Nails can tell a lot about your overall health. When they become yellow or a little discolored, it usually means that you have acquired a fungus or a nail infection.
This may also mean that your nails have been stained by a product like nail polish, or that you have an allergic reaction. I remember my older sister with her yellow fingernails 3 months before her wedding. It was total hysteria!
The symptoms and possible causes of the yellow nails
Healthy nails are usually light-colored and should not cause major problems such as cracks, indentations or abnormal shapes. On the other hand, when you have yellow nail syndrome, all these symptoms can occur or they can happen at the same time. The possible causes of these yellowish nails are:
Aging
Aging can be considered the most natural cause of yellow nails. As people become old, the color, thickness and shape of their nails tend to change. Older people often have more yellow colored nails.
Nail polish
If you often use red or orange nail polish on your nails, they can gradually fade. To prevent your nails from changing color, try not to use nail polish for a while. This will make this yellow color disappear little by little.
A medical condition
Having yellow nails is not dangerous in itself. However, the cause of this nail color is an underlying medical condition. This may be a sign that something is not necessarily right with you. Sometimes, the yellow nails can be caused by an infection, fungi or other medical condition.
Doctors don’t know exactly what causes yellow nail syndrome. However, people with them have curved, thickened fingernails that grow slowly. In addition, they may have other symptoms such as respiratory problems.
You should make an appointment with a doctor if your nails have any of the following effects or symptoms:
The change of shape or thickness;
Bleeding;
Festering liquids;
A pain, often pulse;
Swelling;
Infections;
Persistent fungi (Onychomycosis);
A fungal infection
Fungal infection at the nail level is most often caused by Dermatophytes, which feed on keratin. The latter is found in the skin and around the nails. It occurs in about 10% of the adult population in the world, and the risk of getting it increases with age.
About half of those aged over 70 years are infected with fungal infection.
Athletes are also victims
Athletes or people who spend a lot of time in wet conditions are very prone to getting an infection from the foot, and sometimes from the nails. These places are good grounds for mushroom proliferation.
The latter live in swimming pools, public locker rooms as well as swimming showers, and can infect the nails that penetrate all these intermediate spaces.
What about development?
Nails damaged by nail polish or other harmful products do not lose. With the new growth of the nails, this should be a healthy and clear color. If your nails continue to be yellow, there may be something else going on in your body.
Sometimes it can be a deficiency in minerals or vitamins that can make the nails yellow. In this configuration, the introduction of a multivitamin supplement in your diet can stop the problem.
In other cases, nails that remain yellow despite repeated treatment may be a symptom of thyroid disease, psoriasis or diabetes. In rare cases, yellow nails may also indicate the presence of a potential skin cancer.
Continuous yellow nails are also a clue for respiratory or lymphatic problems.
How to find a good treatment for yellow nails?
The treatment of yellow nails depends on the cause. There are some homemade remedies that serve to cure these causes of discoloration. However, it is very important to be aware that natural remedies are not always effective.
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