Tips For Healthy & Beautiful Nails,The Shape Of Your Nails ,Nail disease

Nails

Nails are one of the last parts of our body to receive blood and nutrients during times of illness. Therefore, nail appearance is a signal of vitamin or mineral deficiency or body changes. But that’s not the whole story. How you take care of your nails is also important.
Our nails are colorless and transparent. Healthy nails appear pink because of the abundance of blood vessels under the skin. The nail’s tissue is called the matrix and the white moon-like lunula is at the top of the matrix. Below that is the nail bed, where the nail attaches to the body. The cuticle grows down over the nail bed and forms a watertight seal that protects the matrix against infection or foreign objects. Watch out for manicures or pedicures that cut away the cuticle–the chance of getting a nail infection is too great.

Natural estheticians do not use chemical nail hardeners or conditioners as part of their repertoire. These products do not stimulate growth or strength. They contain clear nail polish, which must be removed with damaging solvents. The solvents strip away the nail’s natural moisture. Before you know it, the nail’s keratin, or protein, is damaged and your nails peel and chip. Natural treatments include using aloe vera for its healing properties, in combination with oils such as primrose, camellia or almond as emollients. Fruit acids are added to soften the cuticles, allowing them to be pushed back.

You can give yourself your own nail treatment by massaging with rose hip oil. This oil contains prostaglandins, which strengthen your nail cells, increase circulation and stimulate growth. Its fatty acids replenish moisture and its vitamin C helps ward off bacteria. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to wear waterproof gloves when washing dishes. Water causes your nails to swell and then shrink as they dry. The result is fragile nails. 

Tips For Healthy Nails

Everyone likes clean, well-manicured and polished nails. In fact, strong and healthy nails serve as the perfect representative of the overall health and fitness of a person. Though most of the people are unaware of the fact, nails too need to be taken well care of. Eating a healthy diet is as important for your nails as for the vital organs of your body. It is important to include certain vitamins, minerals and other nutrients in your daily diet to ensure that your nails remain healthy and look beautiful. At the same time, you need to make sure that you do not put undue stress on them, by using them as tools for picking, plucking, and so on. To get some more tips for healthy nails, go through the following lines.

Tips For Healthy & Beautiful Nails

• If your nails are too brittle and dry, you should increase the consumption of food that items rich in vitamin A (such as apricots, broccoli, carrot and cheese) and calcium (such as milk, yoghurt, cheese and almonds).
• Every night, before you go off to sleep, wash your hands thoroughly, wipe them dry with a towel and apply a hand moisturizer. Thereafter, rub a small amount of petroleum jelly into the cuticle as well as the skin surrounding your nails.
• Whenever you are indulging in any kind of housework, be it doing the dishes or scrubbing the bathroom, make sure to wear hand gloves. This will prevent unnecessary chipping and save your nails from the harsh cleaners as well.
• Drink plenty of water and fresh fruit juices. It will help keep your body, and in turn your nails, well hydrated.
• Carrot juice is rich in calcium and phosphorus and helps strengthen your nails. So, try to consume as much fresh carrot juice as is possible for you.
• Never ever use an acetone-based or formaldehyde-based nail-polish remover. Rather, stick to a remover that has acetate in it.
• Do not file you nails just after you have had a shower or have washed your hands. This is because wet nails tend to break easily.
• While filing your nails, make sure to go in one direction only. Do not move the filer in a back-and-forth motion, as it makes your nails brittle.
• If you want to keep your nails strong and shiny, resort to nail buffing. It augments the blood supply to the nail, in turn stimulating its growth.
• Stay away from artificial nails as much as possible. Apart from destroying the underlying nail with their chemicals and glue, they might also lead to fungal infection of the fingernails.
• If you are suffering from the problem of hangnails, it is advisable to eat food rich in protein, vitamin C and folic acid.
• Ensure that half of your diet is made up of fresh fruits and raw vegetables. This will supple your nails with the required vitamins, minerals and enzymes.
• Supplementing your diet with spirulina and kelp will help make your nails strong and healthy.
• Deficiency of vitamin B 12 can lead to dryness, rounded and curved ends and darkening of nails. So, make sure to include enough of the vitamin in your diet.

The Shape Of Your Nails

Look at your hands. Are your nails brittle, misshapen, discolored or lined? It may be a sign of a nutritional or metabolic change.

Brittle nails may be a symptom of thyroid, kidney or circulatory problems or may be related to low amounts of vitamin A, calcium or omega-3 fatty acids in your diet.

