Your fingernails are an important barometer of overall health. Healthy looking nails have healthy skin underneath them and this is what gives them an attractive pinkish hue.
When you lose that color, or the nail appearance itself changes, this could be a sign of a nutritional deficiency or a specific health problems.
Some of the most common fingernail problems:
- Yellow nails
- Thick fingernails
- White spots on nails
- Soft fingernails
- Brittle nails that break easily
- Nails that look as if they are spooned out
- Fingernails that separate from the nail bed
- Onychomycosis or fungal nail infection
First things first: check your diet
As some of these fingernail problems could be caused by a nutritional deficiency it’s a good idea take a good quality, high-potency multivitamin/mineral supplement (which includes Zinc, Iron and B vitamins). Make sure you also beef up your diet with protein (which is what fingernails are made of) and fatty acids. A good diet that ensures you get all the nutrients you need is a great safeguard against fingernail problems. But don’t expect results over night – what you’re doing is building a foundation for long term nail health. Although nutrition is important, bear in mind that fingernail problems can be the result of injury to the nail matrix, fungal infection (see below) reaction to nail products (especially those that contain acetone – so stop using these) as well as signs of a more serious disease.
Specific symptoms may be a sign of fungal fingernails
Fungus infections are a very common fingernail problem. In fact it has been estimated that over 35 million people in the US suffer from nail fungus infections (this includes fingernail fungus and toenail fungus combined).
If you have yellow fingernails, thick fingernails or it looks like your fingernails are separating from he nail bed, then you could have fingernail fungus. The condition is known as Onychomychosis. If you suspect that you may have this condition, read our longer list of nail fungus symptoms and head on over to our toenail fungus treatment page to research the remedies available to you.
If you’re worried about your fingernail problems, seek medical advice
Some experts say that fingernails are a ‘signpost’ to other conditions such as heart disease, kidney disease, thyroid problems or diabetes. These can be serious, so it is important to seek medical advice to rule out some of these other causes before you start self-treatment with nutritional supplements or begin an anti-fungal remedy.