The human body is vulnerable to disease and disability as we all know it. However, the beauty of nature is that there are various signs and symptoms that say something has gone wrong or is going wrong with your health, so one can address them quickly. There are various parts of the body that show visible signs of illness. One such part is the fingernail. While uniformly shaped, uniformly colored, strong fingernails are a harbinger of health, discoloration, change in shape or other conditions indicate underlying illnesses.
Let us look at some common nail abnormalities.
- Pale Nails: Nails that look paler than the usual white can be a sign of major conditions such as anemia, malnutrition, liver disease or congestive heart failure
- White Nails: On the other extreme, the nails are a bright white with darker edges; this can be a sign of liver problems such as jaundice or hepatitis.
- Yellowish Nails: Yellow-colored nails can indicate fungal infection, psoriasis, diabetes, lung disease, or severe thyroid conditions. In case of fungal infection, as the condition progresses, the nail bed folds up and the nails become thick and start crumbling.
- Bluish Nails: This generally indicates that the body is not getting adequate oxygen. This could be because of a lung disease such as emphysema or certain heart conditions. It could also be due to silver poisoning, exposure to industrial chemicals, certain medication, HIV infection, and cyanosis, or the lack of oxygen in red-blood-cells.
- Rippled Nails: When the nails show ripples, pits or wave-like patterns, it’s a warning sign of psoriasis or inflammatory arthritis. In some people, in addition to the rippled pattern, the skin under the nail appears reddish brown in colour.
- Dry, Brittle, Cracked, or Split Nails: If the nails show this problem frequently, it is a sign of thyroid disease. In addition to the nail breakage, if there is a yellowish colour, it could be a case of fungal infection.
- Puffy Nail Fold: The nail fold is the skin around the nail. When there is inflammation of the same, it appears puffed up and red in colour. This could be due to an infection, an auto-immune disorder like lupus, or a connective tissue disorder.
- Dark Lines below the Nail: When dark lines are visible below your nail, its sign of conditions such as melanoma, a type of skin-cancer or another a major illness.
- Gnawed or Bitten Nails: Nail-biting, nail gnawing, nail ripping, nail pulling are signs of a psychological issue such as anxiety or obsessive compulsive disorder. If the condition is acute, then you should seek psychiatric counseling.
- Soft or Weak Nails: The nails break easily or snap when slightly bent. This happens when the nails are repeatedly exposed to chemicals like nail polish, nail polish remover, soaps, detergents, and cleaning chemicals. It could also be a sign of deficiency in iron, calcium, fatty acids, or Vitamin B.
- Peeling Nails: If nails starts peeling off easily, it means there is mechanical damage. You could be using the nail as a tool. Or the nail is getting pressed for some reason. It could also be a sign of iron deficiency.
- No half-moons: The white half-circle at the base of the nail is called a half-moon. If the half-moons start disappearing, it could be a sign of anemia, depression, or malnutrition.
- Horizontal Grooves (Beau’s Lines): In this condition, there are horizontal grooves that stretch across the length of the nail. This is sign of a major illness. It could also happen due to extreme cold and conditions such as mumps, syphilis, or pneumonia.
- Pale Horizontal Bands (Muehrcke’s Lines): In this condition, pale horizontal lines stretch across the nail in all fingers except the thumb. This could be a sign of low albumin in the blood (hypoalbuminemia), cirrhosis of the liver, and nephrotic syndrome of the kidney. It could also be due to side effects of chemotherapy or malnutrition.
- Clubbed Nails/Fingers: In this condition, the nails stretch outside their nail fold and are oval, giving the fingertips a clubbed look. This is found in toenails too. This can be a sign of heart disease, lung cancer, or cirrhosis of the liver.
- Green Nails: In this condition, there is a small or large green patch on the nail. In some cases, the entire nail may turn green, and this could happen with toenails too. Green nails are due to bacterial infection resulting from spending too much time in the water (as in swimming pools or fish ponds) or wet soil (as in gardening). Factory workers exposed to industrial chemicals can also develop green nails.
- Red Streaks or Lines in the Nail: This could be due to minor reasons such as fungal infection or physical injury to the nail (trauma) or major conditions such as vasculitis or blood vessel inflammation, psoriasis, or heart valve infection.
- Nail Lifting (Oncholysis and Onychomadesis): In this condition, the surface of the nail separates from the skin or nail bed below. This could be due to reasons such as fungal infection, trauma (physical injury), or pregnancy. It could also happen due to side effects of certain medication, psoriasis, and thyroid disease.
- Cysts on the Nail: In this condition, small cysts grow near or on the cuticles. This could be a sign of arthritis and not cancer as one may expect.
- Darrier Disease: This is a genetic disorder that starts as a skin rash. Soon, the nails show broad, white, or reddish lines. In some cases, the tip of the nail breaks off in a V-shape.
- Other Nail Conditions: Leukonychia, Terry’s nails, Lindsay’s nails, Mees’ lines, splinter hemorrhages and spoon nails.
Conclusion
It’s important to observe your nails regularly so that you do not miss important, warning signs of disease. And when you find them, do not self-medicate or try home-remedies. Rush to a doctor at a reputed hospital. He/she will conduct tests to diagnose your condition precisely, and then put you on a course of treatment for quick recovery and rehabilitation.
Kauvery Hospital is globally known for its multidisciplinary services at all its Centers of Excellence, and for its comprehensive, Avant-Grade technology, especially in diagnostics and remedial care in heart diseases, transplantation, vascular and neurosciences medicine. Located in the heart of Trichy (Tennur, Royal Road and Alexandria Road (Cantonment), Chennai, Hosur, Salem, Tirunelveli and Bengaluru, the hospital also renders adult and pediatric trauma care.
Chennai – 044 4000 6000 • Trichy – Cantonment – 0431 4077777 • Trichy – Heartcity – 0431 4003500 • Trichy – Tennur – 0431 4022555 • Hosur – 04344 272727 • Salem – 0427 2677777 • Tirunelveli – 0462 4006000 • Bengaluru – 080 6801 6801