Nail Health Self-Assessment

There are only 5 general criteria for judging healthy nails - a uniform light pink nail surface, toughness and not easy to break, blood color returning within 1 second after pressing the nail tip, milky white crescent moon occupying about 1/5 of the nail surface, no spontaneous pain or abnormal thickening, 90% of your daily worries Small abnormalities in nails (such as many vertical lines, only two crescents, and small white spots) are basically caused by physiological fluctuations or minor trauma. They have nothing to do with serious problems such as liver and kidney deficiency and toxin accumulation. Only three types of specific signals require timely medical investigation.

A while ago, my best friend saw a short health video, saying that vertical lines on her nails were caused by liver poisoning that had accumulated for three years. She was so frightened that she drank liver-cleansing tea for a week and failed to attend class. Finally, she went to the dermatology department to register. The doctor took one look and asked her if she was the worst. In the past month, she had stayed up late every day to catch up on projects. She was stunned for a long time because she had dug her nails without soaking in softener when removing her manicure. In the end, the medicine was not prescribed, so she was told to stop drinking herbal tea and go to bed early. After half a month, most of the vertical lines were faded.

Take the crescent moon that everyone is most concerned about, for example. According to Chinese medicine theory, the number and state of the crescent moon are indeed related to the rise and fall of qi and blood. If your crescent moon suddenly decreases and you are accompanied by cold hands and feet, dizziness and fatigue, it is no problem to find a reliable traditional Chinese medicine doctor to regulate your qi and blood.； But from the perspective of Western medicine, the essence of the crescent moon is the nail matrix that has not been completely cutinized (to put it bluntly, it is the "growing root" of the nail). If you have been exercising recently and your metabolism is fast, your nails will grow faster, and the crescent moon will be more exposed. If you stay up late continuously, diet to lose weight, and your metabolism slows down, the crescent moon will shrink back or even become invisible. It is a dynamic change in itself. There is really no need to gather 10 crescent moons to feel at ease. I only have a crescent on my thumb. My annual physical examination is normal, and I don’t see any problems with insufficient qi and blood.

As for the shallow vertical lines that almost everyone has, there is really no need to panic. To put it bluntly, they are "wrinkles" on the nails. After the age of 25, the ability of the nail surface to retain moisture decreases, just like dry lines on the face, which will slowly appear. Daily grinding too much during manicures, and always using dishwashing detergent without gloves when doing housework will make the vertical lines more obvious. I have two shallow vertical lines on my right index finger. The last time I moved a bookshelf, I hit the root of my nail. It took three months to completely disappear. Unless the vertical lines suddenly turn black, are obviously convex, and are slowly getting wider than 3mm in width, then you need to check for the possibility of onychomycosis in time, don’t delay.

There is also the old saying that "white spots on nails mean there are worms in the stomach." Nowadays, many health posts say that it is calcium deficiency. In fact, 90% of white spots are caused by minor trauma to the nail bed. For example, if you pinched your finger while closing a drawer a few days ago, or when you were unpacking a package, your nail hit a hard box. It may have hurt you at the time, but you didn't care. When the nail slowly grows out, it turns into a small white spot. Just cut it off as the nail grows to the fingertip. No special treatment is required. Only if you have a lot of white spots repeatedly and are accompanied by uneven nail surfaces, you need to consider whether you have zinc deficiency or mild onychomycosis.

I know a friend who has been a manicurist for 8 years and said that she encounters at least three customers every day who ask if abnormal nails are caused by physical problems. Nine times out of ten, it is caused by frequent changes of styles and excessive polishing when removing nails. She usually asks customers to stop doing manicures for a month, wear rubber gloves when doing housework, and apply hand cream on the nail edges after washing their hands. 80% of people come back after a while, and their nail surfaces are so smooth that they do not need to take any supplements.

Of course, it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to take all abnormalities of your nails seriously. If any of these conditions occur, don’t take it hard and go to a dermatology department immediately: First, if the entire nail slowly turns yellow and thickens, and the nail surface becomes brittle and flakes, it is most likely onychomycosis. Don’t blindly buy bright nail polish, go to the hospital for a fungal microscopy worth dozens of dollars, the right medicine will cure the disease quickly, and it is not easily contagious.； The second is that the nails are sunken like a small spoon with the edges turned up. Especially for girls who are on a diet to lose weight recently, most of them have iron deficiency anemia. A timely blood test will reveal this. ； Third, as mentioned earlier, black lines suddenly appear on the nail surface, which quickly become wider and uneven in color in a short period of time. You must check it in time and don't take it seriously.

In fact, to put it bluntly, nails are a "little blackboard" of your lifestyle habits. Most of the time, they are written with small reminders such as "I stayed up too late recently", "I didn't pay attention last time" and "I did my manicure too often". There is really no need to look for faults at the first sign of trouble. If you are really unsure, take a clear photo and ask a dermatologist. It is much more reliable than reading ten health posts and blindly taking supplements for half a month.