Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Fingernails (pictures Of Disorders)


Emme999

Recommended Posts

Emme999 Enthusiast

Hey guys :)

I have these horizontal ridges in my fingernails. They used to be really deep - for *years* I've had them. In fact, I can't even think of a time when I *haven't* had them! They were extremely deep - about the size of this -> V and kinda freakish :blink: I never knew what caused them though. I went to various doctors and asked about them and no one knew. One doctor said, "Hmm.. could be a fungal infection, but there's no discoloration so that doesn't sound right.. :huh: "

In some natural healing books I'd read that they were caused by "extreme emotional pain" and had just kinda settled on that one. (I've had my share!)

But I've noticed that they are starting to flatten out a bit :) And *then* found that they can be caused by malnutrition! Well, I'll be damned :P I'm hoping that they will continue to "normalize" and that this is all a nice side effect from being gluten-free :) I hope that this is a sign that my body is healing and that I'm starting to absorb nutrients again :) :) :)

Here are some pictures of various nail disorders (and explanations of what causes them): Open Original Shared Link Mine are similar to the "Beau's lines"

Hope you find this interesting :)

- Michelle :wub:


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



mouse Enthusiast

My nails had the deep ridges for years (toes and fingers). They finally diappeared about 6 to 8 months ago. I had been gluten-free for about 10 to 12 months when they finally left. They also use to split and don't anymore. The one thing I have a problem with is that my fingernails have a SUPER ARCH on the tips. One of Scott's newletters mentioned that being deficient in vitamin B-12 will cause that. Mine will arch so bad that they will crack right down the center. I have to keep them short until my body starts absorbing the suppliment I take. I wish SCOTT would have spell check for those of us who still have a box surrounding our brain. I will now probably find out that spell check is already there and I am to foggy to see it. LOL

Trust me - your nails will get much better.

Armetta

mytummyhurts Contributor

I've had problems with my fingernails too. Ridge, splitting, etc.

Armetta, you said that you are waiting til your body can absorb your b12 supplement. Have you tried shots or sublingual tablets? That way you don't have to wait for your intestines to heal to get the benefits of B12.

watkinson Apprentice

Hi Michelle,

I too had ridges in my fingernails although not as severe as yours. I also had small white dashes on my fingernails all my life. <_< I was told they were little bruises. Since I am extremely active and always using my hands, I figured that must be right. However, since going gluten-free they have completely dissapeared. For the first time in my life I haven't had even 1 for over a year. :) My doctor told me that they are a also a sign of malnutrition. (yes...the same doctor that I went to for years that could never diagnose me, I guess it never occured to him to look at my fingernails until after I was diagnose a celiac, even when he knew I had chronic diarreah! ) :angry:

It's great to have these little signs to show us that healing is happening a little every day. :D

Wendy

frenchiemama Collaborator

Hm. I have pitting, vertical ridges and horizontal "waviness" (not as bad as Beau's lines though). Some of those pictures are really gross.

cdford Contributor

I have looked all over for info with pictures. Glad you found them. The particular problem I have is not shown, but maybe it will help for others.

nikki-uk Enthusiast

Interesting pics!

Well it seems according to those photos my husband has'clubbed' fingernails(but he has no lung disease)and 'Terry's ' fingernails(but none of the associated diseases).Even weirder-my husband is called Terry-LOL


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Emme999 Enthusiast
It's great to have these little signs to show us that healing is happening a little every day.  :D

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree :)

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement that I will have normal fingernails again! :) I am *so* happy to have an outward sign that my body is getting stronger :) I hope the same thing is going on with my bones!

- Michelle :wub:

burdee Enthusiast

Thanks so much for that info, Michelle. That's the FIRST time I have ever read an explanation for vertical ridges in my nails! Those are now SLOWLY disappearing the longer I abstain from gluten, dairy and soy, which have impaired my digestion and absorption of nutrients, despite taking vitamins for YEARS. I agree that our nails are an obvious sign of poor health. Unfortunately most docs overlook the obvious and rely on expensive tests and measurements ... just like they overlook obvious diseases like celiac disease and give sets of symptoms (like arthritis, etc.) disease sounding names. :angry:

BURDEE

Emme999 Enthusiast

You are so welcome :) I'm just trying to find links between my health problems & celiac. I post them whenever I find them because I imagine a lot of you guys wonder about the same things :) Thanks for being appreciative ;)

- Michelle :wub:

Mosaics Collaborator

I have also had those little white dashes in my fingernails all my life and thought they were "bruises". (Otherwise my nails are very strong and fast growing) I thought everyone had them and didn't find out otherwise until I discovered they were a symptom of celiac disease and I started asking other people if they had them...and they didn't.

sundance Newbie

Great information!

