Ridges in Fingernails, What do They Mean?
Not many people consider fingernails as a way to monitor your health.
Actually, the appearance of your fingernails, such as ridges in fingernails, can provide a vital clue indicating underlying medical conditions in the early stages, such as an underactive thyroid. And, the earlier you are able to diagnose a problem, the sooner treatment can begin.
The key is to figure out if those nail ridges are really indicating a problem.
Different Kinds of Ridges in Fingernails:Vertical Nail Ridges vs. Horizontal Nail Ridges
Now, before you start to drive yourself crazy trying to figure out if the bumps and lines on your fingernails means you have a serious problem, consider this: vertical nail ridges (the ones that run from the base of your nail to the tip) are normal. Vertical fingernail ridges do not typically indicate any kind of medical problem. It’s the horizontal lines you need to be concerned with.
If there are lines on your fingernails and they run from side-to-side, this could be a hint of something else going on that could affect your health. For example, the following medical conditions could cause ridges on fingernails:
• Diabetes
• Malnutrition
• Hypothyroidism
• Respiratory disease
• Circulatory problems
• Autoimmune disease (like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis)
Horizontal nail ridges does not mean you have any of these conditions, but it is an indication your body is having a problem of some kind. For malnutrition or the inability to absorb some vitamins and minerals, sometimes all that is needed is diet modification and nutritional supplements to solve the problem of ridges in fingernails.
Lines, Lines, Lines
One type of ridges in fingernails is known as Beau’s lines. These are very deep, grooved horizontal lines which may look a bit dark in appearance. These lines occur when something has happened to stop the growth and development of the nail. This can be cause by trauma to the nail itself or a medical condition or illness which has not yet manifested overt symptoms.
Muehrcke’s lines look like pairs of white lines and typically appear in patients who are experiencing kidney or liver disease. The lines are due to a vascular abnormality in the nail bed, and usually disappear when the nail is pressed. This phenomenon can also be cause by malnutrition.
Horizontal white bands on the nails which move as the nail grows, called Mee’s lines, can indicate a serious illness, but usually this type of fingernail ridge is an indication of arsenic poisoning and is fairly rare in occurrence. People who have liver, kidney or issues like HIV or cirrhosis may experience a white nail bed with ridges in fingernails near the tip. This is known as Terry’s nails.
No matter what name is assigned to those nail ridges, the bottom line is if you notice horizontal ridges in your fingernails, it’s a good idea to get to a doctor sooner rather than later. Although many times it’s a false alarm and due to trauma to the nail, if you notice any other symptoms along with the nail ridges this could be a clue something bigger is going on.
In monitoring your overall health, don’t overlook the humble fingernail. It’s a clue which could play an important part in diagnosing a wide variety of health problems from hypothyroidism to malnutrition – and the earlier your health problems are identified, the sooner treatment can begin and the sooner you can start feeling better and make ridges in fingernails a thing of the past.
