Signs & Symptoms of Brittle Nails

Well-groomed fingernails are an important part of looking polished on a daily basis. Unfortunately, brittle fingernails can undermine your appearance and make you look less professional. Brittle nails can be a warning sign of a poor diet or a health problem, and care should be taken to prevent and treat the problem. A general physician or dermatologist can help correctly diagnose the problem and prescribe treatment options.

Signs

• A physician would diagnose the problem of brittle nails based on certain signs that include horizontal splitting of the nail, depressions across the nails, fungus infecting the nail and knowledge that the patient has another illness such as liver disease. Signs often overlap with symptoms, but are objective rather than subjective observations used by the doctor. Other signs of brittle nails include toenails with similar problems, whether it is occurring on both sides of the body and whether the nails are exhibiting less luster than in the past.

Symptoms

• Symptoms are experienced by the patient and are used to find signs for diagnoses. Symptoms of brittle nails include the amount of breakage or ridges in the nails, the length of time the problem has been occurring, whether any injury has happened recently and whether the nail thickness has changed. Other symptoms include whether you bite your nails, the color of the nails and whether there are red lines running across the beds. Symptoms are used to describe the problem so that a treatment approach can be developed.

Causes

• Brittle nails can be caused by moisture or a lack of moisture, such as repeated wetting from cleaning or doing dishes. Dry winter air can also cause nails to become more brittle, as can prolonged application of nail polish. Illnesses that can affect nails include thyroid problems, liver disease, kidney disease and psoriasis. A diet deficient in essential vitamins and minerals can also cause the nails to become weaker and split more easily.

Treatment

• Treatment includes avoiding biting nails, keeping the nails clipped or filed short, avoiding nail polish and applying rich lotion to the hands regularly. Lotions with the moisturizer lanolin may help if applied regularly, and the nutritional supplement Biotin may work to help increase nail strength over time. If you have brittle nails, try wearing gloves when doing household cleaning where hands become wet, such as when doing the dishes.