12 Changes In Your Fingernails That Could Signal Your Health Is In Danger

Nails are considered to be a purely aesthetic feature. They act as a window to your body, with their varying colors, textures, and shapes. While some nail symptoms are prevalent and harmless, others can be the indicators of serious chronic diseases like anemia. Even the growth rate of your nails indicates how healthy you are.

What Your Nails Say About Your Health

Changes in nails should not go unnoticed. If you spot any swelling, regular breakage, unnatural change in texture or anything else that is unusual, visit a dermatologist without delay.

So, here we enlist some nail symptoms which aren't natural and the diseases they indicate:

1 Nails Curving Upwards:

upward curving nails can be a symptom of low oxygen flow in the body. This could be due to malfunction of the lungs and heart. It is a sign of anemia.

2 Brittle Nails:

It is a common myth that only women have brittle Nails, as they do all the household chores like washing utensils which result in brittle nails. It is not true. Even men can suffer from this. Though it can be normal, it may indicate improper functioning of the thyroid gland. Other symptoms of thyroid include hair fall, fatigue and unexpected weight gain.

3 Sideways Grooves:

These Grooves in the nails can be an indicator of a heart attack or any other serious problem.

4 Lengthwise Grooves:

though these mostly appear in old age, these can appear in younger people too. Thin Grooves may indicate a form of alopecia, psoriasis or circulatory disorder. But if there is a single groove, it may be nail tumor, so you should immediately visit a dermatologist in that case.

5 White Spots:

contrary to popular belief, these white spots do not indicate any nutritional deficiency but are just nail damage. It will repair slowly and does not require medical attention. You may be wondering then why is it included in the list. It is done to bust the myth people have that white spots on nails indicate the nutrient deficiency.

6 Thick Yellow Nails:

this is called the yellow nail Syndrome by doctors. This usually indicates bronchitis or another airway-related diseases. But, yellow nails can also indicate nail fungus or water retention in the body.

7 Pale Nails:

pale nails often indicate anaemia. It most commonly occurs in smokers and diabetics.

8 Black Or Brown Nails:

This may occur due to an injury beneath the nail, and if so will go away automatically as the injury heals. But if it appears without any damage, it may indicate a severe skin disease and should garner medical attention.

9 Half And Half Nails:

if the tip of your light colored nail is reddish or brown, this indicates kidney malfunction. You should look into that.

10 Blue Nails:

nails turn blue with lack of blood supply to them. So, this may be because of a weak heart or a lung disorder.

11 Nails Falling Off:

inflammation in the nail bed is usually the cause of this. However, it may also be a sign of diabetes, thyroid malfunction, iron deficiency anemia or in rare cases, nail tumor.

12 Dimples:

psoriasis may cause the appearance of little slivers of blood on nails. It may destroy the nail completely in some cases. But this doesn't always get to nails.