FINGERNAILS – A window to your health during the past 6 months!

Healthy fingernails.

Your fingernails  are like the ‘rings of a tree’: they provide a window to changes in your body during the past six months. And fingernail changes likewise provide clues about changes in your health: because it takes about 6 months to grow out a full nail out of a finger (a fingernail grows about 0.1 mm per day).

How to recognize healthy fingernails? A healthy fingernail is characterized by: a smooth, rounded nail plate with a rectangular shape (at the corners slightly rounded). It’s color is pink, and at least the thumb requires to have a white crescent shaped lunula – in most people the lunula is not seen on the pinky fingers (some people have lunulae in all fingers where they take at most 1/3 of the pink area in the nail plate).

FINGERNAIL CHANGES:

Nail changes often reflect changes in the body. Medical science has identified & described literally hundreds different types of nail changes, and quite some of them have a highly significant correlation with the development of all kinds of diseases. But usually nail changes only rarely have a significance for a specified disease.

But nail changes can also indicate high stress, physical traumas, hormone changes, and even an unhealthy food pattern. But often it takes some time to monitor the nature of the changes seen in the nails!

And there Multi-Perspective Palm Reading can become involved, and even play a decisive role in the diagnosis process of the nail changes. Because Multi-Perspective Palm Reading describes the significance of nail changes in specified diseases, plus an overview of the other typical hand characteristics in those diseases. And therefore it can become very helpfull to find the true cause of nail changes when there are multiple options left according ‘the science of the fingernails’.

Dr. Oz – who became for his appearances in The Oprah Winfrey Show from 2004 until 2009, has presented a 6-minute Masterclass introduction to how your fingernails can provide you a window to your health, titled:

‘What your nails tell you about your health’

What causes yellow nails + how to recognize the yellow nail syndrome?

Yellow nails

Your fingernails are not only a barometer of your general health state, sometimes they can also signal the presence of a medical problem! Why do nails turn yellow? And how to discriminate yellow nails from the ‘yellow nail syndrome’?

Yellow fingernails are often the result of behavior habits: such as smoking, nail polish, cooking with curry, nail fungus, or the use of certain types of medication (e.g. tetracycline).

YELLOW NAILS DUE TO A MEDICAL PROBLEM? 

But sometimes nails may take a yellowish teint which is not the result of behavior. Fingernails that are yellow can be an indication of a medical disorder in some cases. These include liver disease, lung disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and nutritional deficiencies, most notably iron and zinc. Although most cases of yellow nails are not caused by an internal disorder, underlying medical problems should be ruled out if your nails have suddenly changed in color. Simple blood tests can generally rule out most causes of a yellow fingernail.

YELLOW NAIL SYNDROME?

The ‘yellow nail syndrome‘ is a rare nail disorder characterized by yellow to yellow-green, thickening, slowgrowing nail changes – with absent lunula and cuticle: see the picture below. The underlying pathological process if thought to be related to impaired lymphatic drainage.

THE NAIL TUTOR DESCRIBES THE MOST COMMON CAUSES
FOR YELLOWISH DISCOLORATION OF VARIOUS PARTS
OF THE NAIL UNIT:

YELLOW FREE EDGE – YELLOW HYPONYCHIUM
YELLOW LATERAL FOLD – YELLOW LUNULA

 Example of the yellow nail syndrome:
 

FINGERNAILS – 3 Signs of Health Problems: Beau’s lines, yellow fingernail syndrome & nail pitting!

Your fingernails can provide clues to your overall health. But do you know how to read the signs? MayoClinic presented a slideshow of various signs of possible health problems: Learn about some nail conditions that might require medical attention. If you have a nail problem that doesn’t seem to be going away, or is associated with other signs and symptoms, make an appointment with your doctor to get it checked out. 3 IMPORTANT FINGERNAIL PROBLEMS: Causes & remedies of Beau’s lines: Beau’s lines are indentations that run across your nails. They can appear when growth at the area under your cuticle is interrupted by injury or severe illness. Diseases or illnesses associated with Beau’s lines include: • Circulatory diseases, such as peripheral artery disease; • Illness associated with a high fever, caused by pneumonia, scarlet fever, mumps or measles; • Uncontrolled diabetes; • Malnutrition. Causes & remedies of yellow fingernails: Yellow nail syndrome concerns the yellow discoloration in your fingernails may result from a respiratory condition, such as chronic bronchitis, or from swelling of your hands (lymphedema). In yellow nail syndrome, nails thicken and new growth slows, resulting in discoloration. Nails affected with this condition may lack a cuticle and may detach from the nail bed in places. Although this condition is often a sign of respiratory disease, it’s possible to have yellow nails and not have a respiratory condition. Yellow nails may also result from any condition that causes the growth of your nails to slow down. Causes & remedies of nail pitting: Small depressions in the nails are common in people with psoriasis — a skin condition that produces scaly patches. They may also result from nail injuries. Pitting may cause your nails to crumble. Pitting is also associated with conditions that can damage your nail’s cuticle, such as chronic dermatitis of your fingers or alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss! MORE RELATED SOURCES: • Nail disorders in the hands of children! • Nail disorders in the hands of the elderly! • More news & facts about fingernails!

10 Tips for growing beautiful fingernails!

If you’re female long fingernails enhance your appeal! People recognize long fingernails as a sign of beauty and vitality and many feel that long finger nails are sexy as well. But most important is that your fingernails should be kept hygenically wisely. So, before you start any experiment with your fingernails, you should know what might not be best for your nails’ health. Polished fingernails might help your looks, but actually the process will make the nails become thinner and fragile. In short: when it comes to the health of your finger nails, you should always try to take deep care!!

