Table of Contents
Here are four signs on the nails that you should be aware of because they are related to internal disease:
1. Clubbing (Rounded Fingertips)
2. Koilonychia (Spoon-Shaped Nails)
3. Red or Brown Lines Under Nails
4. Pitting (Small Holes) in the Nails
Jakarta, goldensamoyed Indonesia
—
The body often gives hidden signals about health conditions, one of which is through very subtle changes in
nails
.
These physical changes, which are often overlooked, can be early clues to a serious underlying health problem.
Dr.Kunal Sood, an anesthesiologist and interventional pain medicine doctor, highlights four main changes in nails that may indicate a chronic condition such as arthritis or psoriasis.
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“Recognizing these subtle signs early can help identify serious health conditions and support timely diagnosis and treatment,” says Dr.Kunal Sood, quoted from
Hindustan Times
, Wednesday (10/12).
Here are four signs on the nails that you should be aware of because they are related to internal disease:
1. Clubbing (Rounded Fingertips)
– Physical Signs: Fingertips look rounded with curved nails due to soft tissue enlargement.
– Medical Significance: Clubbing may be an indication of underlying lung or heart disease.
– Mechanism: Occurs when megakaryocyte cells pass through the lungs and release growth factors (VEGF and PDGF) at the fingertips.It is associated with chronic lung diseases (such as lung cancer, pulmonary fibrosis) and heart conditions that cause long-term oxygen deprivation (such as cyanotic congenital heart disease).
2. Koilonychia (Spoon-Shaped Nails)
– Physical Signs: Nails become thin, soft, and concave inward to resemble a spoon shape.
– Medical Significance: This could be an early warning sign of iron deficiency anemia (iron deficiency).
– Mechanism: Dr.Sood explained that koilonychia occurs due to disruption of keratin formation when iron-dependent enzymes weaken.This often reflects iron deficiency due to blood loss (e.g. heavy menstruation), intestinal malabsorption, or increased iron requirements during pregnancy.
3. Red or Brown Lines Under Nails
– Physical Signs: The appearance of small red-brown lines under the nail, often called splinter hemorrhage.
– Medical Significance: Although it can be caused by trauma, numerous streaks or lines appearing near the base of the nail indicate inflammation of the blood vessels.
– Associated Conditions: These lines raise concerns for serious systemic conditions such as vasculitis, lupus, connective tissue disease, or infective endocarditis (infection of the heart valves).
4. Pitting (Small Holes) in the Nails
– Physical Signs: The presence of small holes (like needle puncture marks) on the nail surface.
– Medical Significance: This is a typical sign of nail matrix involvement in psoriasis disease.
– Diagnostic Function: About one third of psoriasis patients show pitting.Dr.Sood said this prevalence increases with disease duration and is common in psoriatic arthritis, making it a useful initial clue for early diagnosis of psoriasis.
Awareness of subtle physical changes in your nails and hands is important because they can provide valuable clues about what is going on inside your body.
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