Your nail health might serve as a primary indicator of your overall health. Your nails need proper care to remain strong and healthy. If you notice dents or ridges on them, then it might indicate an underlying medical condition , which would require prompt medical attention. Healthy finger nails are supposed to be smooth and uniform in color with no spots or discoloration. Sometimes, there can be development of harmful vertical ridges from the tip of your nail till the cuticle, which can become more prominent as you grow older.

There are many ways to keep your nails clean and healthy:

Good nail hygiene: You should always use good quality sharp clippers or manicure scissors. The proper way to cut your nails is to trim the nails straight across and then round the tips in a gentle curve.
Keep fingernails dry and clean: You can prevent the growth of bacteria under your fingernails if you keep them clean. Wear a pair of cotton lined rubber gloves while performing activities, such as using harsh chemicals or washing dishes.
Biotin supplements: Biotin supplements can increase the thickness of your nails and also prevent splitting and breaking. Biotin is a member of the vitamin B family and helps the body to convert food into energy.
Don t go for professional manicures: Going for professional pedicure or manicure on a regular basis can make your nails dry and brittle. Another way to remedy the problem is to take your own tool to the manicure salon, which reduces the chance of infection. Regular professional manicure can make you suffer from nail bed infections, which can be chronic in nature.
Avoid acetone: Using acetone based polish removers, will strip your nail of the essential nutrients in due course of time thus, making them brittle.
Don t bite: Avoid biting your fingernails as this can damage the nail bed. Bacteria or fungi can enter through a small cut along the fingernail, which can cause an infection.
Do not ignore minor problems of the nail: If you have some infection in your nails which doesn t seem to go away, then there are chances of the infection being a result of some other underlying health condition. You should immediately get the problem evaluated by a doctor or a dermatologist.

Nail Health - 7 Things You Must Ensure 

Having beautiful nails is not necessary only for looking good, but they need to be clean for health purposes too. Just like your skin and hair, you need to take care of them so that they are healthy looking. They are exposed to environment and there are many ways by which your nails get damaged. Thus, here are a few tips that are easy to follow to keep your nails look great and keep them healthy!

Care for your cuticles: During a manicure avoid trimming your cuticles. They are meant to be the barrier for bacteria and when you cut them, it may result in painful infections. With the help of a cuticle pusher, you may moisten them and push them back, but do not cut them totally. Even when you are having a conventional manicure make sure that you protect your cuticles by dabbing some olive or almond oil so that the reaction of chemicals that come in contact with your skin becomes minimum.
Use moisturizer: Even your nails need to be moisturized and hence while you rub lotion on your hands put some of it on your nail and cuticles too. By using hand wash regularly you tend to dry your nail bed. Thus, after every wash, it is necessary that you use some moisturizer. If possible, use some coconut oil for rubbing on your nails. You can use cuticle cream too and rubbing that every day on your cuticles will help in keeping them moisturized.
Provide nutrients to your nails: Yes, even your nails need nutrients to be healthy. Take biotin that is also referred as vitamin H. Studies reveals that it helps in preventing nails from becoming brittle. It may not grow your nails faster, but it provides the necessary support to your nails so that they do not split, crack or tear away.
Wear gloves to protect your nails: Make it a practice to wear gloves while you are working with detergents, whether during dishwashing or anything else. Detergents have harsh chemicals that will leach away nutrients and moisture from your nails. Thus, it s better to protect before than taking care later.  Prevention is better than cure  you know!
Avoid using harsh polish: In nail polishes, you will find toxic chemicals like toluene, dimethyl, dibutyl phthalate, and camphor, diethyl phthalates, and formaldehyde. These nail polishes are dangerous for health. Instead try alternatives that do not contain such chemicals and are easy on your nails. Before you purchase them read the label carefully.
After following all these, if still you are not satisfied with the quality or health of your nails, it is better to get advice from an expert.

5 Simple Tips for Great Looking Nails

We grow up thinking of our nails as dead cells and pay attention to them only to trim them once a week. If you re a woman, this might extend to painting them in different hues. However, the shape, texture and natural colour of your nails along with the rate at which they grow says a lot about your overall health.

