Nail Diseases

Nail Diseases

Nail diseases and disorders affect people of different ages. Many nail conditions can impair the health, vitality, and color of nails.

Types of Nail diseases

• Nail psoriasis: It can cause nail dinting or disintegrating. It develops when psoriasis attacks the epithelium of the nail bed or close to the nail beds.
• Onychoschizia (Brittle splitting nails): It is a common nail disease. It causes brittle, weakening, splitting, or thinning of nails.
• Onychogryphosis: A disease wherein the nail turns dense and profuse, usually hitting the biggest toe. It can induce one part of the nail to develop longer compared to the other one.  
• Ingrown toenails: This condition can accelerate discomfort and inflammation, and in a few circumstances, they may turn septic.
• Nail fungal infections: A common disease that induces the nails to become dense, discolored, and laid-back to crack. It is a common condition around toes. 
• Onycholysis: It happens when the toe or fingernail severs from the nail bed without any pain. Often, it happens gradually and could emerge due to an underlying health disease or impairment.
• Paronychia: An infection that leads to tenderness and enlargement around the boundaries of the nail bed. 

Possible Causes

Common causes of nail diseases or disorders consist of trauma, aging, infection, and skin conditions.

• Diet: Diet or food regime is often not accountable for strange nail vicissitudes or diseases, except for severe malnourishment. 
• Trauma: Trauma can induce parallel fingernail edges, blood loss (hemorrhage) underneath the nail base, and white stripes or specks (leukonychia).
• Wet hands and recurrent application of nail polish or non-natural nails: Splitting (onychoschizia) results from having continually wet hands, regular application and removal of nail polish or fake nails, and constant light trauma ensuing from repeated finger tapping. 
• Cutting the nail too short: An ingrown toenail develops due to cutting the nail too short or wearing tight footwear.
• Aging: Upright crumpling and hard nails are frequently an expected outcome of getting old or aging. 
• Exposure to microbes: Onychomycosis refers to an infection of the nail bed by bacteria, fungi, or molds. Fungal infections can stigmatize the patient, creating complications in his everyday life. 

Risk Factors

Nail diseases are not just disease but indicators of other diseases too. Thus, the risks associated with nail diseases are:

• Diabetes
• Circulation problems
• Weakened immune system

Signs and symptoms

If you have a nail disease, you may notice the following changes in your nails:

• Discoloration 
• Twisting or clubbing 
• Coagulating or weakening
• Brittle
• Pitted
• Bleeding
• Inflammation or soreness 
• Agony
• A nail severing from the skin

Diagnosis

The commonly accepted diagnosis techniques for nail diseases are clinical inspection, diagnostic imaging, dermatoscopy, microbiological testing, and histopathological examination.

Treatment Options at 7DMC

Our medical experts would examine any irregular variations to your nails. If the condition of your nail issue does not show instantly, our doctors may keep hold of nail cuttings and rubbings from underneath your nail for further laboratory study. Typically, fingernail diseases react more agile to treatment compared to toenail infections.

Based on the severity of the nail disease, treatment or diagnosis may consist of:

• Antibiotics for bacteriological contaminations
• Antifungal arrangements (mainly comprising oral medicines) to treat fungal infections around nails
• Treatment for any potential causative skin conditions
• Guidance on proper nail maintenance and care.