Msn lifestyle recommends only 4 tools that benefit the health of your fingernails: the nail brush, a nail file, a moisturiser, and strengthening products. - Tip 1 - “Be careful when trimming or filing them. When your nails get damaged, you’ll have to wait for months before you can re-grow regular nails again. A nail drill can file your nails faster than the typical nail file but they can also damage your cuticles.” - Tip 2 - “Make sure you are checking the length of your nails. As much as you want to look like those sexy nail care models, you also don’t want your nails to break or crack.” - Tip 3 - “Clean them regularly. Often this can be accomplished by washing your hands. After doing any work that involves dirt getting under your nails, be sure to clean them as soon possible by using a nail brush dipped into soap and water and gently scrubbing under and on top of your nails.” - Tip 4 - “Avoid nail biting by rubbing something bad tasting on them to help prevent you from biting, like mustard or nail polish.” - Tip 5 - “The most important mineral for your nails is Silicon. A good herbal combination for you nails is horsetail, rosemary, hyssop, aloe vera(juice), ginkgo biloba and kelp. Other nutrients that are important for healthy nails are Zinc, vitamin E, C and calcium/magnesium with vitamin D.” - Tip 6 - “Drink lots of water. This will keep your hands, cuticles, and fingernails hydrated. Fingernails absorb water 100 time faster than skin, so they lose water just as fast.” - Tip 7 - “Let your nails breathe. If you wear nail polish a lot, it doesn’t allow for your nails to breathe. So for a few days a week, get rid of the nail polish.” - Tip 8 - “Find a good moisturizer for your nails. This goes along with keeping your nails hydrated. Not only does it work on your cuticles, but your nails too.” - Tip 9 - “Stop cutting your nails. When you use a fingernail clipper, it causes tiny fracture in your nails that make your fingernails more prone to chipping and peeling. Instead, file your nails down. Filing once a week should keep them down nicely. Of course if your nail tears, cutting it down until there’s no tear is needed.” - Tip 10 - “Cut your nails while they are wet if you must cut them. This will make breakage and damage less of a problem.” SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING: • Popular nail products! • The medical cause of brittle fingernails • Find the cause of your nail disorder in 3 steps!

Michael Jackson had abnormal fingernails, but not due to his vitiligo & lupus!

Michael Jackson’s fingernails in 2005 (left), 2006 (center) & 2009 (right) – ‘click’ for larger versions! Michael Jackson had abnormal fingernails, but his nails were not related to his vitiligo & lupus! While the first autopsy results related to Michael Jackson’s death were presented earlier this week, there are still many discussions about the state of Michael Jackson’s health – only a few days before his death his health was described by his spokesman Doctor Tohme Tohme as: a ‘perfect health‘. In the perspective of his death it is also important to know that Michael Jackson was diagnosed in 1986 with vitiligo and lupus. Lupus is known as a potentially lethal disease (heart disease is a major complication in lupus!), but in Michael Jackson it was recognized to be in remission. Anyhow, one can still wonder: can his fingernail problems be related to the vitiligo and/or the lupus? The answer to this question appears to be a simple: ‘no’! For, vitiligo is related to the following nail disorders: • Longitudinal striations; • Trachyonychia (thin & lusterless nails); And lupus is related to the following nail disorders: • Nail spooning; • Irregular, twisted, and dilated vessels at the cuticle. CONCLUSION: Out of the 4 described fingernail disorders related to vitiligo and lupus, the 4th can be related to his hand deterioration that was observed in 2009. But none of these fingernail disorders can be related to the typical looks of Michael Jackson’s fingernails during the last 3 years of his life. But one should not forget that Michael Jackson’s fingernail problems were first recognized by the media in 2006, when members of Michael Jackson’s family were terrified that his escalating dependence on prescription drugs had become a danger to his life. While Michael Jackson’s lupus was considered to be in remission, one could also speculate that his hand deterioration + his sudden death might have signaled a lupus relapse … due to an excessive use of prescription drugs??? SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER READING: • In memoriam: ‘The hands of Michael Jackson’! • How Michael Jackson’s autopsy results relate to his hand • Michael Jackson’s hands: a clue to his sudden death? • Michael Jackson’s hands: a manicurist’s worst nightmare! Another example of Michael Jackson’s “unhealthy” dark fingernails:

Fingernail disorders in the hands of children!

Fingernail disorders in the hands of children!

Fingernail disorders in the hands of children! Many people consider fingernail disorders merely as a ‘cosmetic problem’, nevertheless fingernails provide important signs related to your health. Let’s take a look at the fingernails of children! The long version of this article describes the normal development of fingernails during childhood, including some ‘normal’ nail disorders (which are usually harmless) + an overview of the ‘serious’ nail problems in infants & children.

The following nail problems are relatively normal fingernail disorders in the hands of children (usually these are ‘harmless’): (1) Beau’s lines, (2) fragile nails, (3) pits of the nail plate, (4) koilonychia, (5) v-ridging (chevron nails), (6) punctate leukonychia, and (7) periungual pigmentation. You can read more about the ‘harmless’ nail disorders in children, at: • Normal fingernail disorders in the hands of children However, many other nail disorders are often related to various congenital, familial or acquired disorders. Examples of these ‘worrisome’ fingernail disorders in the hands of children are: (A) anonychia, (B) micronychia, (C) polyonychia, (D) epidermolysis bullosa, (E) pachyonychia congenita, (F) ectodermal dysplasias, (G) veillonella infection, (H) ingrowing toenail in infancy, (I) racket nails, and (J) the nail-patella syndrome. You can read more about the ‘worrisome’ nail disorders in children, at: • Worrisome fingernail disorders in the hands of children