Please help with little brother's nails?

Question

Hi everyone...

My little brother's nails seem to be really weird. Okay, truthfully, they are disgusting. They have lines in them and grow oddly. If you run your fingers across the top, they are bumpy and seem unsolid (thats not a word. ahah). I am just waiting for them to all fall off. Please help, I am really worried. I am thinking that this is because of lack of some type of mineral, because he doesn't like veggies or fruits. My parents aren't as worried as I am, and he sometimes takes those gross Centrum Kids pills. sometimes he will eat carrots. Please help me. Thanks. :)

Answer 1

What Your Nails Say About Your Health

Looking at a person’s fingernails can indicate whether their body is in perfect working order or if they have a health problem. Even as early as 450 B.C., the Greek physician Hippocrates was theorizing that the nails can tell a lot about the health of the body.

If you’re in general good health, and your nails look okay but are brittle, flaky or break easily, it’s probably due to exposure to the elements or irritating chemicals; the majority of nail problems are a result of this. When your nails get wet, they swell, and they shrink again once they’re dry. This cycle is repeated so often that it can leave the nails stripped and fragile. The temperature can also be the culprit: both very cold and excessively warm conditions can cause nail problems, especially dry cuticles. Or it could be that you’re using too many harsh chemicals around your nails, whether it’s cleaning products or things such as nail glue and polish remover.

If you’ve tried removing the stressors indicated above (allowing several weeks for improvement), and your nails are still giving you grief, look at your diet. Are you getting adequate protein? Protein is especially important for nail health – you should be eating at least eight ounces of it every day. (If you’re getting enough protein already, adding more won’t help your nails.) An iron deficiency can also cause brittle nails. Taking a multivitamin supplement can alleviate many problems.

If your diet is fine and the condition of your nails won’t improve, or if they just look strange to you, it may be time to consult a doctor. Nails can be very accurate indicators of illness.

White fingernails with pink near the tips can indicate cirrhosis of the liver; if the nail is completely white, there could be a kidney or liver disorder, or severe anemia.

YELLOW fingernails can mean that you are diabetic, have problems with your liver, your lymphatic system, or respiratory disorders. Signs of these disorders can show up in the nails years before they actually occur, though, so just because your nails may be yellow doesn’t necessarily mean that you are currently suffering from such diseases. They’re just things to look out for, so talk to your doctor and take the proper preventative measures.

Dark nails, which will usually be flat or thin, indicate a deficiency in vitamin B-12.

If your nails beds are a very deep blue, it could mean emphysema or pulmonary obstruction.

White lines across the nail can indicate liver disease.

If your nail is half white, with dark spots across the top, there may be a problem with your kidneys.

Spots of pitted brown, or nail tips that split easily, can indicate psoriasis.

Very red skin at the bottom of your nail bed could mean a connective tissue disorder.

Thyroid disorders may cause the nails to have ridges or bumps, separate from the nail bed, or to be unusually soft.

Highly bendable nails can be an indicator of rheumatoid arthritis.

Flat nails can indicate Raynaud’s disease, a disease of the circulatory system that leaves the hands and feet perpetually cold.

Abnormally wide, square nails may signal a hormonal disorder.

Spoon-shaped nails indicate an iron deficiency or difficulty with the thyroid.

Abnormally large lunula (the white half-moon shape at the base of the nail) suggests an overactive thyroid, while the absence of a lunula can mean an under-active thyroid.