“Health Nails, Health Body,” Keeping your nails healthy isn’t just about looks; it’s important for your overall health too. Healthy nails mean a healthy body, and looking after them can help stop many sicknesses and problems. It’s not just about pretty nails; it’s about staying well. So, whether you love painting your nails or just want to feel better, let’s find out why taking care of your nails is so important for your health.
Having nails that aren’t healthy may harm your health in many ways. What do you get when your nails aren’t healthy?
- More likely to get sick: Tiny gaps in the skin near your nails can let in germs like fungi and bacteria, causing pain, swelling, and redness.
- Bad blood flow: Nails changing color could mean your blood isn’t flowing well, which can cause serious problems like heart disease.
- Long-term sickness: Changes in your nails might be a sign of ongoing illnesses like diabetes, thyroid issues, or problems with your liver or kidneys.
- Mental health
- Not enough nutrients: If your nails are crumbly, weak, or have strange colors, your body may need more iron and vitamin B12. In different ways, not getting enough of these can make you sick.
How Well Do You Know Your Nails? Look for these signs of hidden health problems!
Unhealthy nails can make you feel bad about yourself and affect your mind. So, it’s important to take care of them to keep both your nails and your overall health good.
Changes in your nails can show if you have some other problems in your body. Here are some things to watch out for:
- Clubbing: This means your fingertips get bigger and your nails start growing differently. It can mean you have a problem with your lungs, heart, or bowels.
- Yellowing and getting thicker: If your nails turn yellow and get thick, it could mean you have a fungus or psoriasis.
- Spoon-shaped nails: If your nails look like spoons, it could mean that your body doesn’t have enough iron.
- Lines across the nail: These lines show up across your nail. It’s possible that they mean you have diabetes, blood vessel issues, or not enough zinc.
- White lines: If your nails have white stripes, it could mean that your liver isn’t working right or that your blood doesn’t have enough protein.
If you see any of these changes in your nails, it’s important to see a doctor to figure out what’s going on and how to fix it.
Interesting Facts and Myths About the Nails
Myths Debunked
- Myths: Biting your nails weakens them. Fact: Nail biting itself doesn’t weaken nails, but the constant picking and biting can damage the surrounding skin and make them more prone to infection.
- Myth: White spots on nails mean a calcium deficiency. Fact: More often than not, white spots are tiny air pockets caused by minor injuries to the nail bed.
- Myth: Trimming cuticles improves nail health. Fact: Cuticles prevent bacteria from entering the nail bed. Pushing them back lightly is acceptable but cutting them is not suggested.
- Myth: Cold water helps nail polish dry faster. Fact: Nope! Nail polish dries through evaporation of solvents, and cold water can actually slow that process.
Unknown Facts
- They’re quick growers! The average fingernail grows approximately 3.5 millimeters every month, with the middle finger often growing the fastest.
- They’re not alive: The hard part of your nail, the visible part, is actually dead tissue made of keratin. The living part is the nail bed underneath.
- They can tell a story: Changes in nail color, texture, or shape may suggest underlying health issues.
- Nail polish is ancient: Evidence of the earliest nail polish dates back to 3000 BC in China!
- They’re handy (literally): Our nails help us scratch, pick things up, and manipulate objects in our environment.
- Eating nails cause stomach problems: Eating nail can give you stomach problems. It can hurt your throat, not get digested, and make your stomach upset. Also, nails and fingers have many germs. If you swallow nails, these germs can go into your stomach and make you sick.
- Nail biting has a name: Nail biting has a cool name: “On-y-cho-pha-gia.”
- Grows faster in Summer: In the summer, nails grow faster! It could be due to the sunshine or the warm temperature.
