The truth about your health is written in your nails. It may sound like palmistry or fortune reading, but medical experts claim they can tell a lot about a patient's health by examining their nails. Abnormal marks or color in the fingernails can even be useful in finding the right diagnosis for serious health problems.
Your Health is Written in Your Nails
Many diseases manifest themselves early in small changes. Things like minor skin conditions, alterations in the texture of hair, or changes in the fingernails can be important signs that something is not right inside the body.
Changes in the shape, color, or condition of the nails "may be the first sign, it may be the herald sign of… an internal disease," says Dr. Yves Poulin, president of the Canadian Dermatology Association. "It helps to make the correct diagnosis to look at the nail."
Changes in nail color, texture, or the health of the nail bed can easily be overlooked – and may not mean anything if there was a prior trauma to the nail that caused the damage. If there's no rational explanation for a change in nail shape or pigment, however, it's usually best to have it checked out.
What Your Fingernails Could be Telling You
Changes in the appearance of fingernails can mean nothing or they can mean many things. The following are some of the nail changes that have been linked with particular symptoms and diseases.
Color Changes:
- White nail bed – Anemia
- White nails – Liver disease
- White nail with dark band at the tip – Heart problems, liver disease, diabetes or malnutrition
- White lower nail bed, while tip of nail bed is a healthy pink – Kidney problems
- Bluish nails – Lack of oxygen
- Green nails – Bacterial infection
- Yellow nails – Respiratory infection or any illness that slows nail growth
- Brown or black streak/dot under the nail – May be a bruise/trauma or may be skin cancer
- White dots or marks on the nails – Calcium or other vitamin/mineral deficiencies
Texture Changes:
- Thick or misshapen nails – A fungus, similar to "athlete's foot"
- Horizontal grooves or lines across the nail – Illness has disrupted nail growth: usually caused by diabetes, circulatory disease, malnutrition or high fever
- Pitting – Psoriasis, dermatitis or autoimmune disease
- "Clubbing" or enlarged finger tips with curved nails – Many diseases, including lung cancer, inflammatory bowel disease or liver disease
- Nails separating from the nail bed – Thyroid disease, infection, drug reactions or psoriasis
- "Spoon nails" that curve into the nail bed and make a small cup or depression – Iron deficiency anemia
Your Nails and Your Health
Take a quick look at your fingernails (your toes, too, if you're feeling ambitious). Are they pale pink, uniform in color, with a smooth texture and no visible discoloration? Then you're doing well.
On the other hand, if you do spot any of these abnormalities you're still probably fine; nails can sometimes go through changes that aren't linked to underlying health problems. Don't worry, but do mention any changes to your doctor or a health care practitioner just to be safe.
Source
Branswell, Helen, "What the nails know: Fingernails can provide early warnings of health problems," The Toronto Star, March 17, 2007.
Mayo Clinic Staff, "Fingernails: 7 signs of possible health problems," MayoClinic.com, November 30, 2007.
Victoria Anisman-Reiner - Victoria Anisman-Reiner is a freelance writer with extensive experience in holistic health care and animal training.
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