Most people don’t give a lot of thought to their fingernails beyond clipping or painting. However, the shape, texture and color of your nails can all be warning signs for serious conditions, including cancer. While some nail symptoms are harmless, others can be indicative of chronic diseases.
How Your Nails Warn You About Serious Health Conditions
Most people don’t give a lot of thought to their fingernails beyond clipping or painting. However, the shape, texture and color of your nails can all be warning signs for serious conditions, including cancer. While some nail symptoms are harmless, others can be indicative of chronic diseases.
The American Academy of Dermatology (1) notes that changes in nails, such as discoloration or thickening, can point to health problems including liver and kidney diseases, heart and lung conditions, anemia and diabetes.
If you notice any major changes on your nails see a dermatologist right away. While it might be nothing, it could point to a serious underlying condition.
1. Yellow Fingernails
While your fingernails may become yellow with age, due to
smoking, or frequent use of nail polish, if they are also thicker and
crumbly besides being yellow, a fungal infection is the most likely
culprit.
In rare cases yellow fingernails can be related to thyroid disease, diabetes, or psoriasis.
2. Cracked or Brittle Nails
Your nails can become cracked and brittle if you use nail
polish remover frequently, or are exposed to chemicals (such as cleaning
products).
However, cracking and splitting can also be a sign of a fungal infection or thyroid disease, particularly hypothyroidism. Brittle nails may point to a deficiency in vitamins A, B or C.
3. Clubbing
If your fingertips become enlarged and the nail becomes
curved downward, it may be a sign of clubbing. It can point to low
oxygen in your blood, associated with lung disease. In extreme cases, it
can be related to liver or kidney disease, heart disease, or even AIDS.
4. White Spots
These small white spots are usually the result of nail trauma
and are not a cause for concern. They will disappear on their own.
However, if they don’t go away, you might be dealing with a fungal
infection.
5. Horizontal Ridges
Horizontal ridges, also known as Beau’s lines, are typically the result of direct trauma to the nail. They can, however, be a symptom of a more concerning condition if they appear on more than one nail at a time. These conditions include psoriasis, uncontrolled diabetes, circulatory disease and severe zinc deficiency.
There is a more serious type of horizontal lines, known as Mees’ lines. They are horizontal discolorations due to arsenic poisoning, Hodgkin’s disease, malaria, leprosy, or carbon monoxide poisoning.
6. Vertical Ridges
If you notice vertical ridges appearing in your nails that
you didn’t have before, it’s probably nothing more than a side effect of
aging (2). They’re equivalent to getting wrinkles in your skin and
usually don’t appear until around the age of 50. Occasionally, nail
ridges may be due to nutrient deficiencies, including vitamin B12 and
magnesium.
7. Spoon Nails
This deformity is definitely visible enough to catch your
immediate attention. Known as “spoon nails” (3), they most commonly
appear due to an iron deficiency. The nail gets so thin that it becomes
concave.
If you notice this, have some lab work done to determine if anemia is the issue. Other causes include working with petroleum-based products or trauma. In very rare circumstances, spoon nails can be associated with thyroid disease and heart conditions (4).
8. Pitting
Multiple pits or dents in fingernails is often a sign of
psoriasis. However, nail pitting may also be due to connective tissue
disorders or alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that causes hair
loss.
9. Dark Discolorations
Any sort of asymmetric pigmentation can be a sign of skin
cancer, but melanoma on nails (called subungual melanoma) usually looks
like a pigmented vertical band stretching upward from the cuticle (5).
If a brownish streak on your nail bed shows up suddenly or changes in
appearance, see a dermatologist as soon as possible.
10. White Nails with a Strip of Pink (Terry’s Nails)
If you notice your nails become mostly white with a narrow
pink strip at the top, known as Terry’s nails (6), it could be a sign of
liver disease, congestive heart failure, kidney failure, or diabetes.
But do not enter panic mode right away, Terry’s nails may appear due to
aging.
11. Claws and Fur
If you notice that your fingernails are turning into claws
and you are starting to grow fur on your hands paws, you are either a
cat, or suffering from a very rare disease called clinical lycanthropy
(not to be confused with werewolf syndrome). However, these symptoms can
also be the result of old age.
Disclosure: While we did try to end the article on a humorous note, please take any symptoms seriously and visit your dermatologist whenever you notice drastic changes on your nails.