Your fingernails can be a fun and versatile fashion accessory but they can also give us clues to underlying health conditions. Although a lot of changes can occur from wearing too much nail polish or from aggressive filing due to wearing falsies, other sudden changes can point to health issues. Some are more common than others and most are easily solved!
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Brittle nails
Brittleness is often the result of a dry nail plate. Over use of harsh chemicals on your hands and nails such as nail polish remover and household cleaning products can dry out nails. Brittle nails may also be caused by something as simple as cold weather! Your nails can dry out and become when you’re exposed to indoor heating.
Dark Lines
Dark vertical lines along your nails should not be ignored as they can be a sign of melanoma. Therefore it is important to strip your nails of any product every so often.
Lifting nails
Although this once sounds pretty scary there usually is a simple explanation. Where the nail appears to lift away from the nailbed it is most likely a sign of over- exposure to water. If your nails change colour too it can also point to injury or infection.
White Spots
We’ve all had these! There are several explanations behind these pesky white marks. Damage caused right at the base of the nail can lead to these marks. A fungal infection could also be to blame.
White Lines
Horizontal white lines that appear on your nails are usually caused by trauma but others have more serious origins. Called Muehrcke’s lines, they could be caused by a number of things including kidney disease, liver abnormalities or a lack of protein.
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