Vertical lines may be due to reduced protein metabolism or iron shortage, while horizontal lines suggest emotional or physical stress. Both symptoms may also indicate improper nutrient absorption. White spots are tell-tale signs of fasting or inappropriate dieting. They usually disappear once zinc is restored to a normal level. As well, nails that chip, crack or peel may be caused by poor mineral absorption. Supplementing with digestive enzymes may help.

We all want the perfectly shaped nail. Genetics and health are major factors. Spoon-shaped nails suggest a scarcity of iron, while square, wide nails may be a warning of hormonal imbalances. Overly thick nails indicate the beginning of vascular degeneration or thyroid conditions. A lack of vitamin B₁₂ can account for nails whose ends are curved down and whose nail bed is darkened.

Helping Yourself

A diet made up of 50 percent fruits and vegetables to ensure vitamin and mineral absorption is beneficial. It should also incorporate whole grains, nuts and foods that are high in iron and protein. Drinking fresh-squeezed carrot juice daily will provide a first-rate source of calcium and phosphorus needed to strengthen your nails. Silica is necessary for the formation of strong healthy nails. It can be obtained by brewing up a cup of herbal horsetail and oat straw tea, or from a colloidal silicea supplement. Horsetail also is high in the amino acid L-cysteine. This amino acid is additionally found in the herb coltsfoot and contains sulfur, which is required in skin and nail growth.

Homeopathy also assists in the treatment of nail problems. Anitonium crudum can be taken for individuals with brittle nails, while thuja is for those with fragile nails that are red at their base. The remedy graphites is taken for thick and deformed nails. Belladona is for the first stages of a nail infection and silicea treats nails that have white spots

Nail Bites

They may be popular fashion accessories, but those long nails, artificial or otherwise, can transmit bacteria. To prevent disease-causing bacteria from spreading to patients, the New York Presbyterian Hospital has recently banned health-care workers from wearing artificial nails, and has limited the length of natural nails to no longer than one-eight of an inch (three millimetres) past the fingertips.

Artificial nails in particular can increase the risk of bacterial or fungal infections. Chipped nail polish is also a no-no because it can also harbour disease-causing microbes. For those who are able to keep long nails, it’s important to wash your hands thoroughly, paying special attention to under the nails–although, studies show, this does not entirely eliminate bacteria.

Nails

Nails are one of the last parts of our body to receive blood and nutrients during times of illness. Therefore, nail appearance is a signal of vitamin or mineral deficiency or body changes. But that’s not the whole story. How you take care of your nails is also important.

Our nails are colorless and transparent. Healthy nails appear pink because of the abundance of blood vessels under the skin. The nail’s tissue is called the matrix and the white moon-like lunula is at the top of the matrix. Below that is the nail bed, where the nail attaches to the body. The cuticle grows down over the nail bed and forms a watertight seal that protects the matrix against infection or foreign objects. Watch out for manicures or pedicures that cut away the cuticle–the chance of getting a nail infection is too great.

Natural estheticians do not use chemical nail hardeners or conditioners as part of their repertoire. These products do not stimulate growth or strength. They contain clear nail polish, which must be removed with damaging solvents. The solvents strip away the nail’s natural moisture. Before you know it, the nail’s keratin, or protein, is damaged and your nails peel and chip. Natural treatments include using aloe vera for its healing properties, in combination with oils such as primrose, camellia or almond as emollients. Fruit acids are added to soften the cuticles, allowing them to be pushed back.

You can give yourself your own nail treatment by massaging with rose hip oil. This oil contains prostaglandins, which strengthen your nail cells, increase circulation and stimulate growth. Its fatty acids replenish moisture and its vitamin C helps ward off bacteria. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to wear waterproof gloves when washing dishes. Water causes your nails to swell and then shrink as they dry. The result is fragile nails.

The Shape Of Your Nails

Look at your hands. Are your nails brittle, misshapen, discolored or lined? It may be a sign of a nutritional or metabolic change.

Brittle nails may be a symptom of thyroid, kidney or circulatory problems or may be related to low amounts of vitamin A, calcium or omega-3 fatty acids in your diet.

Vertical lines may be due to reduced protein metabolism or iron shortage, while horizontal lines suggest emotional or physical stress. Both symptoms may also indicate improper nutrient absorption. White spots are tell-tale signs of fasting or inappropriate dieting. They usually disappear once zinc is restored to a normal level. As well, nails that chip, crack or peel may be caused by poor mineral absorption. Supplementing with digestive enzymes may help.

