Maybe you never thought that your nails have direct correlation with your health. Your fingernails can alert you about a presence of any disease or warn you about your state of health.
Take a closer look at your nails, examine each one very carefully.
Analyze the curves, wrinkles, dips and ridges. See if they are incomplete or cracked, how thick and thin they are. Notice the skin under the nail and around the nail, and its color.
Remind yourself if your nails ever looked this way. You should take seriously every change on your nails, because this could be warning for some disease. Take a look at the list of 8 potential health warnings, and compare it with the current state of your nails.
Discolored nails
If you have healthy fingernails, they will have pink color with a touch of pinkish white moons at the base. Otherwise, if they have matt color or are streaked with other colors, you may have some serious hidden health issue.
- Green nails can be linked with bacterial infection
- Red streaks in the nail bed can be linked with heart valve infection
- Matt nails can be a sign of a vitamin weakness
- Bluish nails can indicate low oxygen levels in your blood
- White nails can be a sign of liver disease, like hepatitis
- Dark stripes at the top can be linked with aging and congestive heart failure
Give your nails a good scrub and take a good look at them. You should see what they got to show you about the possible health issues.
Thick Nails
Maybe you want your nails to be strong, but thick nails are not natural. If they look like paws or claws you should know this:
- Thicken nails can be related with lung disease
- Thick nails with bumpy texture can be related with fungal infection
- Thick and divided nails can signal thyroid disease and psoriasis
- Thickness can be sign of a circulation problems
Thickening nails can implicate other health symptoms, such as allergic reactions to some medications.
Split Nails
These nails seem to flake away in layers. Don’t blame numerous washes or nail polishing. You should know that:
- Split nails can be related with vitamin C, folic acid and protein weakness
- Combined with pitted nails, split nails can be related with psoriasis, which according to WebMD begins in nails in 10% of the cases
- Split nails can signal chronic malnutrition
Concave (Spoon) Nails
This type of nails can be a warning for many internal problems. When in this state, nails are soft and curved up, forming a dip large enough to hold water. You should know that:
- Can be caused by lack of iron
- Can be linked with hemochromatosis (liver disarray caused from too much iron)
- Can be sign of heart disease
- Can be sign for hypothyroidism
When the issues are gone, the nails will return in their normal shape.
Pitted Nails
Small gouges and dips can be caused by banging up your hands. They can also alert you to look closely at your health state. They can be related to psoriasis, connective tissue disarray, alopecia areata which is autoimmune disarray that results with hair loss and lack of zinc. Look at your nails more carefully; divide the natural holes from the real, lasting pits. The natural ones will be cleared quickly, but the pits can be linked with some disease.
Ridges
If your nails are smooth with latent lines, they are healthy. But if you have noticeable ridge lines, this can be a sign of some health issues. Heavy ridge lines can be related with: lack of iron, inflammatory arthritis and lupus (for red lines at the base of the nails).
Dry and Brittle Nails
You will not need lotion and cuticle oil for this problem. You should know that dry and brittle nails are related with hormone levels and bacterial health.
- Dry and brittle fingernails are caused by thyroid disease
- Fungus makes nails dry and breakable. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, 12% of the Americans are affected.
You will not notice difference in the look of your nails for a full growth cycle, because thyroid and fungal problems require time to treat.
Clubbed Nails
You will know if you have clubbed nails, if your skin around them that is swollen, oval or bloated. They are related with:
- Lung disease, particularly if you have breathing issues
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- AIDS
- Liver disease
Your fingernails will surely not be the only warning for these diseases. You should never ignore the signs your fingernails are sending. Fingernails and diseases are linked very closely, so you should examine your nails often.
Please Share With Friends !!
