Nail health standards

The nail surface is smooth without abnormal thickening/denting, the nail color is even and light pink and translucent, and the nail edge is intact without redness, swelling or stinging. The myths such as "the number of crescent moons corresponds to the health of the organs" and "vertical lines mean liver disease" are very popular on the Internet. In fact, they are extremely controversial. There is no need to scare yourself by seeing a few lines.

I have been a manicurist for almost 6 years, and I have seen thousands of pairs of nails. Many customers raise their hands anxiously as soon as they sit down: "Do you think I have these vertical lines because I stayed up late recently? Is it because I have only two crescents? Is it because I have weak energy and blood?" Actually, it's not true. Let’s first talk about what we think of those three hard standards——

Just wash your hands and dry them. The nail surface feels smooth. There is no sudden bulge or a few small pits, and it is not thick like calluses. Basically, there is no problem. A while ago, an old customer came to have his nails removed and found a row of pinprick-sized dents on his two thumbs. His face turned pale on the spot and he said that he had searched the Internet for "psoriasis nails" and was so scared that he couldn't sleep for half the night. I accompanied her to consult with the dermatologist she often worked with, and I found out that she had contracted influenza A half month ago and had a fever of over 39 degrees. The nail matrix was temporarily affected, and it would disappear when the new nails grew out. Sure enough, when she came back two months later, the dent was gone. Of course, if the nail surface thickens for a long time and falls off like crumbs, it is most likely onychomycosis, and you need to take medication quickly without delay.

Looking at the color, healthy nails are translucent with pink. Press and release the tip of the nail and the white will quickly turn back to pink, indicating that there is no problem with the peripheral circulation. It doesn't mean that if it's whiter or yellower, there's something wrong. In the winter, your nails will turn white if you freeze outside for half an hour. If you put them in a warm room for two minutes, they'll turn pink again. That's perfectly normal. There are also many girls who like to apply dark red or navy blue nail polish and forget to apply base oil. After removing the nail polish, they look yellow and think that they have a liver and gallbladder problem. In fact, it is a stain on the nail surface, which fades away after ten days and a half. Unless you are pale and blue for a long time, or have gray-black or yellow-brown patches inexplicably, you need to go to the hospital for examination.

Needless to say, many people have the bad habit of tearing off barbs. Last month, I met a young man who got infected after tearing off the barbs on his hand. When he went for a manicure, his fingertips were swollen like a small carrot and could not be touched. In the end, he had to go to the hospital and get prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs. Healthy nails are soft, with no redness, swelling or tenderness. It is normal to have hangnails occasionally. Don't tear them apart with your hands. Just cut them all the way to the root with sterilized nail clippers. Applying hand cream on the nail edge is much more effective than eating hundreds of pieces of nail protection tablets.

After talking about these three hard standards, let’s talk about the crescent moon and vertical lines that everyone is most concerned about. This is indeed a matter of different views between Chinese and Western medicine. I also specifically asked friends from different departments to give you an objective explanation.

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, the size and number of crescents are indeed related to qi and blood. If there are originally 10 crescents and suddenly only 2 are left, and you still feel weak, afraid of cold, and dizzy, it is most likely that the qi and blood are insufficient and need to be replenished. However, the common view of Western medicine dermatology is that the crescent moon is the exposed part of the nail matrix. Everyone is born with a different position. Some people have nail matrix that grows to the back, and the crescent moon is small or even invisible. Some people grow to the front. It is normal to have lunula on all ten fingers. It is not necessarily related to health at all. I only have two crescents on my thumbs, and every year during my physical examination, everything is normal. Even after staying up late and doing activities for three days, I didn’t feel so weak that I couldn’t get up, so I really don’t have to worry about counting the crescents.

The vertical lines are even more amusing. Many people search for vertical lines when they see them on their nails, and then they are pushed "Ten Signs of a Bad Liver". The more they read, the more they feel that they are seriously ill. In fact, if you raise your hand and take a closer look, most people have thin, non-protruding vertical lines. These are like wrinkles on the skin. They become more obvious as you get older. It is a completely normal physiological phenomenon. Unless it is the kind of black vertical lines that suddenly grow out and are very obvious, and are more than 3mm wide and still getting wider, then you should be wary of whether it is a nevus and go to the dermatology department for a checkup. The probability is as low as winning the lottery, so don’t scare yourself.

In fact, after working in this industry for so long, I feel that most of the minor problems with people’s nails are caused by things like opening couriers or opening cans with their nails, causing the nail bed to bleed; doing manicures for more than half a year without leaving any window of time, and the nail surface is so thin that it hurts when touched; tearing out barbs and causing paronychia are really much more common than the so-called “problems reflected by organs”.

If you really want to grow healthy nails, remember to work less. Leave a window of one or two weeks each time to let your nails breathe. Don’t use your nails as tools, don’t tear off barbs, and just eat more protein. If you really feel something is wrong, just call a dermatologist. Ten thousand dollars will buy you peace of mind, which is 10,000 times better than guessing based on symptoms online.