What do healthy nails look like and how does their appearance relate to health?

Nails look beautiful only when they are healthy. This article will tell you about how healthy nails look, how their appearance is related to health.

The appearance of the nail plate can tell about the state of health. If the nails are healthy, then they have a pale pink color. Lunula is a white space at the bottom of the nail plate, which should be white. A healthy cuticle should not be damaged. Healthy nails grow well. The growth rate of the nail plates on the hands and feet - an individual indicator. Some people grow marigolds pretty quickly, while others constantly complain that it is quite difficult for them to grow long nails.

Healthy nails in young and mature people vary. So, the kids nail plates are quite thin. The softest marigolds in newborns. As the child grows up, the natural thickening of the nail plates also occurs. The most dense nails - in the elderly.

For a variety of reasons, nails can change their appearance. So, if they have changed, then in this case you should look for the reason why this happened. To determine in some cases it is quite difficult. If it is impossible to identify the cause on its own, then in this case you should contact a specialist. Sometimes a diagnostic search is so complicated that it can take even several weeks, and in some cases it is required to pass tests and undergo medical tests. Usually such examinations are prescribed to find out the causes of discoloration of the nails due to the impaired work of the internal organs of a person.

Healthy nails tend to have a uniform pale pink color. If it changes, then you should definitely think about whether everything is in order in the body. Drawing nail plates is a very important indicator of health. Nails tell a lot about health. So, white stripes may appear on them, which look like short lines, which are located, as a rule, horizontally. This condition was encountered even in our ancestors, but they considered this to be not at all a pathological condition, but simply a good omen. But modern doctors say that this is an indicator that the body does not work in a physiological mode.

The causes of whitish stripes on the nails are different. So, if such white spots appeared only on one finger, then with a greater degree of probability a traumatic injury led to this. If several nails are affected at once, then in this case it is most likely to look for a violation of mineral metabolism. In this case, you need to pay attention to food. It must be balanced with the mandatory inclusion of sources of vitamins and minerals.

Such white lines appear also in heart failure. Impaired work of the heart leads to the fact that the oxygen concentration in the blood decreases, which leads to malnutrition of the nail plate.

The depth of such small “holes” can be different, as well as their number. In some cases, it may even seem that the nail was “worn out” with a needle. This clinical manifestation may be a sign of a skin pathology - psoriasis. Many people think that this disease is characterized only by damage to the skin, but this is not entirely true, psoriatic damage to the nails are not so rare.

If a person has numerous indentations on the nails, then it is better for him to consult a doctor for a diagnosis in order to exclude psoriasis. However, the grooves on the nails can appear not only in psoriasis. Such a symptom may be a manifestation of arthritis or eczema. In any case, it is only an experienced dermatologist who can determine the specific pathology that has led to the development of such manifestations after conducting a comprehensive examination of the whole organism.

And also on the nails may appear deep longitudinal grooves. They look as if the nail was crushed by some heavy object. However, the cause of the development of such clinical signs lies elsewhere. So, the appearance of deep grooves on the nail plates can lead to prolonged starvation. This symptom may also appear in people who have been following unbalanced diets for a long time. It should be noted that the causes of the emergence of deep longitudinal furrows may also lie in "silent" diseases. Some pathologies of the heart and blood vessels, as well as the nervous system, can lead to the appearance of this trait.

With age, the nail pattern changes. So, due to various changes in the functioning of the body in a mature person, vertical stripes appear on the nail plates. If this symptom occurs in people younger than 50 years, then this suggests that they need to undergo a comprehensive examination.

The reason for the appearance of vertical stripes on the nails can be in the conduct of poor-quality manicure. So, if during the treatment the lower part of the nail was touched, then such changes to the nail plate may subsequently appear. However, in this situation, as a rule, only a few longitudinal strips appear.

This anatomical element is usually well distinguishable. It has the shape of a half full moon. Lunula can also talk about the health of the body. Each person has a different size of this part of the nail. On average, the moon can be up to 1/3 of the entire nail plate, while it is perfectly visualized.

As a rule, moons are larger in size for people who are professionally involved in sports or work physically. However, doctors note that the size of the moon can also vary with some pathologies of the heart, as well as with hypotension.

Also, the moon may decrease in case of iron deficiency anemia, when the concentration of iron in the blood decreases.

Healthy nails are usually longitudinal. In some cases, they become spoon-shaped. In this case, the center of the nail as it bends inward, and the edges rise.Interestingly, these changes are not accompanied by the appearance of adverse symptoms. A person with such nails does not get pain. And also while the nail plate, as a rule, have a brilliant appearance. This condition is called koilonhia.

You can suspect it yourself. To do this, the nail should drip a small drop of water. If the water while quietly rolling off the nail plate, then in this case, nothing to worry about. If a drop of water “stuck” on the nail, then this most likely indicates the presence of koilonhia. This condition may be a sign of problems in the endocrine system. And also koilonikhiya can cause anemia, which is accompanied by a decrease in the concentration of iron in the bloodstream.

False nails can be a hereditary trait. So, if such a nail plate in a child from birth, and one of his parents also has spoon-shaped nails, then in this case you should not worry. This does not mean that the baby has any diseases. This is just an individual feature of the child.

In some cases, the nails can take the form of "watch glasses". In this case, they begin to become thicker. If you look at the nail plates from the side, you can see that they resemble watch glass. Such a change in the shape of the nail plate can be a manifestation of various pathologies. Such changes often occur with various diseases of the respiratory system, accompanied by a decrease in the concentration of oxygen in the blood.

If the nails change their color, it most likely indicates that various changes occur in the body. For example, yellowing of the nail plates is more likely to indicate problems in the liver and gallbladder. Dyskinesia of the biliary tract, which is accompanied by stagnation of bile, can also lead to such specific changes. Nail plates can be affected by a fungus. In this case, they may have a yellow or in some cases even purple color. When a fungal infection nail plates begin to crumble strongly.

A black line may suddenly appear on the nails. Such a clinical sign may cause injury. Thus, a dark strip may appear on the nail after pinching it, for example, with a door or a cabinet door. If there was no factor preceding the appearance of a dark strip on the nail, in this case, you should definitely consult a doctor.

The appearance of nails depends on many factors. Proper nutrition is of paramount importance in maintaining and maintaining healthy nails. To nail plates grow faster, in the diet must be present products containing calcium. A lot of this mineral is contained in fermented milk products. People who want to strengthen their nails should always include cottage cheese, kefir and other products containing calcium in their diet.

Nail care should be comprehensive. So, for the treatment of nail plates in order to improve their appearance, you can use various cosmetic products. For example, it is possible to improve the color of nail plates and reduce their fragility with the help of cosmetic nail polishes. Such tools, for example, produce "Phytocosmetics", Eveline Nail Therapy Professional and many others.

Doctors recommend that people who are closely monitoring their health also monitor the condition of their nails. To keep your nails healthy and beautiful, you should pay attention to the following recommendations:

• regularly take care of your hands and feet; manicure and pedicure should be done only by an experienced master;
• in case of increased dryness of the cuticle, it is necessary to use cosmetic products; moisturize and nourish this delicate part of the nail by using moisturizers and oils;
• clean the house and wash dishes with gloves; also do not forget about gloves before going out in the cold season, as well as in windy weather;
• shoes should be comfortable; it is better that it is made from natural materials;
• for the prevention of the development of vitamin disorders take vitamin preparations;
• food should be varied and balanced; fresh fruits, vegetables and berries must be present in it, because the vitamins and minerals contained in them not only improve the functioning of the body, but also make the nails healthier and more shiny.

Read more about nail health in the video below.