Pace Paw Print

Media Credit: dartmouth.edu These 'clubbing' nails may indicate various heart, lung, and other conditions.

Little do many people know that fingernails can go beyond bad cuticles, being badly broken, or just plain dirty. Believe it or not, the truth is that fingernails offer clues about various health conditions.

Fingernails, like the rest of the body, are composed of cells. As new cells grow in and harden, old cells are pushed over the fingertip. Generally, fingernails appear pink at the nail bed and white at the tip. In reality, the entire nail is white, but circulating blood at the nail bed gives the nail its pink hue.

Therefore, if the color at the nail bed differs from its normal pink color, it may be an indication that something is wrong with the blood circulating towards the nails. Needless to say, what occurs throughout the body may be seen at the site of your fingertips.

Certain diseases or bodily changes cause the fingernails to change. For instance, consuming daily vitamins is important in preventing related nail malformations. A decrease in vitamin B-12 may make the fingernails appear dark, flat, and thin. A low iron intake or circulating iron may cause the nails to become brittle.

Doctor and Director of Advanced Dermatology, Joshua Fox, says that he looks at all his patients' nails even though they do not come in with fingernail complaints. Sometimes Fox can guess any type of condition that his patient may have just by looking at his patient's fingernails.

According to WebMd, some correlations that are made between diseases and the condition of fingernails include:

* Yellow nails with a blue base may indicate diabetes

* Pale or white nail beds may indicate anemia

* Green nails usually show signs of fungal or bacterial infection

It is important to realize that these diseases are not definitive based on the color of the nails, but may offer insight into such issues.

While certain conditions do cause various nail changes, it is not always likely to be the first sign. For example, someone with a lung infection, such as pneumonia, would most likely have signs of breathing difficulty first.

However, this does not rule out the notion that occurring nail changes evidenced aren't important. If fingernail changes do occur, it never hurts to get a second opinion from any health professional.

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