Ever imagine your life without your
nails? Just think,
Oh god, it itches so
badly! *scratches*
I want oranges! *peels the orange*Let’s write a song, you sing, I’ll play the guitar! *plucks guitar strings*
Hey, who lost 50cents? I found it on the floor in my classroom *picks up the coin*
I want oranges! *peels the orange*Let’s write a song, you sing, I’ll play the guitar! *plucks guitar strings*
Hey, who lost 50cents? I found it on the floor in my classroom *picks up the coin*
Now, MAYBE when you did all
these things, it didn’t cross your mind even the slightest bit..
‘’what
if I don’t have my fingernails?’’
Amazed
how so little thing help so much things? Yeah, I think so too. And I’m greatly
thankful to Allah for creating such healthy-looking [can’t
say they are healthy, cause they are actually dead] and perfect nails and SO MUST
YOU! Our twenty nails are pretty important, and though we neglect and abuse them,
they serve us for a lifetime. And some of us spend more than $500-million a
year to keep them beautiful and “healthy”.
What exactly are Nails?
Made up of a protein called keratin, nails are
specialized horny extensions of our skin. This protein has a high amount of
sulfur and it’s the sulfur that makes the nails hard and rigid. (For
added strength, nails are curved in both directions), the keratin of our nails
is similar to the keratin that makes up our hair. Nails and hair have many
things in common:
·
Both have their beginnings deep inside the skin.
Both are dead, so that they can be cut or trimmed painlessly. And since they
aren’t living, there’s nothing you can put on them to make them grow any
better, faster, longer, stronger, or thicker
·
Both depend upon the body’s processes and rich blood
supply for nourishment and growth. Both can regenerate. If you pluck a hair out
of your head, it grows back normally; if you lose a nail, it usually grows back
normally as well.
Nails grow at
different rates for everyone, depending on each person’s state of health. It takes about five
months for a fingernail to grow from the cuticle to the end of your fingertip.
It takes longer for a thumbnail and twice as long for toenails.
So when should you say ‘’Oh no! I have a NAIL DISORDER! ‘’
The
condition of your nails, like that of your skin and hair, depends on your
general health. When your body suffers from infection, disease or dietary
deficiency, the growth, texture and appearance of your nails can change.
Sudden
and serious physical stress, as from a tragic accident or a major surgical
operation, may dramatically change the pattern of your nail growth.
·
This
happens because nail growth is expendable, which means that your body ignores
it under severe stress.
·
The
growth of your nails may slow down temporarily or stop altogether.
·
Weeks
after your health has improved, you’ll be able to see transverse ridges on all
your nails, showing the period when growth was interrupted.
·
Other
changes in your nails can be a sign of illness, injury, poor nail care or other
factors.
Onycholysis
is a separation of the nail (plate) from the nail bed.
·
Often
associated with yeast and fungal infections, from nail cosmetics
·
Causes
can range from injury to the affected nails from improper manicuring, from
thyroid problems, diabetes, and a variety of internal disorders.
·
Many
medications are also responsible for onycholysis.
Brittle
nails are nails that have lost their strength. [They split,
chip, crack and break off easily]
·
Usually
due to the use of harsh household products, strong soaps and detergents, glues,
cleaning solvents, furniture polish, and irritating and allergenic nail
cosmetics
·
Weather
can also cause brittleness. When the relative humidity is very low, the water
content of the nail is decreased, making the nail more rigid and likely to
fracture.
·
Can
be a result of a protein deficiency, crash dieting, some illnesses and skin
diseases. Also the aging process.
Thickening
of the nail happens
on the toenails when you let them grow too long or wear tight shoes that cramp
their growth, also associated with flat feet, obesity, and fungous infections
of the nails.
Thinning
of the nails or spoon-shaped depressions happens with anemia (also longitudinal ridges), thyroid disorders and protein
deficiency in crash-dieter or any hormonal deficiency.
Pigmented
(discolored) nails
·
Nails
can become permanently stained from heavy smoking, and working with inks, shoe
polishes, dyes and chemicals.
·
Nail
injuries and tight shoes can make your nails turn black due to bleeding beneath
the affected nails.[For
example, athletes in track and field events, and dancers can develop blackened
toenails from jamming their feet into the front of their shoes]
Certain
diseases can affect the color of the nails.
·
A
patient with yellow
nails, for example, should be evaluated for some systemic disease.
·
A
diffuse, bright
red color of the nails may develop in patients with cardiac disease.
·
Fungal
and bacterial infections, diabetes, and certain lung, liver and kidney diseases
can all change the color of your nails. So can antibiotics, anti-cancer
medication, sulfa drugs and other drugs.
·
Lithium can
induce a number of nail changes, including the appearance of transverse
brown bands.
·
White
spots are often seen on the nails as a result of rough manicuring, typing,
filing and nail biting, as well as from nutritional deficiency, fungous
infections, thyroid conditions, and anemia.
Here are some other trivia to nail you with!
·
Nails
grow faster in summer than in winter, faster during the day than at night,
faster in men than in women, and faster in children than in adults.
·
Nail
growth slows down as we get older, and nails tend to thicken and become irregular.
·
The
middle fingernail grows the fastest, and the pinkie nail the slowest.
·
If you
are right-handed, your nails grow faster on the right hand and vice versa.
·
Nails
grow faster in nail-biters, typists, and piano players, which is convenient
since they use them up faster!
·
They grow
faster in women who are premenstrual and who are in the early stages of
pregnancy.
·
Starvation
diets slow down the growth of nails.
·
Gelatin
has absolutely no value in treating nails problems.
·
To strengthen nails, tap them -- on desks, tabletops and other surfaces.
·
Do not to
use your nails as a screwdriver, can opener, pliers, or telephone dialer (not a
problem with push-button phones).
·
To
prevent ingrown toenails, cut them straight across, so that the edges of the nail
don’t poke into the skin folds along the sides.
Despite
what the horror movies would make you believe, nails do not grow after death.
What seems like continued nail growth is only
the drying and shrinking of the soft tissues around the nail plates.
We used
to believe that the hardness of nails, like bones and teeth, was the result of
their calcium content. Actually, there’s very little calcium in the nail plate,
not enough to make a difference. So
taking calcium supplements won’t help soft nails.
Hope these few information
helps you in any way that is possible.
Happy nail-care <3 ! But, don’t forget what Islam teaches us. We all
know Islam stresses a lot on hygiene and purity. That's why toharoh is fardhu
ain and we must learn! So, keep your nails short for the sake of Allah.
Wallahu’alam.
By Zayan Hadi ,
Publication & Information
Unit,
PERUBATAN Cawangan Mansurah
2010/11.
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