Other Nail Problems

• Brittle nails – Frequent exposure to water, cleaners and other chemicals are hard on your nails, causing them to dry out, and split, chip or crack. Prevent brittle nails by keeping your nails moist and eating lots of foods with vitamin B7 (biotin), including corn, soybeans, walnuts, peanuts, milk, egg yolks and cereal. Your doctor may want to test you for an iron deficiency, which can affect your nails. Iron deficiency can be treated with a supplement and by eating foods such as beef and dark green leafy vegetables.
• Psoriasis – A common condition that causes thickened, scaly and itchy skin, psoriasis can affect the fingernails and sometimes the toenails. From 10 percent to 50 percent of people with psoriasis have nail problems, and four of five people who suffer from psoriatic arthritis have nail problems. Psoriasis can cause pitting, rippling and discoloration, which often is confused with a fungal infection. Depending on the severity of the psoriasis, there are many treatments that can help with skin and nail problems, ranging from topical creams to oral medications. A dermatologist can help determine the best treatment. For more information about psoriasis, visit Adults and Psoriasis.
• Skin cancer – The most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma, can show up as dark streaks from the top to the bottom of a nail. If you have dark streaks on a nail, make an appointment to see a dermatologist. Not all dark streaks in the nail are signs of skin cancer, but a dermatologist can tell for sure.