It can be annoying to take care of your fingernails, having to keep them trim, file them and clean them, but if you tend to your nails, they can return the favor by letting you know you might be suffering from a serious medical condition.
Most fingernails are smooth and straight, however, if you look at your nails and see dents or small holes in them, or really any kind of depressions, then you could have “pitted nails,” something that the Mayo Clinic says is a “fingernail problem not to ignore.” That’s because it is a condition frequently caused by autoimmune disorders like psoriasis, inflammatory arthritis or connective tissue problems.
To spot the symptom, you’ll want to closely examine all of your nails, not just on your hands since, as one doctor explained on CreakyJoints.org, “Both fingernails and toenails can be affected, and it can affect one nail or all 20 nails.” You should also be mindful of other issues with your nails, like if they have changed color and become white, yellow or brown, if they’ve separate from the nail bed, if they crumble, if there’s blood underneath them, or if they seem deformed in any way .
So why would pitted nails imply a possible autoimmune disorder? Well the problem originates at the “nail matrix,” the part of your finger where your nails grow from, at the base of the nail. The disorder causes inflammation there, which in turn affects what your nails look like.
If you have pitted nails, and especially if you have any other symptom, you should head to your doctor for a blood test to find out what’s causing the problem. You may also need a skin biopsy to fully diagnose the issue. Be sure to list off any other problems you are experiencing to your medical professional, particularly if they include things like hair loss, skin changes or joint pain, symptoms that all are associated with autoimmune conditions. Also, if you notice pitting occurred and then stopped, that doesn’t mean you are in the clear and shouldn’t see a doctor. Some autoimmune conditions are intermittent, starting and stopping, so just because the pitting has temporarily stopped, that doesn’t mean the disorder has gone away.
You can see photos of what to look out for at the Mayo Clinic’s website.
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