Your fingernails can reveal a lot more than just your grooming habits; they can be indicators of your overall health. Conditions such as yellowing, brittle texture, white patches, or dark streaks could be harmless, but they might point to deeper health issues like respiratory illness, thyroid dysfunction, skin conditions, or even cancer.
Having healthy nails is not only about aesthetics. It's a potential window into your body's internal well-being.
Let's take a look at 10 must-know health warnings your fingernails might be communicating to you.
1. White Nails : If your nails are predominantly white with a skinny pink rim at the tip, it can be an indicator of a condition called leukonychia. Although it can be caused by trivial injury, other causative factors can be anaemia, vitamin and mineral deficiency, liver disease, heart disease, or even poisoning.
2. Pitting of the Nails : Nail pitting is a small pit or dent on the nail bed. It is commonly found with skin disorders such as eczema or psoriasis. In some cases, it can be a feature of alopecia areata, an autoimmune failure causing patchy hair loss.
3. Clubbing of Fingernails : Clubbing is a state where the fingers get swollen, and the nails wrap around the fingertips. It usually appears gradually over a long period of time and can accompany:
4. Spoon-Shaped Nails : Also known as koilonychia, it is a condition in which the nail is curved upwards along the edges and is soft. This is most commonly a sign of iron deficiency anaemia.
5. Terry's Nails : If you have most of your nail bed light but a darker or reddish band closer to the tip, you might have Terry's nails. While this could be age-related, it may also point to severe conditions such as heart failure, liver issues, or diabetes.
6. Beau's Lines : Beau's lines are horizontal grooves or ridges on the nails. They occur when nail growth is interrupted by:
7. Yellow Nail Syndrome
This condition results in slow-growing, thickened nails that appear yellow. There is no cuticle, and the nail detaches from the nail bed. Yellow nail syndrome is classically linked to respiratory diseases like chronic bronchitis or lymphoedema swelling.
8. Melanoma Under the Nail
Melanoma is a serious type of skin cancer that occasionally occurs beneath the nails. If you see a dark, irregular patch or streak underneath a fingernail or toenail, have your doctor take a look right away. This condition should never be ignored.
9. Splinter haemorrhages
These are thin, red-brown lines under the nails that look like splinters. They can be due to physical trauma, but they may also mean life-threatening conditions like bacterial endocarditis (heart lining infection) or vasculitis (blood vessel inflammation occurring in autoimmune diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis).
10. Fungal Nail Infections
Fungal infection may thicken your nails and make them pigmented, crumbly, and brittle. A dermatologist will prescribe antifungal medication. Maintaining proper nail hygiene and filing the nails regularly can help control the infection.
For healthier and better-looking nails, follow these steps:
To avoid harming your nails:
Your fingernails do more than complete your look-they can signal deeper health issues that should not be disregarded. Paying attention to abnormal nail changes and receiving early medical guidance can help detect conditions at an early stage.