My nails have been like this since I was in my late 20's and I always thought they looked so old and nastey and of course have since gotten much worse to the point I hide my hands when I think of it..ahaha...nails crack split right down the middle and sides of the nailbed and I have the beau ridges but I knew that was from chronic illness but never thought of malnutrition but it makes sense, hey if this is going to improve, wow, it is just a nice little addition to the whole scheme of things.

I did think the severe ridges that split were due to osteoporosis and perhaps that is part of it as well but if the bones are being starved like everything else it makes perfect sense "malnutrition".

Such great information here.

Thanks!

BabySnooks Rookie
You are so welcome :)  I'm just trying to find links between my health problems & celiac.  I post them whenever I find them because I imagine a lot of you guys wonder about the same things :)  Thanks for being appreciative ;) 

- Michelle :wub:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have had bumps and ridges on my nails for many years, mostly my thumbnails. I always thought they were from my Psoraisis, because Psoraisis can damage the nail bed.

Thanks for all this great information.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - SamAlvi replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      2

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

    2. - trents replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      2

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

    3. - GlorietaKaro replied to GlorietaKaro's topic in Super Sensitive People
      7

      Am I nuts?

    4. - lalan45 replied to GlorietaKaro's topic in Super Sensitive People
      7

      Am I nuts?

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,842
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    aetherwax
    Newest Member
    aetherwax
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • SamAlvi
      Hi, thank you for the reply. Unfortunately, no other antibody tests were ordered. I am a 32-year-old male. About two months ago, I ate pancakes and then developed severe diarrhea that lasted the entire day. At night, I became unconscious due to fluid loss and was admitted to the ER, where I received IV fluids. Two days later, I ate bread again and once more developed severe diarrhea. I ended up in the ER again and received IV fluids. In my country, Pakistan, doctors are unfortunately not very thorough, so they treated me for a stomach infection. I visited three or four doctors, including a gastroenterologist, but it seemed like they just wanted to keep me on medications and IV fluids. Eventually, I did some digging myself and started connecting the dots. For years, I’ve had excessive gas buildup and frequent loose stools, but I never paid much attention to it. I also cannot easily digest dairy products. Two years ago, I had a CBC test that showed iron deficiency. My doctor told me to eat more meat and said it was nothing serious. However, for the past five years, I’ve also had severe motion sickness, which I never experienced before. Whenever I get on a bus or in a car, I sometimes lose consciousness for 10–20 seconds and wake up sweaty, and occasionally I feel the need to vomit. After more research on the internet, I came across gluten and celiac disease, so I got two related tests (TTG-IgA & TTG IgG) done along with a stool test and another CBC. The stool test showed weakly positive blood. Ever since eating those pancakes and bread, I’ve had a burning sensation in my gut. My doctor reviewed my tests, he told me to completely stop eating gluten and started me on IV fluids for 20 days, saying that I had severe inflammation in my gut. It has now been two months since I quit gluten, and I’m still not sure whether this is celiac disease or gluten intolerance. I don’t really trust doctors in Pakistan, so I thought I might get some help here.
    • trents
      Welcome to the celiac.com community, @SamAlvi! Were there any other antibody tests ordered? Particularly, was there a "total IGA" test ordered to check for IGA deficiency. When people are IGA deficient, celiac panel IGA test scores, such as the TTG-IGA, are likely not valid. If a total IGA test was not ordered, I would request such to be done. Note: "Total IGA" goes by other names as well. I will include a primer on celiac disease antibody testing which does a good job in covering the nomenclature variations connected with the various tests. Elevated IGG scores can certainly indicate celiac disease but they are more likely than elevated IGA tests to be caused by something else.  
    • GlorietaKaro
      Thank you— yes, valid and essential— The issue either doctors is that every one I have tried to talk to about this has essentially rolled their eyes and dismissed me as a hypochondriac, which gets discouraging. I believe a diagnosis would help me to be taken seriously by doctors as well as being validating, but can carry on without it.    There are many, probably most people in my area of my age and gender, who avoid gluten, but many just avoid it casually— eating the occasional plate of wheat pasta or a delicious-looking dessert, or baking cookies with wheat flour for gatherings.  That is not an option for me. I don’t eat other people’s cooking or go to restaurants that do not have strict cross- contamination procedures. It can be boring and lonely, and people do look at me as if I am being a bit dramatic but weeks of symptoms after a single small exposure has taught me to respect my experience.    Thank you very much for your response— sometimes I just need to hear that I am not crazy—
    • lalan45
      You’re not crazy—some people have severe neurological and physical reactions to gluten, not just digestive issues. While testing can be tricky without eating gluten, documenting symptoms and seeing a specialist familiar with atypical celiac or gluten-related disorders can help. Your reactions are real, and it’s valid to be cautious.
    • SamAlvi
      Anti TTG (IgA) 2.430 U/mL Anti TTG (IgG) 288.2 U/mL
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.