Homeopathy is an effective way of treating nail disorders as it addresses the root cause of the problem. This form of treatment has negligible side effects and hence, can be used over a long period of time. However, homeopathy should never be used to self medicate. This is because a homeopathic prescription depends on the symptoms presented and the personality of the patient.

Here are a few changes in your nails that could be signs of health disturbances.

Horizontal ridges: White horizontal ridges across your nails are developed when there is a pause in the growth of the nail. They could be an indication of an injury or a symptom of a serious illness. These are also known as Beau s lines or Mee s lines. Beau s lines are developed due to psoriasis, diabetes, circulatory disease or a severe deficiency of zinc. Mee s lines can be a result of arsenic poisoning, malaria, leprosy, Hodgkin s disease or carbon monoxide poisoning.
Vertical ridges: This is a common sign of aging and is usually nothing to worry about. However, in some cases, it could be a sign of vitamin B12 or magnesium deficiencies.
Spoon nails: If the edges of your nails curve upwards and take on a spoon-like look, it could be a sign of anemia, excessive iron absorption, heart disease or hypothyroidism.
Pitted Nails: Dents or pits in your nails are usually a sign of psoriasis. It could also be a symptom of tissue disorders such as Reiter s syndrome or autoimmune diseases like alopecia areata.
Dark nails: If you notice dark,discoloured patches on your nails, consult a doctor immediately. This could be due to melanoma which is the most dangerous form of skin cancer.
Yellow Nails: Smoking and excessive use of acrylic nail polish are the two most common causes of yellow nails. However, if your nails are thinand crumbly along with being yellow, it could be a sign of a fungal infection. In rare cases, yellow nails could also be a sign of thyroid disorders, diabetes or psoriasis.
Clubbing: Nails that are enlarged and curved downwards are said to be clubbed. This is typically a sign of low levels of oxygen in the blood. It could also be symptom of lung disease, liver and kidney disorders, AIDS and inflammatory bowel disease.

Nails - Can They Indicate Any Illness?

Have you ever come across a person with usual toes, toes that are mysteriously curled or bend upwards, downwards or inwards? As strange and intriguing as it may appear, the condition can be quite painful and is known as toe deformity. In toe deformity, the foot bone is unusually and abnormally positioned, resulting in pain and discomfort.

Toe deformity in a person can be of different types. It can be:

Hammer toe: This is one of the most commonly observed toe deformity. A hammer toe is characterized by the curling or bending down of the second toe at the proximal interphalangeal joint (the middle toe joint). The toe may further bend up at the distal interphalangeal joint (joint adjacent to the toe tip) or the metatarsophalangeal joint (meeting point of the foot and the toe) as well. In hammer toe, the awkward alignment results in a slight elevation in the joint of the middle toe. A hammer toe is often seen accompanied by a bunion (a bony bump or a deformity formed at the joint that links the foot with the big toe).
Mallet toe: Mallet toe mostly affects the second toe (other toes may be affected). The deformity results in bending down of the toe at the distal interphalangeal joint (appears like a mallet).
Claw toe: The deformity affects all the toes, with the big toe being an exception. Here, the toes bend up at the metatarsophalangeal joint and bend down at the distal interphalangeal joint. The deformity results in the toes curling down towards the floor (appears claw-like).
What causes Toe Deformity?
There can be many factors responsible for toe deformities.

Toe deformity in a person may be congenital (present from birth).
It can also be an outcome of medical conditions such as arthritis (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis), stroke, heart attack, diabetes, an injury, an accident, or wearing wrong footwear.
Toe deformity can also be hereditary.
Signs and symptoms:
The symptoms for Toe Deformity (hammer toe, claw toe, and mallet toe) include

There is redness, pain, and swelling in the affected part of the toe. In claw toe, however, there may or may not be pain associated with the condition.
A person faces difficulties in straightening the toe.
In hammer toe, corns, and calluses appear on the middle joint (top) of the affected toe.
In mallet toe, ulcers may occur on the toe (in diabetic patients).
Treatment:
Initially, toe deformity appears flexible, where movement around the affected joint is possible. However, if left unattended, the condition can become severe and rigid, thereby restricting the movement (in the affected area). Treatment for toe deformity depends on how severe the condition is.

