What causes dents in toenails

Nail pitting

What does dents in your nails mean?

Small dents or pits in your nails can be a sign of nail psoriasis, eczema or alopecia. Credit: Deep lines or grooves across your fingernails (Beau’s lines) may happen when you’re ill but should grow out. Credit: Fingernails curving over rounded fingertips (clubbing) can be a sign of many serious, long-term conditions.

What causes grooves in toenails?

Ridges in the fingernails are often normal signs of aging. Slight vertical ridges commonly develop in older adults. In some cases, they may be a sign of health problems like vitamin deficiencies or diabetes. Deep horizontal ridges, called Beau’s lines, may indicate a serious condition.

What vitamin deficiency causes dents in nails?

Zinc is an essential nutrient that can contribute to the health of a person’s hair, skin, and nails. Zinc deficiency, which may be due to a lack of zinc in the diet or an underlying medical condition, can cause nail dystrophy. Nail dystrophy is the discoloration and distortion of a person’s nails.

What do horizontal ridges in toenails mean?

If horizontal ridges develop on all toenails and fingernails as well, it can indicate: mumps, thyroid disease, diabetes, or syphilis. Our nails can also be affected by kidney, GI, lung and liver disease. Dark spots on nails without trauma could indicate endocarditis or melanoma.

What causes vertical ridges in toenails?

The most common reason for the formation of the vertical or longitudinal ridges in the absence of actual disease is the lack of moisture and improper nutrition. As the nails age their capacity to absorb nutrients diminishes and this naturally affects their growth. The vertical ridges often form in aging nails.

How do you treat thickened toenails?

1. Clean the affected area with soap and water daily.
2. Groom your nails regularly. …
3. Apply an over-the-counter fungal treatment after you gently file your nails.
4. Apply Vicks VapoRub on your toenail each day.

What do nails look like with anemia?

Koilonychia is an abnormal shape of the fingernail. The nail has raised ridges and is thin and curved inward. This disorder is associated with iron deficiency anemia. Leukonychia is white streaks or spots on the nails often due to drugs or disease.

Can thyroid problems cause ridges in nails?

Thyroid dysfunction can also affect your nails, causing abnormality in nail shape, nail color, or attachment to the nail bed. Pay attention if you experience ongoing hangnails, ridges in your nails, splitting, peeling, or even dry cuticles.

What do nails look like with liver disease?

This condition, known as Terry’s nails, is especially common in people with severe liver disease. Additionally, nails that are half white and half reddish brown are called Lindsay’s nails, which is a condition that’s often associated with kidney disease.

Article first time published on

Does Beau's lines go away?

There’s no specific treatment for Beau’s lines; most often, they grow out on their own. “It’s common to find them, and they’ll go away if the factors affecting the condition are managed,” says Hodges.

Should I see a doctor for Beau's lines?

Beau’s lines can be a clue to a systemic illness or drug reaction. If a systemic illness, medication, or other causative factor is identified, this underlying issue should be treated.

What do nails look like with thyroid problems?

Curved nails with swollen fingertip A swollen fingertip, curved nail, and thickening skin above a nail are often signs of thyroid disease.

How can I make my toenails healthy again?

1. Daily Cleansing. …
2. Moisturize. …
3. Frequent Trimming. …
4. Filing. …
5. Toenail Friendly Diet. …
6. Wearing Proper Shoes and Socks. …
7. Occasional Massage. …
8. Treat Yourself To Foot Soaks.

Can thick toenails be fixed?

When thick toenails are not caused by an infection or existing condition, buffing the surface of the nail will be enough to treat it. Otherwise, treatment will be based on targeting the cause. The cause of thick nails will be the determining factor in what treatment is used.

What is the thick white stuff under toenails?

Nail psoriasis sometimes causes too much keratin to grow under the nail. This overgrowth is called subungual hyperkeratosis. People with hyperkeratosis may notice a white, chalky substance under the nail. When this occurs in the toenails, the pressure of shoes pushing down on the nails might cause pain.

