10 things your nails reveals about your health
Nails are an extension of our body, and can tell us a lot about our general state of health and wellbeing.
Even the rate of growth can be an indicator that all is not well – 3.5mm a month is a healthy amount of nail growth, less than this can indicate poor nutrition, an underlying physical disease or can simply be due to advancing age.
So take a peek at your hands every now and then, and visit your GP if you notice any substantial changes in your nails shape, colour or texture. Here are 10 of the more common changes you might notice, and what they might mean.
1. Yellow nails
If you are a smoker, yellow nails can be "normal". However, for others, yellowing of the nails can signify a fungal infection. Other symptoms of a fungal nail infection, known as onchomycosis, can include thickening, irregularity or crumbling of the nails. These infections can be difficult to treat, and often will require quite prolonged courses of oral anti-fungal tablets.
2. Pale nails
Very pale nails can indicate a serious underlying medical condition such as anaemia, congestive heart disease or malnutrition. If your nails are pale, but with a darker pink or red rim at the top, this can be a sign of liver disease.
3. Dry and cracked
This may be simply due to lifestyle or "environmental" factors, such as over-washing of your hands, frequent exposure to chemicals such as detergents, nail polish remover, or chlorine. However, it may also indicate nutritional deficiencies including low levels of vitamin A and C, or thyroid disease.
4. Ridges
It is important to differentiate what type of ridge you have on your nail: vertical ridges are far more likely to be a normal part of the ageing process, whereas horizontal ridges can indicate trauma, a serious illness with fever, psoriasis, poorly controlled diabetes or zinc deficiency.
5. “Clubbing”
Clubbing of the fingers leads to very curved nails, and rounded, bulbous fingertips. Although it can be a normal variant, and can run in families quite harmlessly, it can also be a sign of low blood oxygen levels. This is most commonly associated with chronic lung disease, inflammatory bowel disease, cirrhosis in the liver or polycythaemia (a blood condition).
6. Spooning
If your nails start to curve up at the edges, and have the appearance of a spoon, the medical term for this is koilonychia. This can signify iron deficiency, haemochromatosis (iron overload), Raynaud's disease or lupus erythematosus (an autoimmune condition).
7. Pitting
The most common reason for having lots of "pits" or dents in your nails is psoriasis. However rarer things can cause this too, including autoimmune conditions such as alopecia areata.
8. Bitten
Nail biting is common especially in childhood and adolescence. Sometimes it is nothing more than a bad habit, but in others it can signify underlying anxiety and stress. Breaking this habit is a great idea as chronic biting increases your chances of infection and damage to the nail bed.
9. Streaky nails
If you can see little red or brown streaks running underneath your nails, it may be nothing to worry about. However, if they are new, or you have lots of them, they could be a sign of damage to the small blood vessels. This can result from a variety of medical conditions including lupus, psoriasis or endocarditis (an infection of the heart valves).
If the streak or patch is very dark or black, get this looked at urgently – sometimes this can be the first indicator of potentially fatal malignant melanoma.
10. Puffy
If you develop red, puffy, tender skin around the base of the nail, the chances are you have "paronychia", or inflammation of the nailbed. This is usually due to either infection, trauma (including nail biting) or an underlying skin condition such as eczema. If not treated, it can become quite persistent and difficult to cure.
Written by Cathy Stephenson. First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.
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