What are your finger nails like?
 

Hi
This may seem like a bizarre question, but Im very interested in your responses!

My mum pointed out to me a few days ago that there is something wrong with my finger nails and I have been fascinated by this ever since!

Over the last few years I have developed vertical ridges on my nails and I have pitting (small pits that look like the surface of a thimble). I also have small splinter heamorrages under my nails. None of this has been caused by trauma to the nail bed as I really dont do anything! I do the dishes with rubber gloves as I have sensitive skin, I also wear gloves if and when I do any cleaning!

Has anyone else noticed a change in their nails since becomming ill? Has anyone ever spoken to their Dr about a change in the condition of their nails? Has a Dr ever examined your nails?

Im really keen to hear your responses. I have really only just noticed how much worse they are. Ive certainly never had a Dr look at them. Ive never said to the Dr that my nails have changed.

Thanks.....I know it seems nuts but it could be very interesting and I do want to hear from the guys as well as the girls!

Love
Rach

Mine are that way too, I don't have small splinter heamorrages, but I have the ridges and the "dimples" I don't know what causes it but I just figured maybe it had to do with aging?

hi
 

From what Ive read ridges can be to do with several things depending on how they occur. If you have horizontal ridges its due to damage of the nail bed.

The vertical ridges are linked to ageing, but Im only 35, so I don't think mine can be attributed to that. It can also be signs of various conditions. I just wondered that due to the stress our bodies have been under due to MG if our nails reflected that stress?

Thanks for the response

Love
Rach

Over the years I've searched nail sites, that could help answer nail questions. This is the best one I have found so far:

http://hooked-on-nails.com/naildisorders.html

Vertical ridges are considered age related, or thyroid related.

However splinter hemorrhages can reflect serious illness, including endocarditis.

Rach, I'm busy with my dog right now but had to respond to your post 'cause it scared me. My dog has a tooth abscess and infection and I'm worn out.

Those vertical dents are from a lack of oxygen. I have them too. They are called Beau's lines. That combined with your chronic kidney infections and the splinter hemorrhages, make me concerned that you do have subacute bacterial endocarditis (as Mrs. D. has pointed out is a serious cause). If you are having damage to your heart from an infection, that might cause your hypoxia as well.

You HAVE TO go see a cardiologist as soon as possible. None of this UK socialized medicine waiting around for six months for an appt. When was the last time you had an ECG? Have you ever had an echocardiogram? Sometimes, and this was the case with a friend of ours, they have to do a transesophageal echocardiogram. It's where they go through your esophagus to look at your heart. With your GI history, and MG, that may not be a wise thing to do, however.

Please get this taken care of right away!! You'll be in my thoughts.

Annie

Rachel...You also mentioned before that you were having tachycardia...That is also a symptom of endocarditis...

The best thing to do is just go to the hospital...Tell them that you've been having a rapid heartbeat, fever on and off with a past kidney infection, breathing problems, and then show them your nails...The bleeding under the nails is definately a sign of heart trouble...I have a book about illnesses that show up in the nails and that symptom is very specific to heart problems...

Please take care!
Nicky

Hi Rach!
 

I believe that Beau's lines are horizontal across the nail, not vertical. Beau's lines can show arsenic poisoning and malnutrition.

You can get one or two splinter type hemorrhages if you catch your nail on something and it gets pulled back. I've had that happen on rare occasions. If you have several in one finger or more and did not have an "incident" to explain them, or have several on several fingers, that seems serious to me.

I typically have fast growing hard nails too, but when winter comes they tend to get brittle. I am also hypothyroid and winter is hard on me even with hormone replacement.

Mrs. D., My impression of what Rach said is that she has lines running across the nail, as in side to side and not up and down. Vertical is also called longitudinal bands. Horizontal are what Beau's lines are, running across the nail from side to side, not from tip of nail to the nail bed. Phew. Glad that's clarified.

I think a little consideration is needed when a person has sleep deprivation and major stress! I am not running on all cylinders but you guys get the drift anyway.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20040315/1417.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/18...s-fingernails/

Bottom line is that those splinter hemorrhages aren't normal and, like you said, you haven't been hitting your hands on things! ;) That pain you've been having is suspicious now too. If they simply "guessed" it was your gall bladder instead of doing a scan, maybe it's referred pain from either your kidneys or heart.

