Care for your nails to keep them healthy 

Our nails are at the frontline of many of our daily activities and it’s tempting to think they are robust enough to stand up to most wear and tear. They are a highly visible part of our body and some people devote hours to their appearance. But are they just decorative buffers for our fingers and toes, or are they more important than that? How do we keep them healthy and what do they tell us about the rest of our bodies?

Nails are made up of a protein called keratin. They grow in the nail root, under the skin behind each nail. The nail plate is the hard covering that you see, and under it, running along the top side of your fingertip, is the nail bed.

Nails cover the most sensitive, nerve-rich parts of our fingers. They protect our fingers and toes from injury, as well as enhance the information our digits receive. They are essential for picking up small objects, scratching an itch or taking out a splinter.

Nails also serve another important purpose: giving us an insight into our overall health. Damaged or abnormal looking nails are not only unattractive, but they can also give clues about the state of our bodies. So pay attention to your nails and take a little time to give them a bit of loving care.

To keep nails strong and healthy:

• Keep them clean and dry. 
• Avoid biting or picking them, as this can weaken them and make them ragged.
• When filing nails, minimise the risk of shredding, by filing in one direction only.
• To cut hard nails, such as toenails, it can help to soak them first. Try cutting them after you have had a bath.
• Use a moisturiser for your nails and cuticles every day. Soaking them in olive oil can also improve their condition.
• Avoid damaging the cuticles, which protect your nails and nail beds from infection.
• Eat a balanced diet. Nuts and seeds, eggs, yoghurt, fish and evening primrose oil are all thought to be good for nail strength and development.

What can you tell by looking at your nails?

What do the different blemishes, marks and irregularities tell us?

Just a word of caution before you read on: don’t jump to conclusions!  The following irregularities may indicate underlying illness, but many of them also have a harmless explanation, such as a knock or staining.

Minor conditions that affect nails

• It is not uncommon to get the odd hangnail – where the skin alongside the nail peels off. This can be caused simply by being immersed in water a lot. However, if your hangnails recur frequently, this may suggest you need more vitamin C and folic acid in your diet.
• White flecks in a nail can indicate it has received a knock. The fleck will grow out in time. If you have white flecks across many of your nails it may suggest that your diet is low in zinc. If you are pregnant, it may mean you are low in calcium.
• Your nails will be brittle, flake or chip if they are treated roughly or immersed in water a lot. These problems sometimes suggest you need to increase the levels of a vitamin called biotin (also known as vitamin H or B7) in your diet.
• Pale nail beds or brittle nails can suggest iron deficiency, as do concave, spoon-shaped nails.
• Nails that are red at the base and discoloured (white or yellow), soft and crumbly, or have very pronounced ridges may well have a fungal infection.

More serious conditions that can show up in the nails

• White nails suggest a possible underlying liver condition. If they are white at the base and red/brown at the tip, it may indicate kidney problems.
• Yellow nails can be caused by external factors like chlorine, cigarette smoke or the dye in nail polish. However, if the nails are also thickened and slow-growing, this may suggest heart or lung disease, such as emphysema or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
• Nails that are yellowish, with a slight pink blush at the base might point to diabetes.
• Nail beds that are blue can be a hint the person is lacking oxygen and, if it is ongoing, may also suggest underlying lung disease. This is also a possibility if you have ‘club’ fingers (they thicken at the tip) and nails that curve downwards.
• Red nail beds might be an indicator of underlying heart disease.
• Nails that have pits or ridges may mean the person has eczema, psoriasis or inflammatory arthritis.
• Dark blue, brown or black lines running lengthwise under the nails may be skin cancer or melanoma.
• Irregular red lines at the base of the nail fold can suggest lupus or connective tissue disease.

If you are worried, you should see your doctor. It takes an experienced health professional to correctly diagnose most conditions. A blemish under your nail on its own is rarely enough to confirm a diagnosis of anything serious, and the chances are you would have other symptoms.

Original material prepared by everybody, March 2009.