The difference between healthy and unhealthy nails

To put it bluntly, the core difference between healthy nails and unhealthy nails is actually "the stability of the own baseline" + "no abnormality in the external form" - healthy nails are generally a uniform light pink, with a smooth surface and natural luster. The nail tip will return to ruddy color in 1-2 seconds after pressing the nail tip, and there are no repeated redness, swelling and barbs around the nails. If your nails suddenly change color, shape, and texture in a short period of time, there is a high probability that they are in an unhealthy state.

Don’t think this is a cliche. I have met no less than two hundred people with nail problems. Some people blindly compared the posts to scare them out of anxiety, and some treated the lesions as normal until they needed to remove their nails. Today I will talk about it, and also clarify the various theories circulating in the market to save everyone from guessing.

First of all, let’s talk about Crescent Moon that everyone is most concerned about. This thing is really controversial. Many people panic when they see that they have fewer crescent moons, thinking that they have kidney deficiency and insufficient qi and blood, and they need to eat this to supplement their health. Interestingly, the opinions in different fields are quite different: traditional Chinese medicine health care does link the number and size of crescents with the profit and loss of Qi and blood. It is believed that less than 4 crescents are mostly due to a cold constitution and slow metabolism. ； However, the mainstream view of modern dermatology is that lunulae are essentially new nails that are not completely keratinized. If your methyl nails grow far back, the lunulae are hidden in the flesh and cannot be seen. There are many people who are born without lunulae. If you really want to care, don't compare with others, just compare with yourself: you used to have full crescents on all ten fingers, but suddenly only one of them fell off within half a month, or if only seven or eight crescents suddenly appeared on your thumb before, then you should be alert to whether there is a problem with your thyroid function, otherwise there is really no need to buy supplements blindly.

Let’s talk about the color. The light pink on healthy nails is even and even, like peach petals covered with a thin layer of glaze, not one deep and one shallow. I met a little girl at the nail salon I frequented last week. After removing her nails, her entire nail surface turned gray, with a few irregular white spots. She even laughed and said that it must have been burnt black by the manicure lamp, so she just needed to leave it alone. I saw that the white border was very blurry and the nail surface was still a bit brittle, so I asked her to go to a dermatologist for a checkup. Sure enough, it was mild onychomycosis, which is what we often call onychomycosis. If it waits for two months, the entire nail may be rotten. Of course, abnormal nail color is not entirely due to fungal infection: if the entire nail is white and there is no blood at all, Chinese medicine will first consider whether it is a deficiency of Qi and blood, while Western medicine will usually first check for anemia and hypoalbuminemia. ； If your nails are inexplicably yellow and thick, in addition to fungal infection, it may also be caused by long-term smoking or jaundice. Don't just apply antifungal drugs at first, as it will delay the problem if it is not correct.

You can now touch your nail surface. A healthy nail surface is smooth, with at most very thin vertical lines that cannot be seen unless you get close. If the vertical lines are so deep that they look like they are carved out, or there are many small pits like needlepoints or horizontal raised lines, then you should pay attention. I used to have a colleague who worked in the design industry. His nails were densely covered with small pits. At first, I thought it was because the manicure was done too hard, and it took more than half a year to heal. Later, I went to check and found out that it was the nail manifestation of psoriasis, which is what we call psoriasis. Fortunately, it was discovered early and the symptoms did not spread to large areas of the skin. Oh, yes, there is also the kind of spoon-shaped nails, which are concave in the middle and the edges are raised like a small spoon. Most popular science will say that it is iron deficiency anemia, but I have also seen several aunts who do housework without gloves all year round. It is corroded by long-term exposure to alkaline dishwashing liquid. Don't just buy iron supplements when you see them. It is more reliable to check the blood routine first.

Oh, by the way, don’t just stare at the nail surface, the condition of the nail and perionychium is also an important criterion. Healthy periungual nails rarely develop recurring barbs, nor do they become red, swollen or painful at all times. Many people like to tear off barbs until they are bloody, and eventually develop paronychia. In severe cases, the nail may need to be pulled out. It is really not a good thing to do. In addition, many people nowadays like to cut off the dead skin when doing manicure. Cutting too hard can easily destroy the protective barrier around the nail, making it easy for bacteria and viruses to get in, which makes it more likely to cause problems.

To be honest, I have seen too many people follow the posts on the Internet and think that they are deficient in zinc, calcium and vitamins when their nails grow white spots, so they buy a lot of supplements, but in fact there is no need to do so. Most of the white spots are traces of stubbing your nails before, or minor inflammation around the nails. They will disappear when the nails slowly grow out, and have nothing to do with lack of nutrition. Of course, if all ten of your fingers are suddenly covered with white spots, it would be safer to go to the hospital for a checkup.

In fact, nails are like "mini monitors" of your body, but you really don't have to look for faults under the light every day. After all, individual differences are huge. Some people are born with thin and soft nails, and some people are born with nail surfaces that are not that bright. As long as there is no big change compared with your usual state, there is no need to worry. If you really are not sure, it costs more than ten yuan to get a dermatology account, which is much more reliable than searching on Baidu and being so scared that you can't sleep for half the night.