The nail health line is gone

The nail health line we often refer to is the white crescent at the root of the nail (called a half-moon in medicine). More than 90% of cases where it suddenly disappears are not a sign of a serious illness. It is most likely caused by metabolic fluctuations caused by recent changes in work and rest, diet, or hand habits. Only when it is accompanied by abnormal nail shape and general discomfort do you need to seek medical attention.

Two months ago, my distant cousin complained to me, saying that she had been working on quarterly reports for 21 days. One day after removing her nails, she suddenly discovered that except for her thumb, all the crescents on the remaining eight fingers were gone. She posted a short video saying that this was "a sign of exhaustion of energy and blood." She was so scared that she signed up for two appointments that day. First, I went to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department to check my pulse. The doctor said that she had spleen deficiency due to staying up late, but there was no organic problem. Then I went to the dermatology department for a dermoscopy. The doctor looked at Zhile and said that she did her manicure too frequently, and the nail epithelium was thickened and covered the crescent moon. In addition, her metabolism slowed down after staying up until three o'clock every day, and her nails grew slowly, so the crescent moon naturally shrank back. I prescribed her a moisturizing hand cream and asked her to stop doing manicures for three months and try to go to bed before 12 o'clock. She went back and adjusted it within a month, and the crescent moons appeared again.

Regarding whether the crescent moon can reflect health, in fact, there are two different judgment logics in the industry, and there is no need to criticize both.

Many traditional Chinese medicine practitioners who adhere to traditional theories regard the number and status of crescent moons as one of the references for judging qi, blood, and spleen and stomach functions. This is not entirely unreasonable. When I was in college, I only ate boiled vegetables every day in order to lose weight. Within two months, I only had two thumbs left in my crescent moon, and I would often feel dizzy when I stood up after squatting for a long time. My mother took me to see an old doctor whom I knew well. He told me that I was hungry and had insufficient energy and blood circulation. She told me to add an egg and drink a cup of hot milk every day, and not to diet blindly. The crescent moon would have grown back in less than two months. If you have cold hands and feet all year round, have diarrhea after eating something cold, feel tired at every turn, and have fewer and fewer crescent moons, even if no organic problem is found, it is not a bad thing to adjust your daily routine and diet to replenish your qi and blood.

The understanding of modern dermatology is more direct: the nail half moon is essentially a new nail that has not been completely keratinized. How much it is exposed depends entirely on two factors-the thickness of the nail epithelium and the growth rate of the nail. If you have been doing housework recently, using harsh detergents, or doing frequent manicures to polish your nails, the nail epithelium will thicken and cover the crescent moon, making it look like it is gone. ； If you stay up too late, are under a lot of stress, or are getting older, your metabolism will slow down, your nail growth rate will slow down, and there will be fewer new nails, and the crescent moon will naturally become smaller or even invisible. As for the "less crescent moon means kidney deficiency and poor immunity" posted on the Internet, it is completely unfounded and over-interpreted. My mother-in-law is 91 years old and has had crescent moon on both thumbs her whole life. Now she is not deaf or blind, and she can take the bus to the market to buy pickles.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about the crescent moon disappearing. You should still be careful if accompanying symptoms appear. I met a netizen in a health group before. When the crescent moon suddenly disappeared, his nails began to turn gray and thicken, and the edges were prone to delamination and cracking. It took two months to go for a check-up, and he was diagnosed with onychomycosis. It took less than half a year to cure it. ； There are also people who lose the crescent moon and are accompanied by inexplicable weight gain, cold sensitivity, and always feel unable to wake up. They went to find out that they have hypothyroidism. Insufficient secretion of thyroid hormone slows down the metabolism of the whole body, which will naturally be reflected in the growth of nails. If you still find that there are black lines on your nails that are not painful or itchy, or that it hurts to press the nail root for a long time, don’t force it. Go to a dermatologist for a checkup in time to rule out the possibility of onychomycosis or other lesions.

I don’t stare at the crescents on my hands every day. Last time I worked on a project for a week and all the crescents shrunk, but I didn’t take it seriously. After I finished my work, I slept for 8 hours a day and ate a few more braised pork ribs. Within two weeks, they were all gone. To put it bluntly, this thing is just like the dark circles under your eyes if you don't sleep well. It's just an innocuous little signal. It's not the gold standard for diagnosing a disease. There's no need to frighten yourself by searching for popular science about it. If you really feel unwell, just go to the hospital. It's better than anything else.