Fingernail or toenail abnormalities
Brittle or crumbly nails
Wearing gloves will help protect your nails while doing work where your hands are exposed to water. Regularly applying moisturising cream to your fingers and nails will also help protect them.
Sometimes, brittle or crumbly nails can be caused by:
- a fungal nail infection this is often the cause of crumbly toenails and can be cleared by taking a course of antifungal tablets
- a skin condition called lichen planus this can just affect the nails
- an underactive thyroid or overactive thyroid where the thyroid gland either doesn't produce enough hormones or produces too many
- nail psoriasis a long-term skin condition that can cause the nails to become crumbly
Reactive arthritis is a less common cause of crumbly nails. It's an unusual reaction of the immune system affecting the joints, muscles and other parts of the body following an infection. If you have a combination of symptoms affecting different parts ofyour body, your GP might consider this condition.
Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 21 Dec 2018
Introduction
Find out about a number of different nail abnormalities, including brittle or crumbly nails, thickened, overgrown nails, indented, spoon-shaped nails and an infected nail fold.
Brittle or crumbly nails
Brittle nails are often just a sign of ageing or long-term exposure to water or chemicals such as detergents and nail polish. Wearing gloves will help protect your nails while doing work where your ha
Discoloured nails
The most common causes of a yellow nail are fungal nail infections or nail psoriasis . Yellow nails can also be caused by any of the following: frequent application of nail varnish lymphoedema a
White nails
If most of the nail has turned white and it isn't because it has become detached from the nail bed, it's likely to be either a fungal nail infection or a sign of decreased blood supply to the nail bed
Thickened, overgrown nails
A common cause of thickened nails is a fungal nail infection . This can also cause them to discolour and become crumbly (see above). Other possible causes of thickened or overgrown nails are: psori
Loose nails
It's normal for a toenail to come loose and fall off after an injury to the toe. Another common cause of a loose nail is over-manicuring the nails and cleaning underneath them with a sharp object. Les
Indented spoon-shaped nails (koilonychia)
If your finger nails curve inwards like spoons (koilonychia), you may have one of the following disorders: iron-deficiency anaemia haemochromatosis where the body retains too much iron Raynaud's
Pitting or dents on the nails
Pitting or small dents on the surface of your nails can be a sign of any of the following conditions: psoriasis eczema a long-term skin condition that causes the skin to become itchy, red, dry and
Grooves across the fingernails (Beau's lines)
Deep lines or grooves that go from left to right across the nail are known as Beau's lines .They may occur as a result of: a previous illness the line forms at the time of the illness having chemothe
Unusually curved fingertips and nails
Clubbing of the fingertips means the tissue beneath the nails thickens and the fingertips become rounded andbulbous. The fingernails curve over the rounded fingertips. Clubbing isthought to be
White lines running across nails
Whitespots or streaks are normal and nothing to worry about, but parallel white lines that extend all the way across the nails, known as Muehrcke's lines, are a sign of low levels of proteinin the blo
Dark stripes running down the nail
Dark stripes running down the nails (linear melanonychia) are fairly common in black people over 20 years of age, and in most cases it's perfectly normal. However, dark stripes shouldn't be ignored be
Red or brown little streaks under the nails
If you have littlered or brown streaks underneath your nails, it's likely they're splinter haemorrhages lines of blood caused by tiny damaged blood vessels. A few splinters under one nail are nothing
A destroyednail
Nails can be destroyed by: injury, including nail biting skin conditions, such as psoriasis or lichen planus overgrowth of the surrounding tissues, which is usually harmless for example, caused by
Painful, red and swollen nail fold (paronychia)
Paronychia is inflammation of the nail fold (the skin and soft tissue that frames and supports the nail). It's most commonly caused by infection, injury or irritation, and is about three times more co
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