Discussion Board

I've never had very strong nails (on a few of my fingers, the nail begins to curve if I don't keep it trimmed). But soon after the birth of my last baby (almost 3 years ago), my thumb nails began splitting (I think that's what it's called--it's like layers of the nail peel off). I told the doctor last year, and she did a thyroid test which came back fine.

Does anyone know what this could be from? I suspect it could be calcium or vitamin D, and I'm still nursing. I saw that Dr Fuhrman carries a calcium and D supplement, which I'm willing to try. Unfortunately, I've had too much fat in my diet, so it can't be that.

I don't know what it is, but I have the same problem. My children do, too, so I guess I should find out if it IS from a dietary deficiency.

I also noticed after the birth of my last (maybe I should say most recent, LOL) baby that I had horizontal ridges in my nails. I always have the vertical (length-wise) ones, not sure if that's normal or not - but I had noticeable ones that went across.

~shrug~

I'll be watching this thread, but sorry I'm no help!

Kim

I think I've read that the horizontal ridges mean some sort of metabolic stress...but when they appear on the nail it meant the stress was several months ago...thus, if you had a baby, horizontal ridges appearing months later in the nails may have indicated childbirth was the metabolic stressor during the time that the nail was being formed...from what I've read, anyway.

I've read all sorts of "theories" on vertical ridges on nails...so many theories it seems to me nobody knows.

Peeling, cracking nails might stem from whatever it is that would cause skin problems...not sure, but jsut a guess...could mean anything from detergents, hot soaps, to allergies and intolerances or even nail fungi...I don't know if anybody really knows what it's from in mild cases.

Are you doing low fat vegan? When I was an omni, I used to get what you are describing for many years, particularly as was mentioned when exposed to drying chemicals, and particularly in the winter. It wasn't unusual at all for me to have to clip my nails to the quick because they had split painfully. One day, after being vegan for about 2 months, I noticed that I never had problems with my nails any more. When I mentioned it, both my children said exactly the same thing. My 10 year old son had a horrible habit in the past of tearing his nails rather than clipping them. He has no choice but to use the clippers now.

One thing we do, however, is take soy milk fortified with calcium, vitamin D, etc. and a multivitamin. We have always done the multivitamin.

What has helped me is to be super dilligent about taking care of my nails.
I keep them very short ( I play the piano), I use a cuticle cream to push back the cuticles gently, a buffer, and I always, always wear gloves when doing any housework where my hands will be getting wet or coming in contact with chemicals.

I also do not wear any polish anymore, and have seen a great improvement in my nails since eliminating that.

As far as diet deficiencies, I am not knowledgeable about that subject, so I'll keep my mouth shut.

lots of info on the net if you search google.com.

http://wi.essortment.com/fingernailsnutr_rjbo.htm

>>flat, thin nails can be from insufficient vitamin B12.
Nail textures: Vertical ridges that appear on the nail can indicate disorders as simple as iron deficiency, etc...
Ridges running horizontally across the nail can indicate physical or mental stress.
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seems like some ridges are normal. bad ones can mean rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis. here's another site--

http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/self/338

I wonder how many doctors ask to see a patient's fingernails?