On average, the nails grow at a pace of 1 mm per week. This largely depends on the supply of blood with the nails of the toes growing at a slower pace. The typical healthy nails are supposed to have no discoloration. The growth of nails is supposed to follow a nail bed. If they fail to do so, they can turn out to be dry, messed up, and outright crooked.
This article will explore why the nails can be crooked and what to do about it.
Why Does my Nail Grow Crooked?
The way your nails look like could be a manifestation of how healthy you are. They could also be a manifestation of how hygienic you are. There are several reasons why your nails can grow crooked. To start with, it could be that you have developed an infection which is not easy to treat. When it comes to infections that affect the nails, the most likely candidate is a fungal infection. If there is moisture which is trapped at any part of the body, you can have the growth of fungi, which will lead to a fungi infection. If this is not attended to on time, then it starts spreading.
Dr. Sarah Norris- a naturopathic doctor working at Los Angeles, states that poor looking nails are a sign and symptom of poor digestion and poor nutritional intake. She argues that weak, peeling, and brittle nails are not a product of systemic disease, but rather, a product of poor diet intake.
There are a few medical conditions which can lead to brittle and crooked nails. One of these is iron deficiency. If you do not have enough iron, then you are not going to have healthy nails, and this may lead to crooked nails.
What Causes Fingernails to Grow Crooked?
If you nail experience trauma, then this could be manifested through the fingernails where they grow crooked. Here, the word trauma could be caused by experiences such as over-working your nails. It should be noted that sometimes, nails can be used for defense or survival, as it happens in the case of an attack.
There are cases where the medication that you are taking could alter the structure of your nails. Therefore, as far as you are taking that particular type of medicine, then your nails are going to be crooked.
Both the hands and the feet are very active parts of the body. To both the white and blue color jobs, the hands are used for working. Similarly, tasks such as walking means that the feet are at work many times. With this environment, the nails may break due to the pressure that they receive in both the short and the long run.
Why Does my Nail Look Slanted?
You could observe a situation where your nails are carving downwards (clubbing), or are slanted. As a result, the tip of your fingers could appear red or swollen. In addition to that, if your nails are slanted, they may not be firmly attached to the nail bed. The following situations may lead to the slanting of your nails:
- Lack of enough oxygen being supplied to your body
- Heart disease
- Lung cancer, more so in its advanced stage
- An infection of the heart
- An infection of the lung
A respiratory health problem, asthma for example
How Do You Fix Crooked Nails?
Fixing crooked nails is not a walk in the park- it can take several months to do so. Therefore, you will need to be very patient in order to make your nails right once again. However, the good news is that in many cases, a nail abnormality will go on its own and you should not be overly worried about it. As a matter of fact, the nail abnormality may not be a matter of health concern. Dr. Mark Benor, who is based at the Keck School of Medicine, states that he assures his clients that there is a very low likelihood that crooked or damaged nails are a sign of an under-slaying health problem.
If you feel that you are not able to correct your nails, then the most prudent thing is to see a dermatologist or a doctor. Your nails can come back to the normal health but you must discover the reason why they are crooked in the first place. In this issue, a root-cause analysis comes in handy in ensuring that you get a comprehensive and lasting solution to your problem.
Having stated that, the doctor will manage your nail problem depending on the cause of the problem. For example, the doctor can make use of stitches in order to repair the nail bed and protect it from further damage. Similarly, there are some nail conditions which may warrant the use of antibiotics.
The good thing with visiting a doctor is that he or she could prescribe some self-care tips and products which can help you to either repair nail damage or prevent the same from occurring. Such tips include and not limited to the following:
- Removal of jewelry
- Washing of the injured part of the nail with soap which is fragrance-free
- Elevation of the injured foot or hand
- Over-the-counter pain relief tablets
- The ice of an ice pack for the nails
- Avoid applying harsh chemicals on your nails
It is important that you think about the long-term health of your nails. For example, you should consider protecting your nails as much as possible. For instance, when you are cleaning the dishes, you could use gloves in order to protect the nails. The lifestyle that you choose is a matter of paramount importance. This is because your lifestyle has a great bearing on your health including your nails.
Conclusion
As far as you can, it is advisable that you keep your hair short so that they do not rip off. This is more so if you are vulnerable to nail breakage. In addition to that, make sure that your nails are moisturized. Overall, the health of your nails is very important for your overall health.
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Here at FullPersonalCare.com our main goal is to help you in your personal care and solve all the question you could have about any of the accessories you will normally use to take care of yourself.