NAILS AND THE SIGNS...!

"Nails Are Only Part of the Puzzle"

Changes in the nails occasionally may signal a significant systemic disease. Most of the time, nail signs are self-limited and tend to resolve on their own. Patience is a necessity in dealing with nails because their turnover is slow. It may take many months for a damaged nail to replace itself entirely.

 Though nail changes accompany many conditions, these changes are rarely the first sign. And many nail abnormalities are harmless -- not everyone with white nails has hepatitis. If you're concerned about the appearance of your nails, see a dermatologist.

 

Bottom line:

Nail discoloration or thickening can signal systemic health problems. Check with your doctor if you spot any changes.Keep reading to learn what secrets your nails might reveal.

"By a man's fingernails...a man's calling is plainly revealed."

Do You Bite Your Nails? It Could Lead to Infection

Nail biting tends to begin in childhood, peak in adolescence, and then slowly (or abruptly), decline with age. Whether you're an adult who can't seem to kick the habit, or a parent of a child or teen who bites his or her nails, here are simple options that are often effective for quitting:

Keep a journal to identify your nail-biting triggers, such as boredom or watching TV, then avoid the triggers as much as possible	Wrap your fingertips with Band-Aids or electrical tape
Keep your nails trimmed short or manicured	Keep your hands busy with other activities, such as knitting

1. Yellow Nails

Your nails are thick and slow growing with fungal infection and  may be associated may yellow with age or due to the use of acrylic nails or nail polish. Smoking can also stain nails a yellowish hue. If your nails are thick, crumbly, and yellow, a fungal infection could be to blame.Less often, yellow nails may be related to thyroid disease, diabetes, psoriasis, lung disease,  respiratory disease (such as chronic bronchitis). 

The so-called "yellow nail syndrome" you may also experience excessively curved nails and see them separate from the nail bed.

2.Dry, Cracked or Brittle Nails

Cracking and splitting can also be caused by a fungal infection or thyroid disease, particularly hypothyroidism. Brittle nails may also be due to a deficiency in vitamins A and C or the B vitamin biotin.Lifestyle factors may play a role here, such as if you have your hands in water a lot (washing dishes, swimming, etc.), use nail polish remover frequently, are exposed to chemicals (such as cleaning products) often, or live in a region with low humidity.This common problem can happen because of an issue with your diet or the chemicals your hands are exposed to.Remember: Nails are made of keratin, a protein. A common myth is that calcium plays a role.

Course of action: Make sure you are eating a well-balanced diet that includes plenty of protein.

Avoid using harsh chemicals on your nails. Even acetone-free polish remover can make your nails brittle if you use it too often and too much.

Brittle nails, onychoschizia and onychorrhexis, are often a condition of the elderly.

3.Clubbing

Clubbing describes when your fingertips become enlarged and the nail becomes curved downward. It can be a sign of low oxygen in your blood and is associated with lung disease. Clubbing can also be related to liver or kidney disease, heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and AIDS.

4.White Spots

Small white spots on your nails are usually the result of nail trauma. They're not cause for concern and will fade or grow out on their own. Less commonly, white spots that do not go away could be due to a fungal infection.Many people think the spots are related to a vitamin deficiency, the condition, called punctate leukonychia, is actually due to some kind of minor trauma when the nail is being formed.

Course of action: Wait — the spots will vanish as the nails grow out. You'll see them for a while because it takes about six months to grow a new fingernail from start to finish.

Try this test: If a portion of your nails appears white, push on it. If the white spot doesn’t fade, you may have what’s called true leuconychia (pictured), a white discoloration usually due to an injury to the nail or an infection. Check with a doc to see if you need treatment for the infection.

 If, however, the spot does fade, it’s more likely to be a sign of a bigger health problem. Different shapes of white spots point to different underlying issues.

If your nails are mostly white with a narrow pink strip at the top, known as Terry's nails, it could be a sign of liver disease, congestive heart failure, kidney failure, or diabetes. Sometimes Terry's nails may also be due to aging.

5.Horizontal Ridges

Horizontal ridges may also be due to trauma or a serious illness with a high fever (such as from scarlet fever or pneumonia). "This is typically the result of direct trauma to the nail or a more serious illness, in which case you'll see it on more than one nail at a time .

