Manicures can cover up any bumps or ripples on your nails, but shiny polish won’t hide the issues that might be lurking inside your body.
Your nails show how healthy you are and any unusual changes can hint at possible problems with your liver, lungs or heart.
Nail health often reflects what’s going on inside us. When changes happen, it could mean different health conditions or just normal aging.
Stripes on nails might not be serious, but according to the National Library of Medicine (NCBI), ridges on “nails may also provide an insight into more serious systemic issues,” suggesting hidden health concerns.
In this article, we’ll look at the various types of stripes on your nails, what they could mean and when you should think about getting medical help.
Types of Nail Stripes
Vertical Stripes
Vertical stripes, also known as longitudinal striations, are common and usually run from the cuticle to the tip. They’re often linked to aging since nail ridges can become more noticeable as we get older.
Sometimes they may show nutritional shortages like a lack of certain minerals or vitamins (like vitamin B12, magnesium or iron).
Vertical ridges are typical with age and usually harmless. But if they suddenly appear or get worse, it might be good to check for things like anemia or thyroid problems.
Horizontal Stripes
Horizontal stripes or grooves could point to specific health worries.
Also called Beau’s lines, these horizontal dips can show up after physical injury to the nail or from serious illnesses like malnutrition, uncontrolled diabetes heart attacks and respiratory diseases.
These ridges often come from temporary stops in nail growth due to stress periods or illness since our bodies may slow down nail growth during those times.
The NCBI states that if groove growth is “sudden,[it] indicates a quick attack of disease.” And when seen on all 20 nails it’s “usually due to systemic disease such as mumps pneumonia coronary thrombosis Kawasaki disease syphilis and hypoparathyroidism.”
White Stripes
White parallel horizontal lines that don’t indent the surface of the nail may suggest liver or kidney troubles. These lines called Muehrcke’s lines tend to fade temporarily when pressed down and often appear across multiple nails at once.
A drop in blood protein levels especially albumin can also lead these white stripes which are commonly found in people with malnutritionor chronic liver disease.
If Muehrcke’s lines show up on several nails see a doctor because it might indicate protein shortagesor kidney/liver issues.
‘Poor diet’
For most people ripples are normal & can be fixed by buffing them out along with some healthy lifestyle choices.
Eating a balanced diet rich in protein vitamins & minerals – biotin vitamin E iron & zinc – will help improve how your nails look over time!
Dr Sara Norris a naturopathic doctor based in Los Angeles tells Healthline that “nail health is mostly an indicator of poor nutrition intakeor bad digestion.”
“Brittle weak peeling nailsare common concerns I see in my practiceand these symptoms usually come from poor diets rather than systemic diseases,” she explains.
Your nails give you important clues about your health ranging from harmless signs of agingto possible indicatorsof underlying conditions! Most causes are easyto treat so pay attentionto what they’re tellingyou!
