NAILS AND HEALTH
Thursday, February 24, 2011 by: king of the universeTake a good look at your fingernails and you may notice subtle variations in the texture or color - a touch of white here, a rosy tinge there, perhaps some rippling or bumps in the surface. These imperfections may not look like much to you, but to the trained eye they can provide valuable clues about your overall health.
"Just like the eyes are the window to the soul, so are the nails," says Tamara Lior, MD, a dermatologist with Cleveland Clinic Florida. Lior says she once convinced a patient to have his lungs checked after noticing a bluish tint to his nails, a sign that he wasn't getting enough oxygen. Sure enough, he had fluid in his lungs.
Warning signs for many other conditions, from hepatitis to heart disease, may also appear in the nails, according to Joshua Fox, MD, director of Advanced Dermatology and a spokesman for the American Academy of Dermatology. "Changes in the nails can be a sign of a local disease like a fungus infection or a sign of a systemic disease like lupus or anemia," Fox tells.
He says he sometimes tries to guess if a person has anemia by looking at his or her nails. He explains that pale, whitish nail beds may indicate a low red blood cell count consistent with anemia.
An iron deficiency can cause the nail bed to be thin and concave and have raised ridges.
While most of Fox's patients don't come in to report nail problems, he often checks their nails anyway. "The nails offer many little clues to what's going on inside you. Lupus patients get quirky, angular blood vessels in their nail folds. Psoriasis starts in the nails up to 10% of the time" and causes splitting and pitting of the nail bed.
Heart disease can turn the nail beds red. Obsessive-compulsive disorder can show up in the nails through persistent nail-biting or picking, Fox says.
Even common disorders like thyroid disease can cause abnormities in the nail beds, producing dry, brittle nails that crack and split easily.
He lists the following 10 examples of nail changes that could indicate a serious medical condition.
Very pale nails are sometimes linked to aging. But they can also be a sign of serious illness, such as:
Anemia
Congestive heart failure
Diabetes
Liver disease
Malnutrition
Anemia
Congestive heart failure
Diabetes
Liver disease
Malnutrition
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.
One of the most common causes of yellow nails is a fungal infection. As the infection worsens, the nail bed may retract, and nails may thicken and crumble. In rare cases, yellow nails can indicate a more serious condition such as severe thyroid disease or psoriasis.
Nails with a bluish tint can mean the body isn’t getting enough oxygen. This could indicate an infection in the lungs, such as pneumonia.
If the nail surface is rippled or pitted, this may be an early sign of psoriasis or inflammatory arthritis. Psoriasis is a skin condition that starts in the nails 10% of the time.
Dry, brittle nails that frequently crack or split have been linked to thyroid disease. Cracking or splitting combined with a yellowish hue is more likely due to a fungal infection.
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.
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.
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.
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.
| What Your Nails Say About Your Health: 10 Possible Signs of Serious Conditions | |
|---|---|
| Nail Appearance | Associated Condition |
| White nails | Liver diseases, such as hepatitis |
| Yellowish, thickened, slow-growing nails | Lung diseases, such as emphysema |
| Yellowish nails with a slight blush at the base | Diabetes |
| Half-white, half-pink nails | Kidney disease |
| Red nail beds | Heart disease |
| Pale or white nail beds | Anemia |
| Pitting or rippling of the nail surface | Psoriasis or inflammatory arthritis |
| "Clubbing," a painless increase in tissue around the ends of the fingers, or inversion of the nail | Lung diseases |
| Irregular red lines at the base of the nail fold | Lupus or connective tissue disease |
| Dark lines beneath the nail | Melanoma |
