Some people get up close and personal with their manicurist to check out the state of their nails, but for those who haven’t had one in a while or whose skills are limited, just looking at your hands can reveal things.

Nails have a variety of colors ranging from clear to dark browns. They grow approximately half an inch per month on average and yellowish ones could be due to smoking, while blackened nails may indicate fungal infections like athlete’s foot; which is why they must be not only clean (with soap) but also well-trimmed so as not provide more surface area for infection-causing fungus spores.

Your nails can tell you a lot more about your health than just whether or not they’re painted. You could be at risk for serious problems like diabetes, heart disease, and lung cancer if you have the following signs:
Incurved fingernails on one hand
Ridges running parallel to each other across the surface of all ten fingers (called Beau’s lines)
Thinned nail beds with visible blood vessels beneath them.

When Nails Grow Pale

Pale nails can be a sign of aging, but they may also indicate more serious health problems. With the next slide, we’ll look at potential causes and what might happen if you don’t take care of the problem right away!

White Nails

One of the first signs that you may be unhealthy is not just if your nails turn white, but when all ten fingernails are turning a uniform color. This can happen for many reasons, and it’s important to talk with your doctor about what this might mean–especially in cases where there is also a pink band at the top of each nail bed (known as Terry’s Nails).

One sign that something may be wrong with one or more parts of our body comes from changes we see on outside features like fingers and toes. When someone notices their nails have turned an unusual color such as pure white, they should see their health care provider because sometimes these symptoms signify serious underlying issues, including injury, which will require treatment by qualified professionals.

The white half-moon area at the base of your nail is called the lunula, Latin for “little moon.” When this appears, it suggests that you are experiencing a change in blood flow.

The little things can often be overlooked, but if we were to take time and look with care, there would always seem to be something beautiful or interesting waiting around every corner. If I were not so busy living life on autopilot one day when looking down from my hands pushing through the soil as I dug up flowers from their roots hidden within, I might have taken notice of what was going right below me – The Lunula!

This symptom may indicate the following serious diseases:

Cirrhosis of the liver
Chronic kidney failure
Congestive heart failure

To rule out more serious causes, ask your doctor for an examination. All-white nails can be harmless genetic traits or a sign of aging and should not be ignored if they occur among seniors in particular. Terry’s all-white nail is most likely just his genetics at work, but it would also do well to have the doctor’s eyes examine him as I’m sure he wouldn’t want to miss anything that could cause pain later on down the line!

Yellow Nails

A variety of factors causes yellow nails, the most common being fungal infection. Smoking tobacco can also cause yellowing on one’s hands and nails. If this condition is not treated, it may indicate that they have psoriasis or diabetes – both serious diseases that require treatment to prevent worsening complications down the road!

Yellow nails could indicate cancerous cells in your body but don’t worry: as long as you get them checked out within 3 months of showing symptoms such as discomfort at night and fatigue during daytime hours- then chances are slim for any major health concerns like lung cancer from smoking cigarettes or thyroid issues related to Type 2 Diabetes (which would lead us into another conversation entirely).

Blue Nails

Nails can take on a blue appearance for lots of reasons. Technically your nail isn’t blue—just the skin beneath it is free from pigment, leaving it vulnerable to changing colors in several ways.

In the process of growing out nails, you may notice that they’re turning an unusual color or hue; and if so, don’t worry! Often this change will happen because there’s not enough blood flow near your cuticle area (a condition known as the “Raynaud phenomenon”). Still, other times it’s due to something far less serious, like having too much sugar intake after getting manicures done at home-care salons alike such as Nail Spa Zone, while sitting across from someone who has been working with hair coloring chemicals all day long.

Silver Poisoning

Blue nails can be caused by silver poisoning. In people with unpigmented nailbeds, the first signs of toxicity may appear in their fingers and toes due to being exposed to large amounts of metal over time. This condition is irreversible and will likely worsen if exposure continues or increases, which means that those who work with this precious metal are also at risk for argyria, including miners (especially). Still, anyone taking it medicinally should exercise caution because they might not know what kind they’re getting into.

Medications

At least one case of blue fingernails may have been due to the rosacea fighting medication minocycline. Medications such as antimalarials, phenothiazines, and amiodarone are also known for causing this condition which is considered harmless aside from being potentially embarrassing – especially if it’s not expected!

Occupational Hazards

Some jobs can leave you with a dark mark on your nails. These are called “blue fingernails.” Mechanics sometimes get them because of the oxalic acid sometimes used to clean radiators. People who use metal cleaners, paint removers, or manufacture inks or dyes may also develop blue fingers from prolonged exposure.

HIV Infection

People infected with HIV may develop blue nails in two ways. First, the infection itself seems to cause this distinct sign. Second, some antiretroviral medicine has also been associated with blue nails.

Cyanosis

As the body struggles to deliver oxygenated blood, a bluish tinge begins appearing underneath your nails and around other parts of your skin like the lips. The color may be more intense in cold temperatures or if someone has an abnormally high hemoglobin concentration. Cyanosis is often associated with COPD or asthma. Still, it can also occur suddenly from pneumonia or pulmonary embolism when there’s not enough time for doctors to study its cause before they have to take immediate action!

Rippled Nails

Psoriasis can be seen in the nails, and one of those signs is nail pitting. This appears as tiny holes in the surface of your fingernails that will make them look like they’re rusting or corroding from an outside source. Rippling on the top layer of certain people’s fingertips could mean a diagnosis with dermatitis – whether it’s contact irritant type or allergic to something else entirely.

