Toenails and disease don’t go together in most minds…but they should be. Your nails can give you valuable health warnings and indicate the presence of a serious illness.
Take a close look at your nails. Hold your hand so that your nose is about a foot from your face and examine each one.
Look at curves, dips, hills, and valleys. Check how thick or thin your nails are and whether your nails are chipped or broken. Make a note of the color of the nail itself, the skin underneath, and the skin around the nail.
Check your memory – do your nails always look like this? Changes to your nails are associated with the onset of the disease, so note any new developments. With this new view, compare what you see with this list of eight potential nail health warnings.
- Deformed nails
A healthy nail should be pink with a touch of pinkish white (moons) near the base. If your nails are dull or striped in other colors, you may have a serious hidden health problem.
Green nails are a sign of a bacterial infection
Red streaks on the nail bed are a warning of a heart valve infection
Blue nails indicate low levels of oxygen in the blood
Dull nails mean a lack of vitamins
White nails may indicate liver disease such as hepatitis
Dark lines at the top (Terry’s nails) are associated with aging and congestive heart failure
Scrub those nails clean and really look at the color of your nails! Given a “rainbow” of potential health challenges, you want to make sure you see what your fingers are saying.
- Thick screws
Thick nails are not normal. You want your nails to be strong, but if they look more like claws or claws than your traditional nails, watch out!
Thick nails that are normal can indicate lung disease
Thick, rough nails can indicate a fungal infection
Thick, separated nails may mean thyroid disease or psoriasis
Unusual thickening may also be a symptom of a circulation problem
Nail thickness is a change that should set you up against other health symptoms that you may be ignoring. Also watch out for allergic reactions to new medications that can suddenly appear as thickened nails!
- split nails
Nails are not clipped or closed once in a while. Instead, these nails seem to peel off in layers. Don’t blame frequent hand washing or nail polish for everything, especially since:
Nails splitting due to lack of folic acid, vitamin C and protein deficiency
Split nails along with a nail bed (the base) can indicate psoriasis, which begins in the nails 10% of the time according to WebMD
Cracked nails may result from chronic malnutrition
Watch what you eat and check how relevant your psoriasis is to responding and paying more attention to your health in general.
4- Concave nails (spoon)
Spoon nails indicate a number of internal problems. To be full spoons, nails will be smooth and curved upwards, forming a dip that is often large enough to hold water. spoon screws:
Iron deficiency (usually due to anemia)
Hemophilia, a liver disorder in which your body absorbs too much iron
heart disease
Hypothyroidism
Your nails and health challenges go hand in hand – for many people, cleaning their health issue gets their nails back to normal.
- Drilled screws
Gaps or small holes in your nails could be the result of tapping your hands — or they could be a sign that you need to look more closely at your health. Nail pitting can refer to:
-psoriasis
connective tissue disorder
Alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss
Zinc deficiency (when the pit appears to form a line across the middle of the nail)
Watch your hand to separate natural dents and dings from real standing pits. The first will quickly disappear, but the pits associated with the disease remain.
- Rims
Nails should have smooth surfaces with almost imperceptible lines. Clear ridge lines indicate that there is something in your body. Some of the more common conditions associated with heavy ridge lines are:
-Iron deficiency
- Arthritis
Lupus (for the red lines at the base of your nails)
Don’t just remove the bumps – listen to their warning!
- Dry and brittle nails
You do not need lotion or oil for the skin. If your nails are dry and brittle, you should check your hormone levels and bacteria health.
Thyroid diseases lead to brittle, dry nails that crack and crack easily
The fungus can make nails dry or even crunchy, affecting 12% of all Americans according to the American Academy of Dermatology.
Both thyroid and fungal problems take a long time to treat, so you won’t see a difference in the appearance of your nails for a full growth cycle.
- Curvy nails
If your skin is plump and appears to swell around the nail, or if your nails appear to be swollen around your fingers, it is said to be ‘enlarged’. Curvy nails can mean:
Lung disease, especially if you already have trouble breathing
- Inflammatory bowel disease
-Liver disease - lozenges
Your nails won’t be the only signs of these diseases, but they can provide confirmation or motivation to seek medical attention.
Don’t ignore your hands or the health warnings they send. Toenails and disease are more closely related than you think – check your nails often to protect your health!
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