We all want the perfectly shaped nail. Genetics and health are major factors. Spoon-shaped nails suggest a scarcity of iron, while square, wide nails may be a warning of hormonal imbalances. Overly thick nails indicate the beginning of vascular degeneration or thyroid conditions. A lack of vitamin B₁₂ can account for nails whose ends are curved down and whose nail bed is darkened.

Helping Yourself

A diet made up of 50 percent fruits and vegetables to ensure vitamin and mineral absorption is beneficial. It should also incorporate whole grains, nuts and foods that are high in iron and protein. Drinking fresh-squeezed carrot juice daily will provide a first-rate source of calcium and phosphorus needed to strengthen your nails. Silica is necessary for the formation of strong healthy nails. It can be obtained by brewing up a cup of herbal horsetail and oat straw tea, or from a colloidal silicea supplement. Horsetail also is high in the amino acid L-cysteine. This amino acid is additionally found in the herb coltsfoot and contains sulfur, which is required in skin and nail growth.

Homeopathy also assists in the treatment of nail problems. Anitonium crudum can be taken for individuals with brittle nails, while thuja is for those with fragile nails that are red at their base. The remedy graphites is taken for thick and deformed nails. Belladona is for the first stages of a nail infection and silicea treats nails that have white spots

Nail Bites

They may be popular fashion accessories, but those long nails, artificial or otherwise, can transmit bacteria. To prevent disease-causing bacteria from spreading to patients, the New York Presbyterian Hospital has recently banned health-care workers from wearing artificial nails, and has limited the length of natural nails to no longer than one-eight of an inch (three millimetres) past the fingertips.

Artificial nails in particular can increase the risk of bacterial or fungal infections. Chipped nail polish is also a no-no because it can also harbour disease-causing microbes. For those who are able to keep long nails, it’s important to wash your hands thoroughly, paying special attention to under the nails–although, studies show, this does not entirely eliminate bacteria.

Nail disease

Nail diseases are distinct from diseases of the skin. Although nails are a skin appendage, they have their own signs and symptoms which may relate to other medical conditions. Nail conditions that show signs of infection or inflammation require medical assistance and cannot be treated at a beauty parlor. Deformity or disease of the nails may be referred to as onychosis. Onychia is an inflammation of the matrix (surrounding tissue) of the nail with formation of pus and shedding of the nail. Onychia results from the introduction of microscopic pathogens through small wounds.

Onychocryptosis, commonly known as “ingrown nails” (unguis incarnatus), can affect either the fingers or the toes. In this condition, the nail cuts into one or both sides of the nail bed, resulting in inflammation and possibly infection. The relative rarity of this condition in the fingers suggests that pressure from the ground or shoe against the toe is a prime factor. The movements involved in walking or other physical disturbances can contribute to the problem. Mild onychocryptosis, particularly in the absence of infection, can be treated by trimming and rounding the nail. More advanced cases, which usually include infection, are treated by surgically excising the ingrowing portion of the nail down to its bony origin and thermally or chemically cauterizing the matrix, or ‘root’, to prevent recurrence. This surgery is called matrixectomy. The best results are achieved by cauterizing the matrix with phenol. Another, much less effective, treatment is excision of the matrix, sometimes called a ‘cold steel procedure’.

Onychodystrophy is a deformation of the nails that can result from cancer chemotherapy which includes bleomycin, hydroxyurea, or 5-fluorouracil. It can include discoloration of the nail, or dyschromia.

Onychogryposis, also called “ram’s-horn nail”, is a thickening and increase in curvature of the nail. It is usually the result of injury to the matrix. It may be partially hereditary and can also occur as a result of long-term neglect. It is most commonly seen in the great toe but may be seen in other toes as well as the fingernails. An affected nail has many grooves and ridges, is brownish in color, and grows more quickly on one side than on the other. The thick curved nail is difficult to cut, and often remains untrimmed, exacerbating the problem

Onychomycosis, also known as tinea unguium, is a contagious infection of the nail caused by the same fungal organisms which cause ringworm of the skin (Trichophyton rubrum or T. mentagrophytes, rarely other trichophyton species or Epidermophyton floccosum ). It can result in discoloration, thickening, chalkiness, or crumbling of the nails and is often treated by powerful oral medications which, rarely, can cause severe side effects including liver failure. Mild onychomycosis sometimes responds to a combination of topical antifungal medication, sometimes applied as special medicinal nail lacquer, and periodic filing of the nail surface. For advanced onychomycosis, especially if more than one nail is infected, systemic medication (pills) is preferred. Home remedies are often used, although their effectiveness is disputed. In a study at the University of Rochester tea tree oil applied twice daily in conjunction with debridement was found to be an appropriate initial treatment strategy, equally effective to topical use of clotrimazole