"Force yourself to look at some of your behaviors--go through the motions despite feeling awkward. Work at learning to love yourself." Patrick Fratellone
To move any concept from the mind into our heart and soul takes time and effort. It does not come easily --take it from me. Just the concept of learning to let go has taken years, and is never exactly perfect. Sorry, correct never perfect. (Remember, Progress not Perfection!) I have always tried to force myself to do things that do not come naturally. For example at any Board Meeting, I have learned to deliver, listen and not answer. I have to constantly tell myself to take care of myself. I have learned through many many years (double digit years) to "act as if." Of course I always want to go to the comfortable place or old ways of doing things. No, No, No. I need to think, behave, act (not react) and feel. Think about it--doesn't the old you get you in trouble sometimes? Try the NEW and IMPROVED YOU! People will start to look at you in a different light.
Yesterday we talked about eye problems. While I was writing last night, I thought about the 'loss'? Loss of what I pondered. The loss of one of the five senses-hearing, sight, taste, sound and touch. I thought about the loss of a limb. As I looked at my hands I said, "That is it--I will talk about fingernails." Not a topic that most will think about. To the astute clinician, the fingernail can tell a lot about specific conditions. It can tell you about your state of health. We do not take care of our nails. Yes, some of you may manicure them, but think about this-they are our tools. We put our hands through so much- harsh chemicals, injuries, overexposure to sun, wear/tear. This can lead to cracked/splintered/soft fingernails.
When our knees are old we get them replaced or repaired. Do we ever get a hand or finger joint replacement, or better yet a nail replacement ? Of course, not. The nail will regenerate itself. The fingernails protect the multiple nerve endings in the fingertips and are composed of a protein called keratin. Usually nails grow about 1/8 inch per month. So by deduction it will take about 3 months to grow a new nail. The new nail should be smooth with a pink bed underneath, indicating a good blood supply to the nail. If they are discolored or brittle you must find out the cause.
The nail growth record can show the history of recent health and physiological imbalances, and has been used as a diagnostic tool since ancient times. Greeks and Egyptians have drawings of different types of nails seen at that time. Deep transverse grooves known as Beau's lines may form across the nails (not along the nail from cuticle to tip) and are usually a natural consequence of aging, though they may result from disease.
Discoloration, thinning, thickening, brittleness, splitting, grooves, Mees' lines, small white spots, and receded lunula (crescent-shaped whitish area of the bed of a fingernail or toenail) can all indicate illness in other areas of the body, nutrient deficiencies, drug reaction or poisoning, or local injury. Nails can also become thickened (onychogryphosis), loosened (onycholysis), infected with fungus (onychomycosis) or degenerate (onychodystrophy)
There are some other conditions we need to discuss.
1. Clubbing - this is a condition whereby the nails are curved around the fingertip almost as if representing the beak of a bird. I wanted to discuss this first as I have clubbed nails. It can be due to many conditions. One is being born with a heart defect. This is called a congenital heart disease. When your fingernails are clubbed it is a sign of lack of oxygen. The group of heart conditions are called cyanotic (blue) congenital heart disease. Yes, I was born cyanotic or blue. You have heard the term " blue baby". There are a multitude of conditions such as atrial or ventricular defects (holes in the heart from one chamber to another). For those of you who are reading this now--I am not blue. I had severely blue fingernails and lips at birth. Through the years it got better, but never pink. Yes, I had a congenital heart defect (Not blocked arteries from working with Dr. Atkins and his diet). I had a surgical open heart correction five years ago at age 45. The other diseases associated with clubbing include lung cancer, uremia (kidney disease), bronchiectasis, emphysema and a form of arthritis.
2. Nail pitting - used seen in those who have psoriasis. It is scaly patches on the nail.
3. Spoon shaped - called medically, koilonychia - associated with iron deficiency.
4. Terry's nails - opaque nails with dark band at the end. This is associated with congestive heart failure, diabetes, liver disease, and malnutrition.
5. Beau's lines - indentations across the nail, associated with diabetes, peripheral artery disease, a high fever caused by an infection and malnutrition.
6. Yellow nails- usually associated with respiratory (lung)conditions.
7. Separation of nail/nail bed- this is a complete detachment of the nail from the nail bed. This has many reasons, including injury, fungal infection, psoriasis, thyroid disease and even drug interactions.
The most common nail condition I see is brittle and soft nails. I usually ask if the patient has cold hands and feet, constipation, fatigue, hair loss and low body temperatures. 7 out of 10 times, the patient will say yes. The answer is the patient has thyroid disease, usually an under active thyroid. This is called Hypothyroidism. Ask your doctor about this. A normal thyroid stimulating hormone blood test can be normal and you still have a sluggish or slow thyroid. See April Blogs-there was a blog on the thyroid.
Things YOU should be concerned with:
1. Split nails
2. Nail biting
3. Vertical nail ridge
4. The use of acrylic nails (both women and men-especially for female impersonators)
Until tomorrow...
No comments:
Post a Comment