Our nails tell a lot about our health. If they're too soft it can be an indication of malnutrition or chronic arthritis, while longitudinal ridges can point to thyroid disease. And, what about stress? How is it manifested in our nails?
Our nails take the hit both internally and externally. We may bite them or even rub our fingers over our thumbnails in a nervous fidgeting motion, which, according to dermatologist Flor A. Mayoral, MD, causes a distortion of the nail plate and results in ridges. "Sometimes patients with nail problems are not aware that their habits or tics from being stressed out or nervous are at the root of their problem," Mayoral told colleagues at a 2007 conference at the American Academy of Dermatology.
Looking at what happens from the inside, Dr. Murad says, "nails are made of keratin protein. If we damage the cells in the nails by stress, then the nails become weaker." Weaker, more brittle, more prone to splitting.
What, besides general de-stressing and eating well, can be done to offset stress-induced nail nightmares?
Next: Check out reader-approved nail hardening solutions.
Photo 11/11
Strengthen nails with top-rated products
There are plenty of nail hardening solutions on the market, see which ones our readers say really work -- here.
Are you convinced that your hair's thinning? Is your skin angry and inflamed? Do your nails splinter faster than you can file them? Are you wondering WHAT IS GOING ON?
OK, one last question: Have you been more on edge than usual lately? If you answered YES to any (or all) of these queries, you might be experiencing the gnarly toll that stress can take on your looks.
We've all heard that anxiety and tension play key roles in the progression of life threatening internal diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes, but now's the time to learn about what happens to the things we can see on the outside.
To get answers, we went to two top dogs; Dr. Howard Murad, noted dermatologist and skin care guru, and Philip Kingsley, trichologist and peerless authority on hair health.
Let's jump right in and see what they had to say -- the anticipation is, well, stressing us out �
