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Your fingernails are good for more than scratching the occasional itch and untangling a tight knot. They can also provide hints to the status of your overall health, through their color, shape and texture.
That’s one reason Jeffrey Linder, M.D., chief of general internal medicine and geriatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, always begins an exam by looking at a patient’s hands. “[It] gives you a sense of a person’s general health and might give you a hint about what kind of work they do,” he says. “And then looking at the nails, occasionally there are clues to conditions or diseases.”
Before you whip out a magnifying glass and start studying your fingers, know that not all changes to the nail are bad. Some are completely harmless, and others are a normal part of aging or may be a side effect of a medication. “It’s important not to get alarmed if you see something abnormal,” Linder says.
But if you do notice a change and are concerned, it’s worth bringing to the attention of your health care provider, he says, especially if you are experiencing any other symptoms, like fatigue, shortness of breath or belly pain.
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Here’s what you should check for the next time you look at your nails.
1. Changes in the lunula
Most nails have a white half-moon shape at the base, just above the cuticle, called a lunula. It’s biggest on the thumbnail and decreases in size as you make your way to the pinkie. And a change in color or size of this feature may indicate an underlying disease, Linder explains.
For example, if the lunula extends almost to the end of the nail, making the majority of the nail white except for a narrow band at the top, it could signal cirrhosis, chronic renal failure orcongestive heart failure. This condition, called Terry’s nails, can also be attributed to aging, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Lunulae that have a blueish tint could suggest Wilson’s disease, a rare inherited genetic disorder in which copper accumulates in the liver, brain and other organs. Red lunulae may indicate heart failure, research shows. And in patients with severe kidney disease, it’s not uncommon to see half-and-half nails, where the white from the lunula extends halfway up the nail bed, and the other half of the nail is darker in color, says Richard H. Flowers, M.D., associate professor of dermatology at the University of Virginia.
