Nail health line

We often refer to the "health line" of nails, whether it refers to the vertical lines on the surface, the crescent of the nail root, or other lines. Currently, there is no evidence-based medical evidence to prove that it is directly linked to the lesions of specific organs. It is essentially an external manifestation of the local metabolic state of the nails. At most, it can only be used as a scrap signal for health reference, and it must not be used to diagnose oneself.

I was doing a free clinic in the community a while ago, and I met seven people who came to ask questions with their hands clasped in one morning. One aunt said that the deep vertical lines on her fingernails were due to severe liver poisoning, and she wanted to buy health care products to detoxify the liver.； A college boy was very worried. He said that he only had two crescents on his thumbs. The elderly at home forced him to take kidney-tonifying dietary prescriptions every day. As a result, he got angry recently and the corners of his mouth were rotten. To be honest, I encounter similar questions more than ten times a week in the dermatology clinic. People are more superstitious about this "health line" than looking at horoscopes to determine marriage.

Why is there a saying that "nails correspond to health"? In fact, in traditional Chinese medicine, there is indeed a conclusion that "the claws are in addition to the tendons and are in addition to the liver and gallbladder." Many experienced traditional Chinese medicine doctors will also glance at the condition of the nails during the interview. However, they are based on the overall diagnosis of pulse, tongue coating, and systemic symptoms. There is never a reason to make a diagnosis just by looking at a vertical line. Nowadays, many health care accounts take two sentences of Chinese medicine theory out of context to bluff people, which is purely a routine to sell health care products.

From the perspective of modern medicine, it is even simpler. 90% of the "health lines" that everyone talks about are the longitudinal nail ridges. To put it bluntly, they are small vertical lines on the surface of the nails, which are similar in nature to the fine lines on the face. They will naturally grow as you get older. If you have stayed up late every day to catch up on projects, drank heavily for a week, or frequently had manicures and polished the nail surface too hard, the metabolism of the matrix of the nail will be temporarily affected, and the vertical lines will become obvious, and there is no connection with the internal organs. A friend of mine who works in operations stayed up for 28 days in a row last month to attend the 618 event. Two deep vertical lines suddenly appeared on his fingernails. He was so scared that he went to check his liver, kidney and thyroid function all night. They were all normal. Later, he took half a month of annual leave and slept in every day. When we met again, the lines were so faded that they were almost invisible. Also, my mother knocked her nails while cleaning the windows last winter. Two weeks later, white spots appeared. She said she was deficient in zinc and calcium, so she took me to check for trace elements. It turned out that I was not deficient in anything. After waiting for two months to grow out and cut my nails, nothing happened.

Of course, this does not mean that all changes in nails are useless. There are some abnormal signals that should be alerted to. For example, if black vertical lines with a width of more than 3mm suddenly appear, and the boundaries are still fuzzy, and they will continue to widen rapidly in a short period of time, then you should be alert to the possibility of onychomycosis or even melanoma, and go to a dermatology department for a dermoscopy as soon as possible without delay. There are also nails that suddenly become spoon-shaped, with the edges raised and the middle concave, like a small spoon. It is most likely iron deficiency anemia, and a blood test can basically confirm the diagnosis. These are all based on clear clinical evidence and are completely different from the so-called "health lines corresponding to organs".

Not long ago, an old man came to me with an article from a public health account, saying that his health line was bifurcated, which was a sign of heart disease. I measured his blood pressure and did an electrocardiogram, all of which were normal. After questioning for a long time, I found out that he grows succulents at home every day, and his fingernails are digging into the potting soil with a small shovel every day.

To put it bluntly, this "health line" that everyone talks about is more like a little sticky note posted by your nails. Most of the time it reminds you that you should go to bed earlier, have fewer nails, and stop chewing your hands every day. If it suddenly sends you a "red warning" of black, concave changes, and large-scale scaling, it is not too late for you to go to the hospital. There is really no need to hold a magnifying glass and stare at your fingernails every day and think about it. You are more serious than checking the KPIs for your boss. You can't do that.