5 common nail concerns and what they could mean

Have you been dealing with yellow and brittle nails? If yes, then it could be something to worry about. These are some tell-tale signs of health disorders that you could be missing on. If you must have noticed, doctors usually inspect your nails as one of the steps that could alert the doctor towards something specific about your health. To get a deeper understanding of what your fingernails can say about your health, you need to read further.

Horizontal depressions that run across your nails are known as Beau's lines. These lines can be a sign of malnourishment and especially a deficiency of zinc. Other conditions that cause Beau's lines are diseases that cause a high fever, diabetes, pneumonia and diseases of the blood vessels. If there are black lines seen under most nails, it could be a sign of skin cancer or heart infection.

Yellow nails could commonly indicate chronic smoking. At times, yellow nails could also be age-related. If you're someone who keeps your nails polished almost all the time, yellowing of the nails could also be because of the prolonged wearing of nail lacquer. Let your nails be polish-free for a few weeks and see if the colour changes.

When for a prolonged period there is low oxygen blood saturation, it can result in fingernail tips to enlarge which gives them the appearance of rounded clubs. Clubbing of nails is usually seen in people who suffer from lung disorders. Clubbed nails also indicate gastrointestinal diseases like ulcerative colitis.

Thin and brittle nails are usually caused by nutritional deficiencies that are particularly of biotin and protein. Stress could also lead to brittle nails at times as there is malabsorption of nutrients by the body. Consume a diet that is rich in iron, vitamin B complex, protein and calcium as they are important for healthy nails.

Spoons nails occur when your fingernails have raised ridges and they tend to scoop outward like spoons. This condition shows a sign of iron deficiency and heart diseases. Spooning of nails can also be a sign of liver disorders that causes too much iron to be absorbed from food.