What is Beau's lines?

Beau’s lines are indentations that run across the nails. The indentations can appear when growth at the area under the cuticle is interrupted by injury or severe illness.

Does thyroid cause GREY hair?

Hair shafts of patients with hyperthyroidism also show substantially reduced tensile strength (10). Early graying has been claimed to be related to autoimmune thyroid disease, hypothyroidism, and hyperthyroidism (11, 12), whereas darkening of gray/white hair may occur in some patients after TH administration (13).

Do you have hypothyroidism look at your hands?

Signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism can show up in the hands and nails. Hypothyroidism can cause dermatologic findings such as nail infection, vertical white ridges on the nails, nail splitting, brittle nails, slow nail growth, and nails lifting up.

Is coffee good for thyroid?

Coffee: Time Your First Cup Carefully in the Morning Per a study in the journal Thyroid, caffeine has been found to block absorption of thyroid hormone replacement. “People who were taking their thyroid medication with their morning coffee had uncontrollable thyroid levels, and we couldn’t figure it out,” says Dr. Lee.

What do concave toenails mean?

Spoon nails (koilonychia) are soft nails that look scooped out. The depression usually is large enough to hold a drop of liquid. Often, spoon nails are a sign of iron deficiency anemia or a liver condition known as hemochromatosis, in which your body absorbs too much iron from the food you eat.

What deficiency causes bent nails?

Abnormal Curving. The condition of an abnormally shaped fingernail is called koilonychia. Nails that curve upward in a “spoon” shape have a form of koilonychias that is indicative of a vitamin B12 deficiency or iron-deficiency anemia.

Can vitamin D deficiency cause nails?

Most vitamin deficiencies are due to either inadequate dietary intake or malabsorption. Vitamin D, which can be obtained through sun exposure, is one of the few exceptions. Lack of these nutrients may affect the nail, the nail bed, or both and may present on physical exam or with biopsy.

What do renal failure nails look like?

These are rough looking nails with ridges that are frequently spoon-shaped and concave. In the early stages of this condition, the nails may be brittle, chipping easily.

Can fingernails show signs of heart disease?

Fingernails: Possible problems Nail clubbing is sometimes the result of low oxygen in the blood and could be a sign of various types of lung disease. Nail clubbing is also associated with inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, liver disease and AIDS.

What are signs that your liver is not functioning properly?

• Skin and eyes that appear yellowish (jaundice)
• Abdominal pain and swelling.
• Swelling in the legs and ankles.
• Itchy skin.
• Dark urine color.
• Pale stool color.
• Chronic fatigue.
• Nausea or vomiting.

Can stress cause Beau's lines?

Beau’s lines are transverse depressions in the nail plate that occur after a stressful event that temporarily interrupts nail formation within the proximal matrix. The precipitating event may be local trauma, chemotherapeutic agents that interrupt cell division, or the abrupt onset of systemic disease.

What vitamin helps with nail ridges?

And, keratin production depends on vitamins A and B12, iron, zinc and the B-vitamin biotin, she adds. Eating foods rich in these vitamins or taking supplements help ensure you’re getting enough, and might improve ridges in fingernails. Zinc and biotin supplements especially help improve nail health.

Can diabetes cause Beau's lines?

A condition called Beau’s lines is a common cause of horizontal fingernail ridges. It is often associated with uncontrolled diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, and zinc deficiencies. Beau’s lines can also be caused by illnesses, such as scarlet fever, measles, mumps, and pneumonia.

What does Graves disease do to your nails?

Onycholysis, a condition in which the distal nail body separates from the nail bed, commonly occurs on the fourth fingers (Picture). Onycholysis has been said to be seen in patients with Graves’ hyperthyroidism.

What Are Plummer's nails?

Plummer’s nail is a clinical sign in which there is onycholysis, or separation of the nail from the nail bed, particularly affecting the ring and little fingers. It occurs in patients with thyrotoxicosis.