Your fingernails are good for more than scratching the occasional itch and untangling a tight knot. They can also provide hints to the status of your overall health, through their color, shape and texture.
That’s one reason why Jeffrey Linder, M.D., chief of general internal medicine and geriatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, always begins an exam by looking at a patient’s hands. “[It] gives you a sense of a person’s general health and might give you a hint about what kind of work they do,” he says. “And then looking at the nails, occasionally there are clues to conditions or diseases.”
Before you whip out a magnifying glass and start studying your fingers, know that not all changes to the nail are bad. Some are completely harmless, and others are a normal part of aging or may be a side effect of a medication.
To find out what you should check for the next time you look at your nails, according to this resource from the AARP, CLICK HERE.
