The nail health line is gone

First of all, let me give you some reassurance: more than 90% of the disappearance of what we often call the nail health line (also known as the nail half moon, commonly known as the crescent moon) is not a sign of serious illness. Either the natural nail matrix is ​​located far back and cannot be seen, or it is normal fluctuations caused by changes in metabolism and daily hand habits. Only a few cases are accompanied by other physical abnormalities, so we need to be alert to disease problems.

A few days ago, when I was organizing the medicine box at home, my mother came to me in a panic with her hands raised, saying that in the past few years, she could see the crescent moon on eight of her ten fingers. In the past six months, only two thumbs still have some marks. Is there something wrong with her liver? I took her hand and touched it. Her nails were smooth and even. She usually danced square dance for two hours without getting tired. Except for her recent love of getting her nails done, her nails were long and rarely touched hard objects. She had no problems.

Speaking of which, the controversy over this nail health line has never stopped, and opinions in different fields are quite different. The consensus of modern dermatology is very clear: To put it bluntly, the nail half-moon is the exposed part of the nail matrix, the "production workshop" of the nail. The nail matrix is ​​hidden at the root of the nail, constantly generating new keratin cells. The newly grown cells are white, and when pushed forward, they will slowly harden and become transparent, growing into the nails we usually see. If your nail matrix naturally grows farther back, or if that finger is used less and wears less, and the keratin grows slowly, the crescent moon will be hidden behind the nail and cannot be seen. This is completely normal. I know a girl who has been a manicurist for six years. She can barely see the crescents on her ten fingers. Every year her physical examination is normal. She even ran a half marathon last time. She is in much better physical condition than many people who boast that they have eight crescents. Oh, by the way, if you carefully observe the programmers around you who type on the keyboard every day, you will see that their thumbs usually have obvious crescents. This is because these two fingers are used the most frequently and wear out a lot, so the nail matrix is ​​naturally exposed.

But don’t think that the traditional view is completely unfounded metaphysics. The traditional Chinese medicine system does include the condition of the crescent moon as a reference for overall syndrome differentiation. For example, it is believed that people with lighter crescent moons and fewer crescent moons tend to have yang deficiency, are prone to cold hands and feet, and have weak digestive functions. However, the premise is always "judgment based on the overall situation." No serious Chinese medicine doctor will make a diagnosis just by looking at the crescent moon on your hand. Last winter I was always afraid of the cold, so I went to see an old Chinese doctor I knew well. The doctor first felt my pulse, looked at the coating on my tongue, and asked about my daily diet and sleep. Then he mentioned that I had insufficient energy and blood because of my lack of moon. The prescriptions prescribed were all conventional warming and recuperating prescriptions, and they didn't regard the moon as a core criterion.

At present, there is actually no completely unified conclusion in the academic community, so there is no need to criticize one and all. The simple crescent moon disappears. As long as your nails are smooth in texture, even in color, without inexplicable depressions, horizontal lines, or dark spots, and you eat well and have a normal schedule, you don't have to worry about health posts, let alone buy a bunch of supplements.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Crescent Moon's changes shouldn't be taken seriously at all. What you really need to be wary of is sudden changes: for example, you have had five or six months of stable teeth for more than ten years, and suddenly they all disappear within a month or two. At the same time, you are also accompanied by symptoms such as brittle and brittle nails, inexplicable fatigue, sudden weight gain and loss, edema, or palpitation. Then you need to go to the hospital to check whether it is thyroid dysfunction, anemia, or malnutrition. My former colleague went on a crazy diet to lose weight last year and lost 20 pounds in three months. Originally, three of his crescents were gone and he lost a lot of hair. After a checkup, he found out that his protein intake was seriously insufficient. After adjusting his diet, the crescents slowly grew back in more than two months.

Speaking of which, I have been panicked before. I was born with only two thumbs with crescents. When I read the post that "less than 4 crescents means a lack of Qi and blood and poor life," I asked my classmate who is a doctor in the dermatology department.

Anyway, I have become a Buddha now, so I can’t deliberately grind my fingers every day just to grow a crescent moon, right? If you are really worried about health problems, taking half an hour to go for a routine physical examination is more reliable than reading a hundred health-care posts on your nails.