What are the standards for nail health?

The clinically recognized core criteria for healthy nails are actually very simple. They are that the nail surface is smooth with no abnormal ridges or depressions, the nail surface is uniformly light pink, and there is no recurring redness, swelling or pain around the nail. As for the number of crescents and the number of vertical lines that are so popular online, they are not actually universal hard health indicators.

Not long ago, I met a little girl who had just entered college in the clinic. She was clenching her hands and almost crying. She said in a short video that if there are less than 6 crescents, she is weak in Qi and blood and is prone to serious illness. She only has crescents on two of her thumbs. She bought several hundred yuan of supplements and had no improvement after half a month, so she came here to check. As a result, she was given a full physical examination and found nothing wrong. It's just that the natural nail matrix is ​​located far back, and the crescent moon is hidden under the nail flesh, so the hundreds of dollars spent on supplements were wasted.

When it comes to crescents, there is indeed a lot of controversy. Traditional Chinese medicine theory believes that the size and number of crescents are related to the body's qi and blood circulation and metabolic rate. If the number of crescents suddenly decreases in a short period of time, it may be accompanied by a lack of qi and blood. However, the general consensus of modern dermatology is that individual differences in crescents are huge. As long as there are no sudden increases, decreases or even disappearance of crescents within 1-2 months, there is no need to worry about it.

In addition to the crescent moon, vertical lines on the nails are also over-interpreted by everyone. Many people panic when they see vertical lines, thinking that they are a sign of "liver failure" or "kidney deficiency". In fact, the small vertical lines on most people's nails are normal physiological phenomena. To put it bluntly, they are "wrinkles" on the nails. They will appear slowly with age. People who usually do housework and are often exposed to detergents and washing powders may have more obvious wrinkles, so there is no need to worry too much.

Of course, this does not mean that changes in the nails should not be ignored. I once met a male patient in his 30s who had a two-millimetre-wide black vertical line on his nail. He thought it was dirt from work and ignored it. However, after six months, it became wider and darker, and the color became darker and darker. When he came to check, he found that it was a nevus on his fingernails, which was already at risk of malignant transformation. If you find that your nails suddenly have deep horizontal depressions, dark brown vertical lines that are wider than 3 mm, or your nails suddenly become thicker and grayer, or your nails are repeatedly red, swollen and pus, these are real abnormal signs and you need to seek medical attention in time.

In fact, nails are like "mini health bulletin boards" attached to your fingers, but only sudden and continuously changing "announcements" are worth noting. Most of those small marks that are innate and have not changed for several years are just their own "small birthmarks". Don't hold the fragmented standards on the Internet to yourself one by one, which will only increase anxiety.