8 tips for healthy fingernails

 8 tips for healthy fingernails

How do you get healthy, beautiful fingernails again that are so strong that they can hardly break? Find out more in this picture gallery Photo: shutterstock

Beautiful fingernails indicate health and vitality. However, many people still suffer from nail problems, such as nail discoloration. Read here what really helps against it.

Washing, cleaning, typing - our hands are heavily used in everyday life. This often affects the fingernails as well. The result: the fingernails split, become brittle and cracked. In the worst case, this in turn leads to serious problems such as an inflamed nail bed .

 

Maintain fingernails properly

What can you do against nail discoloration? What is particularly bad for my nails ? How do I take care of my fingernails properly? 

Read here what is really good for your nails.

 

Shorten with feeling

Healthy fingernails usually grow a millimeter per week, so they need to be manicured every 10 to 14 days. The best way to do this is with a file, because scissors or clippers put the nail plate under such pressure that split ends can occur. If the nails are stable, they can take a diamond or sapphire file well. If they are rather brittle, a sandpaper file is the gentler alternative.

Mild soap

Wash your hands only with mild soaps or washing lotions. If you've tinkered with the car, you probably have to resort to washing paste. But then you should apply lotion to your hands and nails afterwards.

Be careful with nail polish removers

Use only oily and acetone-free products. Give your stressed nails regular “breaks” for painting.

Detergents can cause nail discoloration

Many cleaning agents and chemicals, but also mechanical injuries, attack our nails. Wear gloves when cleaning and gardening. Powder your hands beforehand if you sweat in the gloves.

Proper nail cutting

Proper nail care is essential. Brittle nails should be kept short - long nails are more likely to split and split. Cutting nails also has to be learned. It is best to shorten them after a bath, because then they are nice and soft. You cut them straight off, but never deep into the corners, otherwise painful ingrowths can occur. After cutting, it should be sharpened with a nail file.

Handle cuticles carefully

The thin cuticle nourishes the nails. So never cut away, but carefully push back with a wooden stick.

Olive oil for the nails

Nails need sufficient grease. A short finger bath in olive oil is a treat for her. It also gives new shine to rough nails.

Healthy diet against nail discoloration

Eat healthy! Our nails need vitamins A and B, as well as iron, zinc and calcium. So eat a lot of fruit, fresh vegetables, milk and whole grain bread. For healthy nail growth, the body primarily needs the B vitamin biotin, which is popularly known as vitamin H - it is found in yeast, milk, vegetables and grains. With susceptible and sick nails, you can definitely help with an over-the-counter biotin preparation from the pharmacy. By the way, nails only grow three millimeters a month - so if a nail breaks off, you have to be patient.

See a doctor if you have serious nail problems

Nail discoloration and curvature or a detachment of the nail plate should not only be dismissed as a cosmetic problem. Yellowish discoloration, thickening or small cracks in the nail can also be signs of a fungal nail disease. Here the motto is: go to the doctor immediately! Because a possible nail fungus must be resolutely tackled with an effective drug (antimycotic). And: changes in the nails can also be warning signs of diseases of the thyroid, pancreas or adrenal cortex.