Nail Health Tips

The core criteria for judging nail health are actually very easy to remember - smooth and shiny light pink, blood color returning within 1 second after pressing and releasing the nail surface, and the number of half-moon marks on the hands ranging from 4 to 10 are considered normal. In clinical practice, 90% of nail abnormalities are linked to three types of causes: insufficient nutritional intake, local physical/chemical stimulation, and systemic diseases. If there are any abnormal changes, don't scare yourself blindly, just check the triggers first.

Do many people panic when they find out that they have fewer crescents, thinking that it is due to "qi and blood deficiency" or "kidney deficiency"? In fact, Chinese and Western medicine have different judgment dimensions on this issue: in Chinese medicine theory, the number and size of half-moon marks are indeed regarded as one of the references for the prosperity and decline of Qi and blood. I used to accompany a friend to see an old Chinese medicine doctor. When he saw that he only had two thumbs with crescents, he asked if he often stayed up late and his hands and feet were cold. He was right. ； But the view of modern medicine is that the essence of the lunula is incompletely keratinized keratin. Some people are born with the matrix of the nail at the back, and the keratin has been completely hardened when it grows out, so naturally the lunula cannot be seen. The lady who runs the nail salon I often go to was born with only 2 lunulae. Her annual physical examination is all normal, and her hands and feet are hotter than me all year round. So there is no need to patch up the lunula just because there are few. As long as there is no sudden increase or decrease, there is no big problem.

There are also people who looked at the vertical lines on their fingernails in the light, and became more and more frightened the more they looked at them. They found out that they were all talking about "bad liver" and "premature aging", which frightened them half to death. Harmful, it’s not that exaggerated. If you randomly look at people over 30 years old, nine out of ten will have vertical lines. These are just like wrinkles on the face. As keratin grows with age, it grows less uniformly, and lines naturally appear. You don’t have to worry about shallow vertical lines that you can’t even see unless you look carefully. Unless it is the kind of deep black vertical lines that appear suddenly, or the vertical lines are so deep that they can get stuck in nail clippers and often crack, then you should be wary. Either there is a mole in the nail matrix, or there is a lack of vitamin A or iron. I once met a fan who only ate boiled vegetables and corn for three months in a row to lose weight.

There are also old people who often say that "white spots on nails mean there are roundworms in the stomach." This might have made sense 30 years ago. Nowadays, people's sanitary conditions are so good and we can't eat unclean things all year round. How could there be so many roundworms? The vast majority of white spots are caused by minor trauma to the nail matrix - either you hit the root of your nail while moving something in the past few weeks, or you polished the nail surface too hard when doing a manicure, or you may even hurt it if you pick up the tape too hard, but you didn't notice it at the time. You won't see the white spot until the nail grows to the middle, so don't worry about it, just push it forward slowly and cut it off and it will disappear.

When it comes to manicures, two groups are quarreling fiercely now. One group says that manicures are an IQ tax and hurt the nails, while the other group says that after more than ten years of doing manicures, there is nothing wrong with them. In fact, both sides are right, the key depends on your choice. Regular nail salons use qualified nail polish glue. Every time they polish the nail surface, they only roughen the surface without damaging the cuticles of the nails. They apply primer before polishing, and use a bag to remove it without grinding. After each polishing, leave a window of 1-2 weeks for the nails to breathe. There really won’t be any problems. I'm afraid you'll go to a 9.9-pack store for cheap. I don't know what off-brand glue they use. The polishing surface will be thinned by half. When removing it, I'll scrape hard with a file and keep doing it for half a year. It's weird that the nails won't be thinned and layered. I used to know a girl who was a sophomore in college. She did her nails for half a year without stopping. In the end, her nails were as soft as plastic sheets, and one layer fell off when she gently tore them off. It took a full three months for her nails to return to normal.

Of course, not all nail abnormalities need to be ignored. If your nails suddenly turn yellow, gray, thicken, become brittle, or peel off in large areas, don't buy so-called "special medicine for onychomycosis" to apply on it, and don't rely on folk remedies such as soaking in vinegar or rubbing with garlic. This situation may be fungal infection of onychomycosis, or it may be psoriasis involving the nails, or even peripheral manifestations of diabetes or thyroid disease. The safest thing is to go to the dermatology department for a 10-minute fungal microscopy to determine the cause and then treat it. I would also like to mention here that even if you have onychomycosis, you don’t have to take oral medicine. For mild cases, you can apply amorolfine liniment externally. For severe cases, you need to take oral medicine. Follow the doctor’s advice on the specific plan. Don’t mess around on your own and irritate the surrounding skin.

Finally, I would like to tell you two little nail care habits that I have used for many years. They are really useful: First, don’t use your nails as tools. When opening cans, picking up express tape, or tearing off labels, try to use scissors or special tools. In the past, I always used my nails to open cans for convenience. I hurt the root of my nails several times, and it hurt for several days. I also had white spots for half a month.； Second, when applying hand cream, also apply some on the nail epithelium around the nails. Don't tear off the barbs casually. I used to have paronychia due to my stupid hands, which swelled like a radish. It hurt for a whole week and I couldn't even type on the keyboard. I really suffered.

In fact, your nails are like a small barometer of your body. Occasionally minor problems are mostly caused by small bumps or disrupted work and rest. If it really doesn't get better for several months, it's too late to see a doctor. Don't just treat yourself with search engines. It's not worth it to scare you, right?