and thick and ingrown toenails may be more common. The tips of the fingernails may fragment.
When your body lacks calcium, your nails become thinner, weaker, and brittle. You may notice that they break easily and just don't look as healthy as they used to. Although nails and bones are made up of different substances, they're similar enough that poor nail health may be an early marker of bone density problems.
Warning signs and symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, chronic coughing or wheezing, swelling, fatigue, loss of appetite, and others. Heart failure means the heart has failed to pump the way it should in order to circulate oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.
The tips of the fingers enlarge and the nails become extremely curved from front to back. Clubbed fingers is a symptom of disease, often of the heart or lungs which cause chronically low blood levels of oxygen.