Horizontal ridges, also known as Beau's lines, may also be due to psoriasis, uncontrolled diabetes, circulatory disease, or severe zinc deficiency. Another type of horizontal line is known as Mees' lines, which are horizontal discolorations that may be due to arsenic poisoning, Hodgkin's disease, malaria, leprosy, or carbon monoxide poisoning.

That’s a classic sign of a habit tic deformity, where people chronically rub or pick the cuticle of the thumb with their index finger as the nail is being formed. It creates a washboard-like series of horizontal depressions on the thumb nail.

Course of action: People can fix the issue if they simply stop manipulating their thumb cuticles, Rich noted.

6.Vertical Ridges

Vertical ridges are typically a normal sign of aging and are not a cause for concern. They may become more prominent as you get older. In some cases, nail ridges may be de to nutrient deficiencies, including vitamin B12 and magnesium.

Deep horizontal ridges or depressions, known as Beau’s lines, are more alarming. They indicate something caused the nail to stop growing temporarily. Triggers can include high fever, chemotherapy, a serious illness, major surgery, blood transfusion, a car accident or any major stress to your system, Rich noted. You can have a series of parallel Beau’s lines if you experienced multiple episodes of stress.

Course of action: If you can’t link your deep horizontal ridges to a specific episode in your life, ask your doctor what the cause could be.

7.Spoon Nails

Nails that curve upward at the edges, taking on a spoon-like appearance, may be a sign of iron-deficiency anemia, hemochromatosis (excess iron absorption), heart disease, or hypothyroidism.

 

8.Pitting

If your nails have multiple pits or dents, it's often a sign of psoriasis. Nail pitting may also be due to connective tissue disorders (including Reiter's syndrome) or alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss.

Small depressions—almost like a tiny climber took an icepick to your nails—serve as signs of the chronic skin disease psoriasis. This condition also produces silvery or red scaly, itchy patches on your elbows, knees, and other parts of your body.

Treatment may include creams, medicine, and light therapy, and it’s essential—people whose psoriasis shows up in their nails have a greater risk of more serious health consequences, including a painful joint inflammation called psoriatic arthritis, Dr. Adigun says.

 9.Dark Discolorations

Black streaks or painful growths on your nail warrant an immediate trip to your physician, as they may be due to melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

10. Pale Nails

White nails with a rim of darker color at the tip of the nail is called Terry's nail and rarely a sign of a severe liver disease called cirrhosis. Most people with this nail change are otherwise in good health.

Very pale nails can sometimes be a sign of serious illness, such as:

• Anemia

• Congestive heart failure

• Liver disease

• Malnutrition

11. White Nails

Although totally white nails present since birth may be an inherited condition with no implications as to general health, if it occurs later in life.

It may be a sign of several systemic diseases, including cirrhosis, chronic renal failure, congestive heart failure, diabetes mellitus, chronic hypoalbuminemia, and Hodgkin's lymphoma.

If the nails are mostly white with darker rims, this can indicate liver problems, such as hepatitis. In this image, you can see the fingers are also jaundiced, another sign of liver trouble.

12. Bluish Nails

In this condition, the nails are really normal in color but the nail bed, the tissue that lies beneath the nail plate, is blue. This is commonly called nail bed cyanosis and is a sign of poorly oxygenated blood or more accurately unoxygenated hemoglobin, the oxygen carrying protein in red blood cells.

 

Nails with a bluish tint can mean the body isn't getting enough oxygen. This could indicate a lung problem, such as emphysema. Some heart problems can be associated with bluish nails.

13. Rippled Nails

Nail pitting is a classical sign of psoriasis in the nail. This appears as tiny holes in the nail surface.

 

If the nail surface is rippled or pitted, this may be an early sign of psoriasis or inflammatory arthritis. Discoloration of the nail is common; the skin under the nail can seem reddish-brown. 

14. Puffy Nail Fold

If the skin around the nail appears red and puffy, this is known as inflammation of the nail fold. It may be the result of lupus or another connective tissue disorder. Infection can also cause redness and inflammation of the nail fold.

15. Dark Lines Beneath the Nail

There are a number of reasons for the appearance of a linear brown or black streak extending from the cuticle to the tip of the nail. Since it is not possible to visualize the source of the color since it resides in the nail matrix below the nail fold.

Dark lines beneath the nail should be investigated as soon as possible. They are sometimes caused by melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer.

