-Nails are leather inserts made of compact keratin that protect the fingertips like a hard shield. Each nail has two separate parts. The lively part, appearing in pink at the bottom, is called the ‘nail bed’, while the lifeless, whitish-appearing, hard part at the top is called the ‘nail plate’. The nail plate adheres very tightly to the nail bed.
-A healthy nail is constantly growing, its structure is hard and durable, its surface is smooth and shiny. However, various diseases in the body, physical causes, drugs, diseases that directly affect the nails can cause nail disorders. These disorders in the nails both cause aesthetic problems and disrupt the functions of the nails.
– Nails grow from the bottom where they attach to the skin. While it takes 3-6 months to completely regenerate fingernails, this period is 6-9 months since toenails grow more slowly. Nail growth may slow down in vitamin deficiencies, nutritional disorders, heavy diets, extreme fatigue, medications, chronic diseases and rheumatic diseases. During pregnancy, nails grow faster than normal. The most common nail complaints are color changes. Color changes are very important and should be handled as a sign of disease. Each color noticed on the nail plate has a different meaning. Whitening of the nails may result from frequent manicure, some vitamin deficiencies, medications and contact with chemicals. Although yellowish-looking nails are mostly caused by the use of nail polish and acetone frequently, it can also be a symptom of fungal disease. In psoriasis, orange color changes such as oil drops can be seen on the nails. Prolonged smoking can create a brownish tone on the nails. Black discoloration of the nail may be the result of a simple post-traumatic bleeding under the nail. However, caution should be exercised, especially since the black discoloration, which is seen as a line, can be a serious skin cancer.
