Submitted by afcagroo t3_11v4ne1 in askscience
Speaking about ridges that are parallel to the length of the digit, such as this.
Submitted by afcagroo t3_11v4ne1 in askscience
Speaking about ridges that are parallel to the length of the digit, such as this.
Nails grow from a band of cells outward, so if some of those cells are damaged or changed in some way, that section of the band will change, leading to longitudinal ridges as those changed parts grow outward.
If you find horizontal bands on your nails, you may want to consider medical advice, as it can indicate underlying health conditions. The cells did not grow properly for some period of time, which can be of concern.
What kind of health condition would cause bands in the nails?
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…among other things… (this list is far from exhaustive or even complete) this could also just be natural variation. The same reason you’re eyes have a certain pattern or freckles or whatever. Not everything is a pathology or necessarily a disorder.
Source: MD
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Vertical ridges can be caused by thyroid issues, aging, or hereditary... ok, after digging I found it could also be anemia/lack of iron. but the vast majority of the cases are aging, then thyroid.
https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/what-to-know-about-onychorrhexis
Horizontal ridges are vitamin deficiency. or a few other things, none of which are 'working with chemicals w/o gloves' geez. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beau%27s_lines
And a chemical cause ... yea i'mma need a sauce for that.
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It's my understanding that prevalence of these ridges increase as we age. Certainly true in my case.
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franktheguy t1_jcs8o0n wrote
Several of the comments are referring to bands that run width-wise across the nail instead of lengthwise like you are describing. I personally do have the lengthwise ridges and my rheumatologist says it is a distinctive feature of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
An example article: https://www.healthline.com/health/rheumatoid-arthritis/rheumatoid-arthritis-nail-changes