Tips: What are your nails telling you?

What can you tell by looking at your nails? What do the different blemishes, marks and irregularities tell us?

Caution:  If you see something on your nails, 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. Always consult your doctor for further advice.

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' in March 2009.

This information is general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for financial advice. Always consult your financial adviser before making any financial decisions.