MODERATE LEVELS OF THE FLU IN TONIGHT’S WOMAN’S DOCTOR, HAVE YOU TAKEN A CLOSE LOOK AT YOUR FINGERNAILS? SOMETHING LOOKS A LITTLE BIT OFF. YOU MAY WANT TO TALK WITH YOUR DOCTOR. DR. ERNESTINE WRIGHT AT MERCY MEDICAL CENTER SAYS THERE COULD BE SEVERAL THINGS GOING ON. IF YOUR FINGERNAILS LOOK PALE, IT COULD BE A SIGN OF IRON DEFICIENCY. IF YOU HAVE VERTICAL RIDGES ON YOUR FINGERNAILS. DR. WRIGHT SAYS THAT COULD BE JUST BECAUSE OF YOUR AGE OR POSSIBLY A ZINC DEFICIENCY. IT MAY ALSO BE AN UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITION, LIKE THYROID DISEASE. WE SOMETIMES LOOK FOR HORIZONTAL RIDGES. THOSE ARE RIDGES THAT ARE ACROSS THE NAIL BED AND THOSE CAN BE A SIGN OF A MORE SERIOUS DISEASE THAT CAUSED A CHANGE IN THE WAY THE CELLS THAT FORM THE NAIL BED WORK AND THAT COULD OCCUR, SAY SOMEONE HAVING CHEMOTHERAPY OR IF SOMEONE HAD A SEVERE ILLNESS LIKE A PNEUMONIA OR EVEN SEVERE COVID. WELL, IF YOU ALWAYS HAVE YOUR NAILS PAINTED, DR. WRIGHT SAYS IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO TA
Advertisement
Woman’s Doctor: What your fingernails can signal about your health
Updated: 6:26 PM EST Dec 4, 2023
Does something look off when taking a close look at your fingernails? Maybe it’s the color or the texture. If so, a call to your doctor may be needed.Dr. Ernestine Wright at Mercy Medical Center said there could be several things going on.She said if your fingernails look pale, it could be a sign of an iron deficiency. If there are vertical ridges on your fingernails, Wright said that could just be because of your age or possibly a zinc deficiency or an underlying health condition, like thyroid disease.”We sometimes look for horizontal ridges, those are ridges that are across the nailbed, and those can be a sign of a more serious disease that caused a change in the way the cells that form the nailbed work and that could occur, say if someone was having chemotherapy or someone had a severe illness like a pneumonia or even severe (COVID-19),” Wright said. For those who always have their nails painted, Wright said it’s really important to take a close look at what’s underneath the color when your polish is removed.
Does something look off when taking a close look at your fingernails? Maybe it’s the color or the texture. If so, a call to your doctor may be needed.
Dr. Ernestine Wright at Mercy Medical Center said there could be several things going on.
Advertisement
She said if your fingernails look pale, it could be a sign of an iron deficiency. If there are vertical ridges on your fingernails, Wright said that could just be because of your age or possibly a zinc deficiency or an underlying health condition, like thyroid disease.
“We sometimes look for horizontal ridges, those are ridges that are across the nailbed, and those can be a sign of a more serious disease that caused a change in the way the cells that form the nailbed work and that could occur, say if someone was having chemotherapy or someone had a severe illness like a pneumonia or even severe (COVID-19),” Wright said.
For those who always have their nails painted, Wright said it’s really important to take a close look at what’s underneath the color when your polish is removed.