Some people cannot see a half-moon, or lunula, on the nail while a missing half-moon may suggest a person has a vitamin deficiency or a serious medical condition. Some people only notice a lunula on their thumbs. Skin color and other factors may make the lunulae more or less visible.

Median canaliform dystrophy of Heller is a rare entity characterized by a midline or a paramedian ridge or split and canal formation in the midline of the nail plate of one or both the thumb nails.[1] Intentional trauma in the form of pushing back of cuticle and proximal nail fold (habitual tic) is hypothesized in its …

The half-moon shape at the base of your fingernail is known as a lunula. Lunulae cover the bottom of your nail, just above your cuticle. It also produces the cells that become the hardened nail plate, which is what you see. Although everyone has a nail matrix, not everyone will see or have a lunula on each nail.

Sometimes, you may only be able to see lunula on your thumbs, or possibly not on any fingers at all. In these cases, the lunula is most likely hidden under your skin. Though the connection is not completely understood, an absent lunula can indicate anemia, malnutrition, and depression.

Nails that are entirely white except for a small band of pink or brown at the tip are called Terry’s nails. They’re most often seen in people with severe liver disease. Nails that are half white and half dark are called Lindsay’s nails. They’re most often associated with kidney disease.

Anemia is a condition where your body lacks enough hemoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. While fatigue is the leading sign of anemia, this condition can also show itself through brittle or spoon-shaped nails — called koilonychia.

Conditions ranging from stress to kidney and thyroid disease can cause changes in your nails. One common change is the appearance of vertical or horizontal ridges. Most of the time, ridges in fingernails are harmless.

Nail clubbing is when a nail curves under at the tip of the finger. It could indicate heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, lung disease, liver disease, thyroid disease, or HIV/AIDS. Puffy redness near the cuticle can indicate inflammation, a bacteria or yeast infection, Lupus, or other connective tissue disease.

Did you know your nails can reveal clues to your overall health? A touch of white here, a rosy tinge there, or some rippling or bumps may be a sign of disease in the body. Problems in the liver, lungs, and heart can show up in your nails. Keep reading to learn what secrets your nails might reveal.

Healthy nails are generally pink. Very pale nails may indicate illnesses, such as anemia, congestive heart failure or liver disease. Poor nutrition also may be a culprit. It’s a good idea to have them checked by a doctor.

The capillary nail refill test is a quick test done on the nail beds. It is used to monitor dehydration and the amount of blood flow to tissue.

Abnormalities of the fingernail

• discoloration (dark streaks, white streaks, or changes in nail color)
• changes in nail shape (curling or clubbing)
• changes in nail thickness (thickening or thinning)
• nails that become brittle.
• nails that are pitted.
• bleeding around nails.
• swelling or redness around nails.
• pain around nails.

The indentations can appear when growth at the area under the cuticle is interrupted by injury or severe illness. Conditions associated with Beau’s lines include uncontrolled diabetes and peripheral vascular disease, as well as illnesses associated with a high fever, such as scarlet fever, measles, mumps and pneumonia.

If you’re hoping to make your nails appear longer, you can push your cuticles back gently with a wooden orange stick instead. “Cuticles don’t want to be cut,” Toombs says. “They’re supposed to be soft, and cutting can make them hard, more likely to fracture. If you cut it, it has an increased tendency to split off.”

“Manicurists always want to cut your cuticles, because it’s faster for them and it means you will come back more often, since your manicure will look uneven faster,” says Lippmann.

Lack of nail maintenance Neglecting proper nail care is a top reason for cuticles to overgrow. It’s important to take care of your nails, as well as your skin around your nails. Poor nail care often causes your cuticles to grow beyond your proximal fold. You should never cut or remove your cuticles.

Your nails are yellow. “They frequently lack a cuticle as well as a lunula (the half moon at the base of the nail that is usually visible on the thumb and great toe).” This syndrome is a sign that the nails weren’t able to grow correctly, and is often due to a lung condition called bronchiectasis or lymphatic disease.

Look for ingredients like vitamins A, C, and E, and natural oils such as almond and sunflower oil. The oils will help soften your cuticles and the vitamins can nourish and strengthen them, too. To apply cuticle cream, massage a small amount into your nail beds after washing your hands.

Nail picking or biting aren’t individually recognized disorders by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). However, they may be symptoms of an anxiety disorder. Such habits may also be considered a body-focused repetitive behavior, which can coincide with anxiety.

“Coconut oil is great for treating brittle and cracked nails as well as damaged cuticles because of its moisturizing properties,” says Markowitz.

Many people bite their nails or occasionally find themselves chewing on a hangnail, but if you find yourself compulsively biting and eating the skin on your hands and fingers, you may have dermatophagia. Dermatophagia is what’s known as a body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB).

Some people will engage in self-cannibalism as an extreme form of body modification, for example ingesting their own semen, blood or skin. Others will drink their own blood, a practice called autovampirism, but sucking blood from wounds is generally not considered cannibalism.

Dermatophagia is a psychological condition in which a person compulsively bites, chews, gnaws, or eats their skin. It often affects the skin around people’s fingers. Dermatophagia is an emerging concept in mental health research.