| fingernail
ridge info: ridges, vertical and horizontal | |||||
 | consultations | Norman Allan | alternative medicine | ||
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Fingernails and Diagnosis Ridges | more
about nails | horsetail
and silica |
Having looked at this site, I finally I took a look at my own nails and... they have ridges, not unlike these illustrated here. I am quite confident that, "Vertical ridges are normal. They are no big deal." However,
horizontal ridges can be serious. |
beyond
the bottom line Nancy writes:...going off of gluten... Dr.
Allan writes: | There
was a article on nails on yahoo.ca's mail page: |
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Some horizontal ridge phenomena include: |
| X asks about bleeding under the nails, not caused by trauma. I'm going to put up a page on bleeding, in a minute |
| A history of this page... Many years ago someone asked me about the moons on nails - she didn't have any - and I posted a page on nails, which after many years suddenly googled, and meanwhile, I've yet to answer her question. so
here's an answer | splitting nails, ridges, and Fe deficiency, an anecdote
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Studying for the acupucture course I am teaching, I learn that "the Liver manifests in the nails," {but note, this is the TCM concept of Liver (as, for instance, the storehouse of Blood)}; so, for instance, Devificient Liver Blood is associated with pale nails. (In English, anemia will cause pale nails: and, got pale nails, think anemia.) | L.M
writes, "Hi Norman, I recently started taking Magnesium for the ‘crawling’ sensation in my legs which was driving me crazy because I can hardly sleep in hot weather.
Not only has this terrible feeling stopped after 32 years but I’ve noticed that the vertical ridges on my Pinky finger have flattened out considerably.
The crawling legs and ridges do seem to be linked in some way. When the crawling in my legs starts coming back I’ve noticed that so do the ridges." | |
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S R wrote: "I have clubbed fingers, I also have pulmonary fibrosis. I have ridged fingernails and also have arthritis. This bears out your findings in your article" i'm not sure how close the association between arthritis and ridges is: perhaps they're both degenerative expressions, and we age. | ask
the doctor | If
you have found any good information about ridges on fingernails, please tell me
and I'll post it here. There
is a niche, a need for information.
normanallandr@yahoo.ca |
Bate's, a medical book on diagnosis says the following:-. Brittle nails signify possible iron deficiency and thyroid problems, impaired kidney function, and circulation problems. Yellow nails can indicate internal disorders long before other symptoms appear. Some of these are problems with the lymphatic system, respiratory disorders, diabetes, and liver disorders. | foottoning
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Nails that chip, peel, crack, or break
easily show a nutritional deficiency and insufficient hydrochloric acid and protein.
Minerals are also needed. Brittle, soft, shiny nails without a moon may indicate
an overactive thyroid. White lines across the nail may indicate a liver disease.
White lines (longitudinal?) show possible heart disease, high fever, or arsenic
poisoning. Nails separated from the nail bed may signify a thyroid disorder.
Nails raised at the base ("clubbing") with small white ends show a respiratory
disorder such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis. ("Clubbing" with lung disorders
is one condition of the nails that is recognized by Standard Medicine.) Ridges
can signify a possible infection such as the flu. Downward curved nail ends
may denote heart, liver, or respiratory problems. Ridges running up and down
the nails indicate a tendency to develop arthritis. Lack of vitamin A and
calcium causes dryness and brittleness. Vitamin B deficiency causes fragility,
with horizontal and vertical ridges. Insufficient intake of vitamin B12 leads
to excessive dryness, very rounded and curved nail ends, and darkened nails.
White bands can indicate protein deficiency. | Orthodoc's wisdom on finger nails is illustrated in Bates' Guide to Physical Examination: Clubbing" has many causes,
including hypoxia (lack of oxygen) and lung cancer. (Think, rather, "lung complaints".)
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Google finds this: Ridges
in Finger Nails So
finally, I take a look at my nails and... they have ridges, not unlike these illustrated
here, so I'm back to "Vertical ridges are normal. They are no big deal." | Spoon
nails are sometimes seen in iron deficiency anemia.
