Many people ignore these small signs, but they might be the body’s way of signaling a more significant concern
Your nails provide the most important information about your health. According to doctors, apart from being a widow of personality and hygiene about a person, your nails reveal a lot about your overall well-being. Many changes in their colour, shape, or texture indicate underlying health issues or nutrient deficiencies.
Many people ignore these small signs, but they might be the body’s way of signaling a more significant concern. Here are a few changes in your nails that could point to a hidden disease or deficiency.
Nail pitting
Nail pitting happens when you spot small and round depressions or notches appearing in your nails. It is common in people who have skin disorders like psoriasis and eczema. Nail pitting is also related to alopecia areata — an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss.
According to doctors, if your nail pitting is accompanied by joint pain or scaly patches on the skin, medical evaluation is extremely important.
Nail clubbing
You may notice over time the tips of your fingers become bigger and the nails curve around the fingertips. Doctors say clubbed nails are often a sign of a health condition that needs immediate treatment, such as lung cancer. A few other serious conditions caused by it include:
- Low oxygen in the blood
- Heart problems
- Liver cirrhosis
- Gastrointestinal problems
If you have nail clubbing, your nails may:
- Feel soft and sponge-like.
- Feel warm to the touch.
- Form a rounded, bulging shape, giving the appearance of an upside-down spoon.
- Look red.
- Widen and wrap around the sides of your fingertips.
Nail clubbing affects a few of your nails or all of them and mostly starts in your thumb and forefinger before spreading to other nails.
Terry’s nails
Terry's nails cause most of your fingernail looks white except for a narrow red or pink band at the top. It is a type of leukonychia and is characterized by a ground-glass opacity of the fingernails.
According to experts, this condition can be a sign of underlying systemic and deadly diseases like liver issues, congestive heart failure, or even diabetes. However, sometimes, symptoms of Terry’s nails can also be a normal part of ageing.
Yellow nail syndrome
If you have yellow nail syndrome, your nails would start to thicken and grow slower, resulting in your nails turning a yellowish-pale colour.
Nails affected by yellow nail syndrome can be signs of lymphedema - swelling due to fluid buildup, respiratory issues like chronic cough, bronchiectasis, or pleural effusions. This condition usually affects adults over 50 years of age.
Spoon nails
Spoon nails, also known as koilonychia are indented nails. Instead of growing straight, your nails look concave, like spoons. Doctors say most often, spoon nails are a sign of iron deficiency anemia because your body cannot:
- Absorb iron
- Does not consume enough iron
- Have celiac disease, cancer, or bleeding in your intestinal tract
- Lose iron with excessive menstruation
In some cases, koilonychia is also hereditary or can result from an injury to the nail bed, such as thumb-sucking in babies and toddlers or too-tight shoes in people of all ages. Sometimes, koilonychia points to another medical condition.
Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Health and around the world.
