Do nails adapt over time to stress based on different ways of being trimmed?

Submitted by pengl0ss t3_zysngq in askscience

I wasn't sure this made sense, but recently I've noticed my nails becoming more flakey and soft. I bite my nails and have done so for a very very long time, but this is something I've noticed recently happening over the last six months whenever they grow back, it's harder to bite because it's just soft. Maybe this points to some other deficiencies in me, but just a general thought I had as well as to if & how nail cells in general adapt over time to different ways of being cut. Let me know if that's just bogus though

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Zee_tv t1_j27rlz1 wrote

See your pcp and have your vitamin levels checked. Possibly blood tests for autoimmune conditions. Chronic trauma to nail beds can distort nails, but sounds like you may possibly have a different problem. Good luck and update us if you can. Possibly see Derm if your work-up is unrevealing.

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kittylikker_ t1_j28bsuz wrote

Hi! Certified nail tech here!

First off, please stop chewing your nails. Seriously, the amount of unsavoury sh!t you literally have under your nails would make you retch if you knew. Please stop putting that in your mouth.

Damage to the nail bed can absolutely affect the shape of the nail. Illness or traumatic events can affect the growth and structure of our nails (and hair!) as well. However, what you are describing sounds more like a potential fungal infection or a vitamin or mineral deficiency. You'll want to see a GP for a blood panel and potentially a scraping.

And stop eating your hands.

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Jasrek t1_j2chvg1 wrote

Replying to kittylikker_ (#1,177,011)

>First off, please stop chewing your nails. Seriously, the amount of unsavoury sh!t you literally have under your nails would make you retch if you knew. Please stop putting that in your mouth.

Is this really going to cause any issues? You use your fingers to pick up food you're about to eat all the time. As long as you're not using nail-biting as a nervous habit and biting them past the tip of the finger, it shouldn't hurt the nail. And putting your finger in your mouth is extremely common.

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kittylikker_ t1_j2cj6nu wrote

Replying to Jasrek (#1,214,276)

Hop into a lab and pop the scrapings from under your nails into a petri dish. Grow a culture. Then come back and ask me again.

You should be washing your hands before you eat, but given that 70% of the population doesn't do that, and that only 13% of the remaining population use soap, it's unlikely that's happening.

>As long as you're not using nail-biting as a nervous habit

... for what other reason does one bite their nails regularly?

>and biting them past the tip of the finger, it shouldn't hurt the nail.

My comment was about the ingestion of fecal and other bacteria from unknown sources as it gets stuck under our nails in our daily lives. Door handles, light switches, debit machines, etc... When I work on people's vehicles, I wear gloves when handling their keys and anything inside of the vehicle because people are gross.

Also, cutting or biting a nail too short (which the definition of varies from person to person, and it isn't always to or past the edge of the bed) can cause growth issues depending on the frequency and mechanism of damage.

>And putting your finger in your mouth is extremely common.

It's a habit which ought to have been broken by the time one has hit adolescence. It shouldn't be extremely common, especially given the rapid mutation of communicable diseases right now.

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