Everything your nails reveal about your health

The nail is mainly made up of a protein called keratin, the major component of skin and hair. The regrowth of a complete nail lasts six months. Brittle, soft, striated, split, the nails of our hands often reflect a small health concern or a vitamin deficiency. To take care of it on a daily basis:

The aroma solution: Twice a week, massage your nails with 2 drops of lemon EO diluted in wheat germ oil.
The phyto solution: take 4 capsules per day of borage oil in capsules dosed at 500 mg as a two-month cure, repeat if necessary two or three times a year. Or massage the matrix of nails with olive oil every day.
The nutritional solution :ssprinkle your soups and salads with brewer’s yeast flakes. Do this cure for at least two months.

In video: 3 homemade treatments to take care of your nails

Your fingernails are wavy

These transverse waves are the result of overly aggressive treatments, repeated shocks to the matrix (cuticles pushed back with a metal object), or simply due to the bad habit of biting your nails. These ripples can also be caused by eczema or certain microbial diseases (streptococci, staphylococci). After a sample to identify the responsible germ, an antibiotic cream can be prescribed by the doctor.

Your nails have changed color

>> They are yellow: tobacco, and the application of colored varnish without a protective base to isolate the keratin from the pigments are most frequently responsible for this coloration. Once these benign causes have been ruled out, it is necessary to look for fungal infections, often responsible for yellowing. Or check that it does not hide pleurisy or sinusitis.

>> They are white: a clear discoloration can be the index of a anemia or liver disease. Small white spots, on the other hand, do not reveal any pathology, or even a mineral deficiency. These are micromalformations of the keratin, caused by excessively brutal maneuvers to push back the cuticles, or repeated shocks.

>> They are black: apart from hematomas which appear following a shock or a pinch, all black spots must be monitored very closely: all those which do not evolve like a mole, or those which form a band at the manner of a “bar code”, and which do not disappear when pushed. It may indeed be a melanoma (tumor), which can be treated well, provided it is treated as soon as possible.

>> They are blue: if this bluish color is diffuse and affects all the nails, it is impossible to put it down to a simple hematoma ! It can rather reveal a circulatory deficiency or heart failure. To be confirmed by your doctor or a dermatologist.

>> They are red: a healthy nail is naturally pink. Red spots, on the other hand, can be a sign of cardiac disease, pulmonary or renal. When the rim becomes red and swollen, it may be a allergy or a mycosis by Candida, yeasts which are found naturally on the skin and mucous membranes. These infiltrate under the cuticle and proliferate when the hands are often in water and poorly cared for. The inflammation is quite painful and the nail gradually peels off. It is then necessary to eliminate the area attacked by the fungus and apply an antifungal treatment.

Your fingernails are pitted

The small depressions that dot the surface of the nails are often due to repetitive strain injuries. But when these holes are organized like a thimble, it can be a psoriasis. These microlesions can be the harbinger of this very rare disease, which affects only 1% of French people. The treatment is based on local corticosteroids.

Your nails are bulging

This “watch glass” form is often hereditary. But it can also indicate a lack of oxygen in the blood and alert to a specific problem in the respiratory tract: bronchitis chronic, lung disease or even pulmonary emphysema.

Your nails are curved

This particular deformation of the nail is the sign of a vitamin C deficiency or in iron. Especially if it is accompanied by pallor of the nail plate. This anemia, relatively common in women, especially during menopause, is treated by internal supplementation.

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