Health updates from Diagram Healthcare

Health updates from Diagram Healthcare
News & updates from Diagram Healthcare

Discoloured Nails

Nails continue to grow throughout life at the rate of 3 mm per month for fingernails and 1 mm per month for toenails. They are hard due to the presence of hard keratin (a protein). They contain about 18% water and if it drops below this level, nails become brittle. They become hard and opaque when the water content reaches more than 30%.

Nails can be of a different color due to a variety of reasons. The commonest cause of discolored nails is a fungal infection, affecting toenails more than fingernails. This is usually seen in housewives, diabetics and people with a lowered immune function. The fungus needs to be identified under a microscope and response to treatment usually takes a few months as the rate of nail plate growth is slow.
Nails can also look abnormal in a wide variety of skin disorders like psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, lichen planus, nevus (moles), alopecia areata, peripheral vascular disease, medications and nutritional deficiencies.

A dermatologist would help identify the cause and start appropriate treatment. 


- Dr.Suraj Sachidanand MBBS MS MSEd (USA)

No comments:

Post a Comment