Is It Nail Psoriasis?
Is it Nail Fungus Or Nail Psoriasis?
Nail psoriasis usually appears in people that already have psoriasis on their skin. In rare cases nail psoriasis may appear before the skin manifestations.
And in the rarest cases psoriasis will only appear on the nails of a person and will never appear anywhere else.
In the case when there are no psoriasis lesions on the skin of a person, and only the nails are damaged with psoriasis, it is sometimes difficult for a doctor to make a correct diagnosis. Nail psoriasis often resembles a fungal damage of the nails. In this case it is helpful if the person knows of her/his family history of psoriasis .
Nail psoriasis that is mistakenly diagnosed as a nail fungus will not receive a correct treatment, which is why it is very important to achieve the correct diagnosis.
Here are the most common signs of nail psoriasis:
- Point hemorrhage of the nails – your nails in this case may resemble a thimble. The surface of the nail plates is covered with tiny grains or pits. This happens due to the loss of some cells on the nail plate.
- Some of your nails may become loose and to partly separate from the place where they are connected to the finger. There will appear hollow white spaces underneath the nails. Usually these spaces first appear at the tip of the nail and then start progressing towards the root of the nail. These spaces will grow with time causing the nail to rise above the surface of the nail bed.
- The skin underneath the nail may become thick. This also leads to the separation of the nail from the nail bed and to the raising of the nail above the nail bed.
- There may appear a discoloration underneath the nail plate that resembles a blood or oil drop. It is usually of a yellow-red color.
- Sometimes there may appear lines going across the nails. These lines appear due to the inflammation of the skin underneath the nail affected by psoriasis .
- Sometimes psoriasis also appears on the skin of the finger right next to the root of the nail and next to the nail cuticle. The affected skin in this case looks like a usual psoriasis lesion
- silvery-white scales on top of a red inflamed skin.
- The nail affected by psoriasis usually becomes brittle, thick and starts crumbling. It is especially uncomfortable when the toe nails get affected by psoriasis.
- Sometimes there may appear the so-called splinter hemorrhage
- tiny black lines visible through the nail plate. Splinter hemorrhage appears when the capillaries on the tip of your fingers or toes bleed underneath the nail plate.
Due to the unhealthy state of the skin affected by psoriasis under the nail it may become infected with a fungus.
Sometimes it happens the other way around – nail psoriasis occurs after a fungal infection of the nail.
Nail Psoriasis Treatment
With the correct diagnosis it is possible to treat nail psoriasis (with different degrees of success). Besides hormonal medicines and other drugs that your doctor may prescribe to you, there are some natural means that may help your nails to feel better.
Here are some of the natural ways that you can try at home:
- Try to eat more Calcium (milk, yogurts, cheese etc.) and gelatin.
- Before going to sleep soak your hands in a tray filled with sea water (you can collect the sea water at the sea and store it in a large bottle in the refrigerator).
- Before going to sleep soak your nails in warm vegetable oil (olive, sunflower etc.), herbal oil (chamomile etc.) or apply a plain fatty cream onto your nails and underneath of them.
By: Psoriasis Aid
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More information on Nail Psoriasis Treatment: www.psoriasis-aid.com/psoriasis_treatment_by_locations/nails_psoriasis_treatment.html More information on Nail Psoriasis: www.psoriasis-aid.com/locations_of_psoriasis/nail_psoriasis.html I have been fighting psoriasis for 14 years – since my teenage years. On my website I share loads of unique information on psoriasis and various psoriasis treatments .
Psoriasis is not contagious. How psoriasis of the nails develops is not completely known. It appears to have a combination of genetic (family), environmental, and immune causes.
Psoriasis tends to run in families. If you have a parent or a sibling who has psoriasis, you have a 16-25% chance of having psoriasis, too. If both of your parents have psoriasis, your risk is 75%. Males and females are equally likely to have psoriasis.
1. Nail psoriasis treatment is complicated mainly due to that nails grow extremely slowly. It may take anywhere from 6 to 12 moths for new fingernails, and up to 2 years for new toenails to grow out. The main thing to remember is that Nail psoriasis treatment has to be maintained throughout the entire time of the new nails growing out.
2. Vitamin D analogue (Calcipotriol) creams and ointments, massaged into the skin, usually help very well with the Nail psoriasis treatment. For the best results, Calcipotriol medication should be rubbed into the cuticle for about five minutes twice a day.
3. In order to improve the action of any medication for the Nail psoriasis treatment, it is advised to keep the nails for about half an hour in a tray with warm water. This will soften both – the nails and the skin around the nails, improving the penetration of a medicine.
4. Nail hardeners and strengtheners often help to improve the appearance of the nails. Nail strengtheners should be applied onto the nails one time per week. Artificial nails also help to improve the appearance of psoriasis and help to disguise many nail deformations and discoloration.
5. Artificial nails (acrylic, fiber, gel, linen, silk etc.) can equalize the surface of the disfigured nail. However, artificial nails are known to be the culprit of a fungus. In this case it would be possible to get rid of the fungus fast with the aid of an anti-fungal ointment or an anti-fungal systemic medication. Artificial nails are also known to thin the native nail and to affect it in other ways.
6. Nail strengtheners or artificial nails can also help with the protection of fragile nails from their further damage.
7. Massaging various moisturizers into the nail and cuticle may also help to improve the state of the nail psoriasis, and thus to overall improve the Nail psoriasis treatment efforts.
8. Another thing to try for the Nail psoriasis treatment is soaking the nails in various warm vegetable oils – coconut oil, sunflower oil, olive oil and others.
9. Coal tar bath oil may be a good OTC Nail psoriasis treatment alternative: put 3 caps of coal tar bath oil in a tray with warm water. Soak your hands or feet for about half an hour, then trim the nails to the point of their firm attachment and apply a moisturizer onto each nail.
10. Orally – try taking “for skin, hair and nails” type vitamins and protein mixtures, usually sold in the drugstores and pharmacies.
Psoriasis is a difficult condition to live with. While at times it may be manageable, other times you may break out to the point where you aren’t even comfortable going outdoors in a short sleeved shirt. But with this condition, not only can it affect your skin but it can also affect your nails and joints. Out of all those who have psoriasis approximately 10-55% have some form of nail psoriasis. Nail psoriasis can affect your nail plate, the nail bed (under the nail) or even the nail matrix which is the tissue from which the nail grows. The fingernails are more affected than the toenails.
What you will normally see are one or more of the following:
Nail Pitting: This is the most common form of nail psoriasis. You will see small depressions within your nail as if they’ve been punched out.
Nail Discoloration: The nail will turn a yellowish or yellowish-pink color. It will look like drops of oil within your nail plate. This is called an “oil drop”. In the case of it being yellowish-pink it is called a “salmon patch”.
Nail Crumbling: From a weakened nail matrix, crumbling or even total loss of your nail is possible due to the effects of nail psoriasis.
Nail Separation: What you’ll see here is areas where the nail has lifted off of the nail bed. These areas will appear white due to pockets of air forming where the nail has lifted up. This is also known as “onycholysis” and with it inflammation around the nail usually follows.
Nail psoriasis can be so bad that you won’t be able to keep doing your regular daily activities due to the extreme pain caused. It is for this reason that as soon as you notice any symptoms you look into a form of treatment immediately to prevent the condition from worsening. There are many treatment methods available online for your psoriasis which will effectively manage and even clear your condition. Don’t wait until too much damage is done before you take action.
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