http://www.care2.com/greenliving/fingernail-diagnostics.html
Fingernail Diagnostics: Get a Handle on Your Health
Adapted from Natural Hand Care, by Norma Pasekoff Weinberg.
For signs of health, look no further than your hands.
As early as 400 B.C.E., Hippocrates taught that the nails reflect the condition of the inner body. It is true that abnormalities of the nails can often provide early clues to common medical problems or severe systemic diseases.
Take a few moments and examine your unpolished fingernails under a good light. You will gather a new appreciation for how your lifestyle affects your nails and overall health.
Nails grow at different rates due to age, nutrition, and health factors. Under the best of conditions, a nail grows about .004 inches a day or 1/8 of an inch each month. It takes about six months for a new nail to grow from cuticle to tip.
Use this diagnostic chart to look at and understand the condition of your nails:
Complete loss of nail: Trauma
Nail plate loose: Injury; nail psoriasis; fungal or bacterial infections; medicines; chemotherapy; thyroid disease; Raynaud’s phenomenon; lupus.
Wasting away of nails, nail loses luster and becomes smaller: Injury or disease.
Thickened nail plate: Poor circulation; fungal infection; heredity; mild, persistent trauma to the nail.
Pitted nails sometimes with yellow to brown “oil” spots: Eczema or psoriasis; hair loss condition.
Very soft nails: Contact with strong alkali; malnutrition; endocrine problems; chronic arthritis
Spoon-shaped nails: Iron deficiency; thyroid disease.
Club-like nails growing around swollen finger ends:
Chronic respiratory or heart problems; cirrhosis of the liver.
Horizontal ridges:
Injury; infection; nutrition.
Longitudinal ridges:
Aging, poor absorption of vitamins and minerals; thyroid disease; kidney failure.
Brittle, split nails: Nail dryness; nails in contact with irritating substances (detergents, chemicals, polish remover); silica deficiency.
Infected nails (red, tender, swollen, pus):
Bacterial or yeast infection.
Overlarge moons:
Overactive thyroid; genetics; self-induced trauma (habit tick).
No moons:
Underactive thyroid; genetics.
DISCOLORED FINGERNAILS
Colorless: May indicate anemia.
Red or deep pink: Can indicate a tendency to poor peripheral circulation.
Blue: Blood may not be receiving adequate oxygen due to respiratory disorders, cardiovascular problems, or lupus erythermatosus.
Yellow: Could indicate fungus, diabetes, psoriasis, use of tetracycline, or heredity.
White, crumbly, soft: May be a result of a fungus infection.
Half white/half pink: May indicate fungal infection or, more seriously, kidney disease.
Small white patches: Usually a sign of injury to the nail matrix.
Purple or black: Usually due to trauma, or may also be a sign of vitamin B12 deficiency. A brown or black streak that begins at the base of the nail and extends to its tip could be a diagnostic clue to a potentially dangerous melanoma. See your health care provider.
Go to the Source
related stories
-
-
(21 comments)
-
(5 comments)
Robyn
Melissa
Deepak
Eric
Dave
Dr. Brent
Isha
Susan
Delia
Michelle
Wendy
Megan
Hilary
Ann
Judi
Ronnie
Kelly
Lily
Terri
Betsy
Cait
Andrew
Jana
Annie B.
Veronica
20 comments
add your comment »The quick of the middle finger on both of my hands disappeared about a year ago. I dont racall anything happening to my nails, I just noticed that the quicks were gone, those two nails have deep longitudinal ridges, and one of them is quite pitted. Any ideas? All my other nails are perfectly normal.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
To Sue R:
Hi there. Im not with this site, but I've read, and had !amazing! success with rubbing almond oil (from a health food or grocery store) onto/into nails and cuticles daily to strengthen them. I do not know if this will help, but I doubt it would hurt. It makes nails very strong, and does a way with brittle fragile nails.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
I have two nails that are becoming soft at the cuticle and I am loosing the nails. I did not injure them. What should I do? Is it a medical problem, or a vitiman deficiency?
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
the base of my father's fingernails are becoming some kind of black,battle green,brown, that combination of colors..what is the cause of that discoloration?
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
I painted my nails a very light white color but the next day I noticed the color had turned to a light pink color. When I took the nail polish off my nails were a orange/red color. I tried taking it off with nail polish remover but it wont come off. What do I have?
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
good day;-)
are we talking all nails? feet and hands? or just hands.
My hands are great, my toes are in dire need of attention;-)
thanks
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Filing toenails down as far as is safe to do so and soaking in undiluted white vinegar will kill nail fungus. Worked for me!
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
I have had great success with Grapefruit Seed Extract with fungus on toenails for both my father and aunt who are in their nineties. Both took expensive anti fungals and used different creams, to no avail. The GSE cleared both up withing a few days. I highly recommend it for many things.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
i have 3 fingernails on my left hand that are showing shades of white awkwardly at the tips.
What is this?
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
23 yrs ago my left thumb nail split at the cuticle and the whole lower part of the nail flaked off and then came back. There was no recurrence after that until last year when it happened again only now the entire nail has come off, in pieces that are either flakes or chunks, over a 6 month period. My thumb is almost half again bigger than my other thumb and only slightly tender. The nail is growing but it is not smooth like it should be and it doesn't get very long before it starts to flake again. Near the tip there is a deep "pothole" that is not filling in either. I've been to a nail specialist but she couldn't give me an answer to what is wrong with it other than she doesn't think it is a fungus or injury. All she could talk about is cutting the nail open to see what is below it. I have been using tea tree oil on it for the last 6 months and its condition improved to the point of what I have described. Can anyone give me an idea of what is going on? This is driving me crazy and it has been a year since this all started.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Facebook account: