Have you checked your fingernail ridges recently? Women obsess over their age – and how to look as young as possible. We scrutinize every line, gray hair, yellowing tooth, and peer at photos of our mothers for hints of which to expect first. While many women spend thousands of dollars on premium skin care products, hair dye, teeth whitening gels and toothpastes, and even risk surgical procedures to turn back the years, at least as far as our appearance is concerned, few connect aging with their fingernails.
Sure, there are plenty of women who enjoy manicures, covering the vertical nail ridges that become more prominent with age with a thick coat of colored polish, or even false acrylic fingernails, but many women find themselves alarmed by vertical fingernail ridges, rushing off to their doctors or even specialists, like dermatologists out of fear of a fungal infection. These women are told that the vertical nail ridges are likely harmless, though they can be the result of a Vitamin B deficiency which makes nails fragile. Horizontal nail ridges – though rare – are a different story, and are usually an indicator of a health concern, which can range from minor to very dire.
There are different types of horizontal lines. The lines called Muehrcke lines come from a deficiency in albumin (which occurs with kidney disease, liver disease, severe malnutrition, and chemotherapy). While they are indicative of a bigger problem, they themselves are not problematic since they are related only to an interruption in nail pigmentation.
Another type of horizontal line are called Beau’s lines. These horizontal lines are not fingernail ridges, but linear depressions instead. Beau’s lines are associated with trauma, acute severe illness, and a variety of conditions, such as major metabolic condition, chemotherapy and, again, malnutrition. Beau’s lines form as the result of an interruption of the protein formation of the nail plate.
Some general nail health suggestions include using moisturizing hand cream or a mineral oil that has been carefully formulated for cuticles and fingernails. Remembering to reapply moisturizing hand cream after washing your hands, which dries out them and your fingernails, will keep your nails healthy. Try a nail buffer to reduce the appearance of nail ridges, once your doctor has assured you that they are harmless. After buffing, massage in the cuticle and nail oil or the moisturizing hand cream, before apply nail polish to your fingernails.