Split or Cracked Nails

Nail brittleness is a common condition of the elderly, and it can be caused by anything from drug interactions to an injury. Nails typically split horizontally in onychoschizia or vertically when they are brittle due to aging – but this depends largely on how severe it has become over time.

Preventing Brittle Nails

A common skin condition for people with brittle nails is brittleness. However, there are many ways to treat it, depending on the severity of your symptoms. Prevention may be a better option than trying different treatments if you have not yet begun experiencing any problems but want to keep them from happening in the future. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for prevention methods, and supplements can sometimes work as an effective preventative measure against splitting or cracking nails. Supplements might take forms such as biotin (vitamin), amino acids, or minerals like zinc which will help strengthen your nail plates, so they don’t break off prematurely!

Puffy Nail Fold Infection (Paronychia)

Cuticles and nail beds can both become swollen or paronychia. This is because they’re easily damaged by many things such as water exposure (dishwasher hands) or a chronic condition like diabetes, to name but a few examples. Acute cases usually develop from infections; however, if your nails are chronically puffy, you probably have chemical irritation! Other reasons for having an inflamed bed include those who regularly use their hands in water—like dishwashers and food handlers-or people with diabetes, which leaves them more vulnerable than others.

Prevention and Treatment

Your treatment options depend on how you developed this condition. Puffy nail beds may respond to certain pills or steroid creams, but many people find it more effective to avoid water and harsh chemicals altogether. Rubber gloves can help with prevention for those who are prone to infection if they’re worn after washing your hands in between tasks that involve exposure of the hands (like cooking), as well as during contact sports like basketball when fingers might come into direct contact with another person’s skin surface area. Furthermore, try limiting thumb-sucking habits by using a cover instead of putting them straight up so fluids don’t flow under fingernails where bacteria could live; this would likely inhibit the development of paronychia too! After all these changes have been made – even.

Dark Lines Beneath the Nail

Chewed Nails

You may not be a nail-biter, but do you know someone who is? This habit can start as early as childhood and continue into adulthood. And while it might seem harmless at first glance with little to no health consequences- the truth of the matter is that this common stress relief technique has significant long-term effects on your body’s appearance and overall well-being!

Most obviously, biting your nails leaves them looking raw or rough, which often leads to infections in its wake. But other health problems such as the increased risk for carpal tunnel syndrome due to repetitive motion injuries from overuse should also keep people concerned about their habits like chewing their nails under control.

Intestinal parasites picked up from your nails
Jaw pain and dysfunction (TMJ)
Fungal nail infections
Stomach infections from swallowing nail pieces

Nail-biting is common but often hard to break a habit. If you suffer from OCD or ADHD, it may be even harder for you to stop this unpleasant behavior. It’s important that the patient cooperates and receives help from their medical team to beat nail-biting once and for all! These professionals are dermatologists who can provide advice on how best to eradicate your nails of any bacteria; psychiatrists who will listen attentively about why this has become an issue; dentists with experience treating patients’ oral health – which could have been worsened by chronic exposure of tooth enamel surface due to diligence should be taken if possible while beating out your bad habits.

White Spots on Nails

White spots on nails are harmless. They usually appear on the fingers but can also show up in toenails, which is less common. If you’ve rapped your nail against a hard object or bent it without breaking it- like when using an emery board – then white lines may stain them and lead back down into the cuticle line of the fingernail bed; this type of spot will grow out within 6 months if left alone so wait for it to disappear before clipping off any excess growth from around its edge with manicure scissors (carefully avoiding cutting too close).

Born with a white spot on your finger? Don’t worry; it could be hereditary! In the event of serious cases like this one–where an underlying health problem may exist—your doctor’s diagnosis can help you settle matters.

Horizontal Grooves or Gaps (Beau’s Lines)

Beau’s lines are one of the most common nail conditions, but it is impossible to tell which disease caused them just from looking at a person’s nails. These unsightly horizontal bands may form when an extreme cold causes hairline cracks in your skin or as a result of some other severe stress like syphilis, mumps, and pneumonia, among others.

Pale Horizontal Bands (Muehrcke’s Lines)

Muehrcke’s lines are usually absent on the thumbnail, so look for them on your fingernails instead. These bands arise from albumin deficiency and may indicate serious health consequences such as liver cirrhosis or nephrotic syndrome. Make sure to get a diagnosis if you see these white marks.

Clubbed Nails

When your fingertips or toenails grow into bulbous shapes, it’s known as clubbed nails. It can be harmless or a sign of an underlying disease depending on whether the person has other symptoms like heart problems and lung cancer. In some cases, liver cirrhosis is responsible for this condition too.

Green Nail Syndrome

For some people, discovering green nails can be a scary experience. It may either appear as spottiness below the nail or vivid dark color on them. This could mean that you have a bacterial infection and picked it up from time spent in water such as gardening during wet weather, working at dishwashing jobs, or swimming in poorly chlorinated pools and hot tubs like beaches, for instance (although these are not exclusive to those who spend time near water).

People who have jobs that cause their nails to separate are more likely to risk green fingernails syndrome. This can happen in people such as janitors, plumbers, and gardeners. Another type of this condition is that factory workers may develop dark green fingernails from working with resins used to manufacture electronics without using proper safety equipment (such as a mask). One report told the story of the 58-year old worker making common epoxy resin which he worked on every day for months while only wearing latex gloves instead of appropriate protective gear.

Nails Are Only Part of the Puzzle

Changes in the nails can signal a significant health condition. Most of the time, these changes are not permanent and will resolve independently after some time has passed. Patience is key when dealing with nail problems because it usually takes months for a damaged one to grow out completely