There is a disease in the body, the finger prophet? 4 abnormalities in your nails that could be a sign of cancer or disease
Do you remember the childhood "scare" about nail crescents? When I was young, my grandparents would always hold my little hands to see if there were small white crescents on the nails.
"There are so few crescents on the nails, did the little villain steal snacks again? If you don't eat well, you won't grow taller in the future!"
Many people used to go to eat obediently because of this sentence, which is somewhat funny when I think about it now. But this also planted the seeds of doubt in our hearts: Is the crescent moon on the finger really a health signal from the body?
Regarding the health of nails, Xiaojiu is here to chat with you today!
1. More crescents in your fingers make you healthier?
To understand what a crescent moon is, we must first understand how nails grow.
There are nail root and nail bed at the end of the nail. The nail bed is the production base of nail protein . When the nail bed keeps making and synthesizing nail protein, our nails can continue to grow upwards , thus gradually forming a smooth and hard deck , the fingernail.
The nails are white when they first grow, and then gradually turn transparent. And the nail growth has the characteristics of " fast in the middle and slow on both sides ", so some white crescents with curvature will appear at the end of the nail. But is the number of crescents really related to health?
the answer is negative.
Crescents are a natural phenomenon during the growth of nails. The number and size of crescents on each person's nails are different, and their number has little to do with health. If some people's nails grow very slowly, or the methyl group is at the back, it will cause the crescent to be difficult to see, and it is not a physical problem.
2. What do white dots and vertical lines mean?
If you observe your nails carefully, in addition to seeing the white crescent, some people will also see white spots or vertical lines on the nails. What do these manifestations of the nails represent?
1. The nails have white spots and depressions, is it lack of trace elements?
Clinically, the phenomenon of white spots on the nails is called " punctate white nails ", which are traces left after hitting or squeezing the nails. It takes time for the nail to grow back, and the white spot may not be seen until two months after the trauma. Therefore, there is no need to panic if white spots appear on the nails. As the nails grow, the white spots will slowly grow upwards and gradually disappear.
2. Many vertical lines indicate calcium deficiency?
In most cases, the nail cap should be smooth, but some people's nails will have more vertical lines. In fact, this vertical line is normal, and it is called a vertical groove clinically, and it has no direct relationship with whether a person is calcium deficient.
Some people have obvious grooves on the nails, while others are lighter, but there is no need to worry too much. Especially with the growth of age, the situation of this nail longitudinal groove will be more obvious.
3. Nails grow fast, maybe hyperthyroidism?
Research by the American Academy of Dermatology found that fingernails grow an average of two to three millimeters per month, while toenails grow one millimeter per month. The rate at which nails grow depends on many factors, but generally young people will grow faster than older people, men faster than women, and faster in summer than winter. As for hyperthyroidism, it has nothing to do with the speed of nail growth.
3. There are 4 situations that really need to be vigilant
Therefore, long white spots and vertical lines on the nails cannot reflect your own health, but what you really need to pay attention to are actually the following four changes.
① Black vertical lines appear on the nails
Brown or black vertical lines on the nails, in addition to genetic factors, should also be considered to be caused by pregnancy and drugs. Of course, most of them are benign lesions. However, if the black vertical lines of the nails continue to widen or widen at an accelerated rate , or even the nails are accompanied by defects, you should be alert to the problem of melanoma .
② grow into the meat
The edges of fingernails or toenails always grow into the flesh? This is a common ingrown nail problem that usually causes discomfort such as swelling, pain, and inflammation. It generally requires attention to foot hygiene and proper nail trimming. However, if the symptoms of redness and swelling at the ingrown nail continue to aggravate, or even pus, you should be alert to paronychia , and it is best to seek medical treatment in time.
③ Abnormal shape
Thick shell
Nails become hypertrophic, even hard and brittle, and easy to break, which is a manifestation of pachyonychia.
Generally speaking, congenital pachyonychia is mostly related to the mutation of the keratin coding gene in the chromosome, and there is currently no good clinical treatment. Acquired pachyonychia is related to adverse stimuli such as fungal infection or long-term extrusion . In addition, skin diseases such as psoriasis and hair follicle keratin may also have thick nails, and the treatment is mainly to treat the primary disease or relieve the original irritation.
· Clubbing
Some people have hyperplasia and hypertrophy at the end of their fingers, and the angle between the methyl group and the nail cover is also greater than 180°, and the appearance is clubbed and enlarged, which is called clubbing.
Generally, finger clubbing may be caused by genetic or idiopathic causes, and may also be related to diseases such as chronic lung disease, cyanotic heart disease, and liver cirrhosis. Detailed examination is required to rule out the cause.
④ whitish and brittle
Onychomycosis, also known as " onychomycosis ", is a skin disease caused by dermatophyte, non-phytophyte and yeast infection, and it is easy to occur in the adult population. The patient's nails turn white and become brittle, or become fat and thick, or have symptoms such as onycholysis and discoloration.
Onychomycosis is easy to be misdiagnosed. Clinical diagnosis of onychomycosis often requires a comprehensive evaluation combined with mycological testing .
Simply put, the saying "more crescents, healthier" is not accurate, because crescents are a natural phenomenon during the growth of nails. What you really need to pay attention to is the abnormal changes of the nails, such as black vertical lines, blackening or whitening, etc. It is recommended to check further and not delay the treatment.
References:
[1] Hu Feifei. Crescent moon, dots, vertical lines, depressions... Physical diseases are signals to be alert to small conditions on the nails [J]. Self-care, 2022(9): 2.
[2] Chen Dahe. This sign on the nails may be a precursor to cancer [J]. Chinese Health Care, 2017(10): 1.
[3] Chang Xiao. The crescent on the nail has nothing to do with health, but we should pay attention to these phenomena [J]. Everyone's Health, 2021(022): 000.
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