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There isn't much reliable information out there on ridges (vertical) on fingernails, but on balance, I would say "It does not seem like you should worry too much about vertical ridges." | Minerva says she googled that dark nail can mean lack of oxygen (as with anemia, for instance, which can be caused by iron deficiency...) which makes sense. | click
here for Doctor Allan's Home Page
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| in so far as nail may reflect general health, look at "a treatment for most conditions!" | ||
comments... L.D.
asks about the horizontal ridges which appeared (while he was doing deep emotional
work, could they be connected) | "A
few years ago all my toenails had what looked like black and blue marks
under each nail. No doctor knew what was wrong until I went to a dermotologist.
As soon as she saw my feet she asked if I was taking a certain med, which
I was. After I stopped taking it the nails returned to normal. I can't remember
the name of the med, but I was taking it for RA." Mary K | W.W writes, "the white flecks which can appear on finger nails are due to a lack of zinc in the diet." (I've heard this often over the years and I'm quite prepared to believe it - and as Zinc is far from toxic (in moderation) it is worth trying - however, I don't know where this knowledge comes from.)
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B.P.asks,
"in the last year, I have experienced dark discoloration
of my toe nails, any idea what could be causing this? I do paint them most of
the summer, however, I’ve not applied any polish all winter. Thank you in
advance." A trip to the university library tells me that:- yellow
nails are often associated with lung disease, white nail are associated with cirrhosis (including alcoholic cirrhosis).
| LN writes about ridges, splitting nails, and what homeopaths might call "crippled nails", as follows: "I chewed my nails my whole life. Every time I stopped, I couldn't get my nails to last very long because of splitting. It wasn't until I had my iron tested (after having heart attack symptoms) and discovered I had a severe iron deficiency that I was able to grow nails. I was prescribed to receive 5 iron infusions over 5 weeks. I stopped chewing my nails and they have grown with success. I still have many ridges but I also have learned that it takes a long time for these signs to clear." | Someone asked about the size of "moons". The moons are the "nail matrix", the part of the mail bed that is growing, generating the nail. In one of the picture on my "nail growth" page the moons are called "lunula". There is a great variance in the size of the "moon" that is showing, though usually the size deminshes from thumb to pinky. On my right thumb the moon is large (40% of the nail), on that pinky it is miniscule (1 to 1.5 mm), on the left pinky the moon is gone. That's
what I know for now.
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| thick
dark brown lines under the nail should be seen by a dermatologist! propably nothing
to worry about, but it should be checked out! Su wrote: hello dr Norman, how r u? i m su. i have one qustion. my husband has some black verticle lines along with ridges on his nails.so i was wondering, is that really common or not really anything serious or something?. | Helen's brown streak turned out to be benign, but such pigmented streaks under the nail should be checked out by a dermatolgist!
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| several people have recently asked about splitting of their nails. B.J. answers: "I have had, for a number of years a small split nail end on one of my fingers. I would use scissors to try and cut it away but it would come back. I took vitamins in the hope that they would help, but no. The split end has now gone and it appears the cure was Yogurt. I started eating 8oz of Yogurt every day for health reasons. It was maybe a month before I noticed the split end was gone and it has not returned. Why Yogurt would do this I have no idea. Yogurt was the only major change in my diet." | Z
writes: I found something
useful. It is calcium based nail fortifier. I got it at a beauty supply store.
The web address is www.lagirlusa.com.
| Nancy
writes: ...going off of gluten is slowly removing
the vertical ridges in my fingernails. My fingernails are now reflecting more
light and they look much shinier. My nails are slowly getting stronger. Two of
my toenails used to peel off the tops of them. This has also stopped. I've been off of gluten for 9 months. These are just two of the many changes I have noticed. Perhaps Nancy (in particular) had a gluten sensitifity: which is to say, it might not work for all. |
I am going to start offering online and phone consultations, but,
I am not a great expert on finger nails, | Herbert Goodheart's Dermatological Rounds is a good souce of illustrated nail disorders. | |
Muehrcke
lines are associated with albumin deficiency (as is kidney disease, and liver
and severe malnutrition), but also seen in chemotherapy. (source
eMedicine). They seem to be a simple interruption of pigmentation.
Beau's
lines are horizontal
lines of darkened cells and linear depressions. They may
be associated with traumas, acute severe illness,
malnutrition, major metabolic condition, chemotherapy or other damaging event,
and is the result of any interruption in the protein formation of the nail plate.
| Norman
Allan www.normanallan.com |