16. Gnawed Nails

Biting your nails may be nothing more than an old habit, but in some cases it's a sign of persistent anxiety that could benefit from treatment. Nail biting or picking has also been linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder. If you can't stop, it's worth discussing with your doctor.

17.  Splinter Hemorrhages

Sometimes you’ll see these long, black, splinter-like lines after you smash your hand in the door or stub your toe. But if you haven’t hurt yourself lately, they could mean you have bacterial endocarditis, an infection of the valves and inner lining of the heart, Dr. Stern says. The condition often occurs after a dental or medical procedure and requires antibiotics.

18. Warts

Biting your nails or chewing your fingers leaves you prone to these small, rough growths, which sometimes have tiny black dots in them. Gnawed-up skin provides easy access to the viruses that cause them—herpes or human papillomavirus (HPV).

This makes it harder for infection-fighting treatments to work in this area, so over-the-counter options or home remedies like duct tape aren’t strong enough. Instead, see a dermatologist for treatment and to check for squamous cell carcinoma, or HPV-associated skin cancer in your fingertips.

19. Beau's Lines

Ridges or grooves can form across all your nails when an outside stressor—such as a severe illness or even psychological trauma from a death or divorce—causes the so-called matrix cells, which produce new nail material, to temporarily stop working as your nails begin to grow again.

They’re not harmful and will grow out as your nails do. Still, you should have them evaluated, because uncontrolled diabetes or circulation problems can also produce this halt in growth,.

20. Onycholysis

In this condition, your nail lifts off from the nail bed or skin underneath. As with most other nail issues, this can happen when you hurt your finger or toe. But if there’s no apparent cause, your doctor will probably check your blood for hormones that indicate you have an overactive thyroid gland, a common cause of this symptom.

 

21. Fungal Nail Infection 

Most people assume any problem with their nails is due to fungus—and if yours are thick, yellow or green, brittle, or broken, this might be the case. The only way to know for sure? Visit a dermatologist for a biopsy. He or she can then offer advice about home treatment, including filing your nails frequently and applying antifungal medications.

22. Symptom: Brown vertical stripe on the nail

This may be a sign of melanoma. While you may think the deadliest type of skin cancer always shows up as a mole or dark spot, it can actually start in the nail.

Hormones and certain medications can also make pigmented bands in the nails, but be especially watchful for a brown or dark stripe that goes from the cuticle out to the free edge of the nail, especially one that’s getting wider.

Course of action: Get any brown pigmentation on your nail checked out by a dermatologist.

23. Symptom:

Infected, inflamed skin around the nail

This is known as paronychia and can be caused by pushing back the cuticle. The cuticle prevents bacteria, fungus, yeast and mold from getting underneath your nail and causing an infection.

“Cuticles are really important and probably shouldn’t be pushed back,”

 “They seal the skin to the nail and keep stuff out.”

Course of action: Soak your nail in hot water two or three times a day to help reduce the swelling and pain, experts note. Your doctor may prescribe oral antibiotics or other medicine.

To prevent an infection, don’t use any sharp implements to cut or push back your

SIMPLE NAIL CARE TIPS

Instead, see a holistic health care provider who can help you figure out if there's an underlying issue occupation, the nails may reveal one's habits, anxiety level, and certain health problems.here are nail care tips as

• Nurturing your nails from the inside out via the proper diet described above is important, but so is protecting your nails from excessive exposure to water or chemicals.
• Cotton-lined rubber gloves are useful when doing dishes, for example, and minimize (or eliminate) your use of nail polish, polish remover, and artificial nails. Simple buffing can create a nice, smooth sheen to your nails, without using any nail polish whatsoever.
•  An added boon is that it may actually help your nails grow stronger and longer due to increased circulation, and you won't have to worry about chipped nail polish either.
• It's a good idea to keep your nails trimmed relatively short using pedicure scissors or clippers. Trim them straight across and rounded slightly in at the center, which will help keep your nails strong,
•  Your nails can also benefit from added moisturizer (much like your skin), so consider rubbing some coconut oil onto your nails regularly. Also, avoid picking at your cuticles, as this can damage your nail bed, and hangnails should be clipped, not ripped off, to avoid harming live tissue.
• Finally, if you notice any unusual or bothersome nail symptoms, resist the urge to simply cover them up with artificial nails or manicures and pedicures.