26/09/2013
What Your Nails Say about Your HealthDo you know that your nails can serve as a warning sign for your health issues? Yes, it is true; your nails reflect your health. They can show signs of an infectious disease, malnutrition and other chronic diseases.Your nails and hair are made up of the same material. Nails are formed with a special type of protein called keratin, the same protein you will find in hair and skin. You can divide your nails in 6 parts; the hard protective part is called the nail plate, the skin surrounding it is called nail folds, and the skin underneath the nail plate is called nail bed. At the base of the nail plate you will find a crescent moon-shaped structure called lunula. The tissue that overlaps the nail base is called cuticle.Every month your finger nail grows from 2 to 3mm and your toe nails grow up to 1 mm. The nails grow out of the area under the cuticle called matrix.As mentioned before your nail health reflects your physical health. Following are some of the health issues that can be detected by your nails:Cardiovascular ProblemsThere are certain changes in the nails that can help to indicate cardiovascular diseases. Splinter hemorrhages is(replace with: are) one such condition in which thin reddish brown lines appear on the nail bed, it indicates vasculitis or heart valve infection. These splinters are actually blood lines.Clubbing is another condition in which the nails get soft, becomes round and wide and appears to be floating above the nail bed. This condition is caused by congenital heart abnormalities.Pale blue or yellow tinge of nails and spoon nails also indicate cardiovascular disease.Stress and Anxiety50% of the kids and teenagers in the US are nail-biters. Nail biting indicates conditions like stress, anxiety and boredom. You can avoid biting your nails by stress management techniques and by applying something bitter to the nails, like aloe vera juice.DiabetesPainting your nails frequently can cause your nails to develop a yellowish hue, but if your nails remain yellow even without applying nail color then they might indicate diabetes.
