Are your nails smooth and their color uniform? In principle, everything is fine. Are they streaked, brittle, stained or split? This may indicate a health problem: overview of these small anomalies.
It sometimes happens that our nails have small sores. Rest assured most of the time they are harmless and linked to deficiencies. Show me your nails, I’ll tell you what you got!
Factors related to lifestyle and diet
White stripes, brittle or splitting nails: these ailments are often linked to lifestyle and diet. Cracked or brittle nails are, for example, frequently the result of a poor diet, as are soft nails which indicate a protein deficiency, white stained nails (also called leukonychia) which indicate a lack of calcium or vitamin C or even ridged nails which are linked to the lack of silica and iron.
Good news: for all these problems, resuming a balanced diet and good hygiene should be enough to restore the beauty of your hands.
Yellow nails are most of the time linked to tobacco consumption or to the regular polish break, they can however also be the symptom of a more serious pathology: psoriasis, diabetes, jaundice, tuberculosis, sinusitis or thyroid problems, in which case you will need to consult.
Often misdiagnosed, according toassociation France Psoriasis, nail psoriasis can also make your nails look peculiar with surface alterations, an orange color, or nail loosening. However, most of the time, it can be treated by local treatment with topical corticosteroids, corticosteroid injection or even thanks to UV treatments.
Finally, manual trades, the fact of spending a lot of time with your hands in water or, quite simply, old age are also hazards linked to your lifestyle and which are felt on your nails.
When to consult a doctor ?
Even if the small abnormalities of the nails are often harmless, if the symptoms persist despite good hygiene and a varied diet: it is advisable to consult a doctor.
The American site Medical News Today For example, recommends seeing a doctor if you are concerned about any of the following symptoms: change in the shape, thickness or swelling of the nail, discoloration of the nail, redness, pain or bleeding around the nails , or detachment of the nail from the skin.
A black spot on the nail, if you haven’t suffered any shock previously, is never a good sign either. It may be linked to malignant melanoma. “It is treated like skin cancer. We must be vigilant because even if it is less widespread, it can be dangerous”, recalls the dermatologist Mostefa Rafaa, questioned for Current wife.
How to take care of your nails?
To have beautiful hands, in addition to food, it is therefore necessary to adopt simple and regular rules of hygiene and beauty.
Among them, the fact of cutting the nails after the bath or the shower when they are very soft, to cut them straight, by gently rounding the ends and leaving its cuticles, protective for the nail. It is also important to remember to hydrate your nails, a part that you tend to forget when you hydrate your hands. Finally, one should also avoid long term use of nail polish, removers and false nails and only go to certified nail salons!
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