What Your Fingernails Say About Your Health.

When I was in my late 20s, I remember looking at my fingernails and I seeing these tiny dents in them. I first noticed them in my left pointer finger. I racked my brain, thinking maybe I got it stuck in a door or hit something a few times, but obviously we remember those kinds of painful experiences. Then I noticed the little dents on every nail — I kept running my hands over the grooves. Maybe I was wearing too much nail polish or there was a skin product I was using that my nails didn’t like. My grandmother told me it was probably because I was lacking something in my diet — something I’d never really thought about before.

The dents eventually went away, but they reappeared during all of my pregnancies. The truth is, our fingernails can be a window into what’s going on inside of our bodies, just like our skin and hair can go rogue when we are doing something our bodies don’t like. We may think our nails aren’t in great shape from fake nails, too much polish, or picking at them too much, which is possible. However, damaged, spotted, weak, or ridged nails can also be a signal of other issues. Scary Mommy spoke with Dermatologist Dr. Cynthia Bailey, Founder of Dr. BaileySkinCare.com via email, and she gave us some great insight into what our fingernails are trying to tell us about our health. Lines What I had in my late 20s is called Transverse lines, also known as Beau’s lines. Bailey says that this is the most common nail problem she sees. Sometimes all the nails contain the horizontal line, and other times it is more noticeable on the larger nails like your thumb and index finger. Bailey says, “This can happen because of trauma or because of an illness.” Trauma or illness can cause your nails to temporarily stop growing as “your body needs to put all of its energy into healing,” says Bailey. These lines will grow out eventually — about six months after the trauma or illness — and keep in mind you won’t notice the lines three months after the illness or trauma.