Medical Health Encyclopedia

Nail abnormalities

Internal diseases:

• Disorders that affect the amount of oxygen in the blood (such as abnormal heart anatomy and lung diseases including cancer or infection) may produceclubbing , in which the nail looks like the back of a teaspoon
• Kidney disease that causes a build-up of nitrogen waste products in the blood
• Liver disease including chronic liver failure
• Thyroid diseases including hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism may produce brittle nails or splitting of the nail bed from the nail plate (onycholysis)
• Infection (especially of the heart valve) may produce splinter hemorrhages (red streaks in the nail bed)
• Systemic amyloidosis
• Severe illness or surgery may produce horizontal depressions in the nails (Beau's lines)
• Vitamin deficiency can cause a loss of luster or brittle nails
• Malnutrition of any sort can affect the appearance of the nails

Skin diseases:

• Psoriasis may produce pitting, splitting of nail plate from nail bed (onycholysis), and chronic destruction of the nail plate (nail dystrophy)
• Lichen planus

Heavy metal ingestion:

• Arsenic poisoning may produce white lines and horizontal ridges
• Silver intake can produce a blue nail

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