Nail health examination items

The core of nail health examination includes 4 basic items that can be operated by yourself and 12 specialist screening items that need to be completed by a doctor. A basic self-examination once a month can cover more than 90% of early warnings of nail lesions for ordinary people. There is no need to frequently visit the dermatology department for a full set of specialist examinations.

I have been a manicurist for almost 8 years, and I have seen too many customers who are so anxious about a small vertical line on the nail surface that they can’t sleep, thinking it is a precancerous lesion, or there is a green half-centimeter width under the nail and they insist on applying nail extensions, saying, "Isn’t it boring? Just cover it up." In fact, as long as you master a few simple self-examination methods, you can judge most situations by yourself.

Just say that you usually remove your nails at night, and you can easily do it when you are slumped on the sofa and checking your mobile phone. Use an alcohol pad to wipe off the remaining glue on the nail surface, and just shine it under the desk lamp. Normal nails are translucent light pink, like polished shell edges, with a uniform luster. If you see the whole piece is white, yellow, or even gray and green, don't rush to search for "nail cancer precursors". First, recall whether you haven't taken off your manicure for two or three months in a row, or have you always worn rubber gloves to stuff your hands? It’s quite interesting to say that we in the manicure circle used to assume that green spots under the nails are “suffocated mold” and will disappear after removing the nails for three to five days. I also told customers this before. It wasn’t until I talked to a dermatologist I often cooperated with last year that I realized that both statements actually have applicable scenarios: if the green spots are only the size of a pinhead, they can be touched when touched. If the green spots appear to be flat, not painful or itchy, it is indeed just an imbalance of bacterial flora on the surface, and it can be cured after a few days of drying. However, if the green spots exceed 1/3 of the nail surface, feel a bit convex, and still hurt when pressed, it means that the fungus has invaded the nail bed, and you need to apply antifungal medicine. If you hold on to it, it will only rot to the root of the nail, and it is possible that the entire nail will fall off.

Oh, by the way, after wiping the nail surface, you can touch it with your fingertips. Normally, the nail surface is smooth. If you feel it, there are dense small pits, or vertical lines are as deep as plastic chips scratched by fingernails, don't panic. There are two schools of thought here. Traditional Chinese medicine usually associates this uneven nail surface with poor liver and spleen metabolism and insufficient rest. It is recommended to stay up less late and take more vitamins. Western medicine has a more direct view: 90% of shallow vertical lines and small pits are caused by dry nail surface, either because too much nail polish remover is used, or because you wash your hands too frequently in winter and fail to apply hand cream. Unless the vertical lines suddenly become wider, darker, and protrude from the nail surface, then you need to consider the direction of the disease. I had an old customer last year who had her nails removed and found a 2mm wide black line on her thumb that couldn't be wiped off. She was so frightened that she went to a dermatologist the same day and had a dermatoscope. The result was subungual bleeding. She thought about it for a long time before she remembered that she had smashed it with a courier the week before, which was a false alarm.

When doing self-examination, don’t just look at the nail surface, you should also pay attention to the condition of the nail week. Do you always have barbs in the same place? Is the nail plate red and pus-producing, or does it hurt when touched? Many people are used to tearing off barbs, and they don't take it seriously until they are bloody. I once met a young man who wore slippers for a manicure in the summer. His big toe was swollen and shiny, and there was pus around the nails. He said that he had torn the barbs, and the pain lasted for almost a week.

If you encounter any inaccuracies during self-examination, such as the black line on the nail surface exceeding 3mm and the edges being blurry, or the nails suddenly thickening or layering, causing pain that does not get better for several weeks, just go to the hospital for a specialist examination. Routine dermatological examinations are actually not complicated. First, a dermoscope will be performed to magnify the nail surface dozens of times to see the details. If fungal infection is suspected, some nail clippings will be scraped for fungal culture. If it is suspected that the onychomycosis has a risk of malignant transformation, a biopsy is required. There are also people whose nails have been thin and soft all year round and have been cut off in layers. If the nail surface is checked and there is no problem, the doctor may ask you to check blood routine, trace elements and even thyroid function - after all, nails are a "barometer" of the health of the whole body. For example, people with iron deficiency anemia are prone to develop spoon-shaped nails, which are nails that are concave in the middle and the edges are raised, like a small spoon. This kind of problem cannot be solved by applying nail polish. It needs to be adjusted to the whole body.

To be honest, most nail problems are minor problems, and the probability of them becoming serious is less than 1%. Don’t be anxious about the slightest trouble, and don’t be too careless about it. Taking 5 minutes every month to take a quick look at your nails while removing them is much better than running to the hospital in a panic after having problems for half a year.

Oh yes, one final tip: It’s best to remove the nail polish and manicure before self-examination, otherwise it will be all colorful and nothing can be seen, and the examination will be in vain.