In most cases, the treatment involves wearing custom-made shoes, fitted with supports (cushions or pads) and wider toe box.
Using of tapes and splints may be helpful in correcting and repositioning the deformed toe.
Patients with excruciating pain benefit immensely from cortisone injections.
Corn pads can be used to deal with corns and calluses better.
Toe stretching exercises are highly effective.
If severe cases or extreme rigidity, doctors may opt for surgical treatments like arthrodesis, tendon transfer, arthroplasty, to name a few.

Toe Deformity- What Causes It And What Are Its Treatment Options?

Your nails tell a lot about your health or the lack of it! Many health problems have nails as the indicators or warning signs. If your nails are not healthy or pink and shiny, you might be in for some sort of health issue.  If you have cracked nails, discoloured nails, irregularities or very thick nails then you probably have some internal health problem.

Look for these indicators to get an idea-

1) Color of your nails : Pink or white nails are considered healthy. Dark spots on your nails? surface are not just a sign of aging but also indicate a risk of heart disease. Red color is a possible sign of heart infections and green colour usually indicates local fungal infection.

2) Brittle nails: If your nails are brittle and get cracked often, it is due to lack of folic acid, vitamin C and protein. In 10% of cases, psoriasis starts with the nails.

3) Furrow nails: Furrow nails are the ones which are irregular with a dent like appearance. It may indicate you of psoriasis or auto-immune illness which leads to hair loss. Thick furrow nails may signal a yeast infection.

4) Thick nails: Nails thicken in time. Thick nails are neither natural nor normal. If your nails are extremely thick, you probably it could be that your lungs are not healthy. It can also indicative of the fact that your body has poor circulation.

5) Curved nails: If your nails are curved and concave like shape it might signal either lack of iron or heart problems.



What Your Nails Tell About Your Health

Nails are an important part of your physiology, although they are mostly used for either utilitarian purposes such as gripping or for beauty purposes such as nail decorations. Nails themselves can go through infections which need not have underlying causes and thus can cause damage to that part of the tissue. One such disorder of the nail is onycholysis.

What is onycholysis?
This is a disorder where the nail on the finger or the toes starts to separate from the skin below. This happens little by little and usually starts at the tip and then progresses backward. The further back it progresses, the more nail tissue it destroys. While the entire nail may not be detached from the nail bed, parts of it may chip off, showing the tissue underneath.

Symptoms of Onycholysis:

Jagged border between the pink flesh of the nail bed and the yellow edge of the nail
Detached nails become opaque, yellow or may turn green in color
Nail may become irregular in shape and size
Bits and chunks of nails can break off easily
Primary Causes for Onycholysis:

Frequent trauma - If you have a profession or work at home where you constantly require tapping away, it might cause minute injuries to build up within the nails and the fingers. Tapping on keyboards is one area where you could get repetitive trauma like this.
Manicure problems - Many salons may aggressively try to clean the underside of the nails and in the process, slowly dislodge the nail form the nail bed and cause onycholysis. This has known to be the case with many people.
Water immersion - If you have work where your nails are immersed in water for long periods of time, this could also affect the development of onycholysis.
Skin diseases - Certain skin conditions can also end up giving onycholysis. Psoriasis and contact dermatitis are other conditions that may lead to onycholysis as a consequence.
Allergy to nail glue - Many makeup artists and customers have complained that certain brands of nail glue can also cause allergies resulting in onycholysis.
Medications - Medications meant for the treatment of other ailments within the body can have the unintended consequences of causing onycholysis.
Treatment:
The underlying problems need to be corrected which may cause onycholysis. Once the underlying problem is corrected, onycholysis usually corrects itself. The nail may take some time to re-grow but will grow back on its own eventually and may take 4 to 6 months to cover the entire affected area again.

Onycholysis - How It Can Affect Your Nails?

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