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Image – wikipedia – lic. under GFDL

When thinking about health, people don’t usually think of nails as an important marker. However, changes in the growth, shape, texture, and color of the nails can indicate that something might be going on with your health. Nail abnormalities can be huge clues to all kinds of health conditions.

In the orient the condition of the nails is more commonly used for diagnosis than in the west and their system takes into consideration more “esoteric” factors such as nail shape. One of the unexpected signals they look at is the size of the “half moon circle” at the base of the nail. The smaller this is, the better the person’s overall health is said to be. Here are 10 nail abnormalities and their interpretations.

1 – Clubbing
No, clubbing of the nails doesn’t involve disco lights and dancing – it’s a condition where the nails on the fingers and toes begin to grow or curve downwards, looking more like the back of a spoon – as in the image accompanying this page. The nail beds become soft to the touch and the tip of the finger bulging and red. When this happens, the oxygen levels in your body may be extremely low, usually in diseases that affect the lungs. ^[1]