Sunday, July 5, 2015

10:22 AM

Most people don’t think about their nails having a direct correlation to their your health, but our fingernails can alert us of the presence of disease and 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 to assess your fingernail health frequently. Changes in our nails should be taken seriously, because this can be a warning for many diseases. 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 are streaked with other colors, you may have hidden health issues.

  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 to assess appearance and thickness.


Thick Nails

You may want your nails to be strong, but thick nails are not natural. If they look like paws or claws you should know this:

  Thick 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 deficiency
  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 nail 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 disorder, alopecia areata which is autoimmune disorder that results with hair loss and lack of zinc. Look at your nails carefully; divide the natural holes from the real, lasting pits. The natural ones will be disappear 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 problems. Heavy ridged 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 may not necessarily require lotion or 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 Americans are affected.

You may not notice and differences until after a full nail growth cycle since 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. It is related to:

  Lung disease, particularly if you have breathing issues
  Inflammatory bowel disease
  AIDS
  Liver disease

Your fingernails are not be the only warning signs for these diseases, however you should never ignore them, so examine them frequently.