:hug:
Annie

Hi Rachel,

Sorry...I put some wrong information up there...I said that the hemorrhages were specific for endocarditis...But I found that people with Lupus, APS, vasculitis can have these too...And also there's been an injury...

Also, you mentioned that your nails are dented and I remember that in the past you mentioned that you have alopecia areata...The denting and alopecia go together sometimes, so both, along with the bleeding, might be caused by one of the autoimmune processes...

Truth be told, it's better to be safe than sorry like what everyone's saying, especially if the bleeding is new...

I hope that you get some answers and relief very soon!
Nicky

hi
 

Sorry I didn't mean for everyone to get into a panic over this! Im not and Im not being blase about it. I was more interested to see if MG affected the nails, as in other auto immune disorders like Lupus or Rhumatoid arthritis or Crohns disease.

Ive had around 4 to 5 ECG's this year and 4 chest x-rays and nothing has shown up on this.As I have said before in previous posts, I probably glow in the dark! I had a CT scan of my chest early 2008 and again no problems. Im not saying I trust the Drs, as you know Im yet to find one that even knows the basics about MG.

I have ridges that run from the tip to the base of the nail not side to side. The splinter heamorrages are tiny just little pin pricks and dont run the length of the nail. I was just more interested to see if anyone else had noticed a change in their nail beds. I will be keeping a close eye on the splinter heamorrages to see if anymore appear.

With the kidney infections I had temperatures that went up to 37.4 at the highest. Most of the time Im moaning because Im cold.

My heart rate only tends to go up when I move around and when Im feeling breathless, so it ties in with MG more than anything else.

Im grateful for all of your responses and your concern for my well being. At the moment I am waiting for an ultra sound on my Liver and Gall Bladder. Once that has been addressed I should be in a position to proceed further with the other issues.

I have had to cancel the stress test that I was due to have Friday as at the moment I am pretty much confined to my bed or lying on the sofa. Im having real problems with supporting myself sitting, even in a recliner. Which is great as Im stuck in the kitchen for the next two days as my ceiling is being repaired due to a water leak! I may resort to curling up on the dogs bed! LOL

Thanks again for your posts and Im a bit embarressed by the response it has provoked!

Love
Rach

First of all, those tests do not necessarily show a problem with the heart! An echocardiogram is what you need. And you don't have anything injected, so it won't make you light up Europe.

Second, you don't have to have splinter hemorrhages run up and down the nail for them to be a serious sign. The fact that they are showing up is something worth telling someone about. Since they tend to disappear, take some photos now!

There are infections, like Sepsis, where you don't have to run a fever. When I had bacteremia, I only had chills. No fever, no high white blood cell count. This is particularly true of infections that are hiding in places like the heart and the kidneys!!!

So we really aren't being overly concerned here - just appropriately concerned. Given everything in total, you have the right to be concerned.

It's up to you what you decide to tell your docs or not. Just don't ignore too many signs, ok?

Annie

hi Annie
 

I really appreciate your post.

Thats a good idea about taking the photos. Ive had the splinter heamorrages for a while and I never knew what they were until I started poking about on the internet. Mine are just tiny little dots under the nail and look exactly like a small splinter. I need to find out if Im causing them by catching them or if they are spontaneously appearing, before approaching the Dr.

I know at present if I contact him he will say lets get the stomach pain sorted out first. Which at the moment Im in agreement with as I haven't had a day without pain for around 3 weeks now.

I do appreciate everyones concern and the time they have taken to post their responses and links to web pages. Please don't be cross with me, Im not being flippant its just a lot to take in.

Love
Rach

I don't notice anything different about my fingernails, but my toenails are disgusting. If someone slightly steps on my big toes, they bruise under the nail. They have all turned really yellow too. I nver paint my nails, but I had to this fall in order to wear sandals to cover them because they were so gross.

You may get bleeding under the nail if you have a spur forming on that toe. These spurs form from pressure from too-tight shoes.

You can go to a good podiatrist and they will xray your feet and see if you have spurs under the nails.

Another cause is fungus infection. But spurs by far are the major culprit. Sometimes the podiatrists may recommend removing the nail forever. I passed on this, myself. I have since had one more bleed there under my big toe. :rolleyes: