Section
3
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NAIL PROBLEMS
SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES—Your fingernails help reveal how well you are absorbing nutrients, and whether you are getting enough. A deficiency of protein or other nutrients can affect the nails. Surprisingly enough, finger and toe nails are composed almost entirely of protein. Here are some of the symptoms, followed by the deficient nutrient:
Poor nail growth: zinc.
Dry, brittle nails: protein, vitamin A, calcium, iron.
Fragile and showing horizontal or vertical ridges: B vitamins.
Half moons absent: protein deficiency.
Thin, flat, and even moon-shaped (concave or spoon-shaped) nails: iron deficiency.
Pale nail beds: anemia.
Poor nail growth: zinc deficiency.
Excessive dryness, very rounded and curved nail ends, and darkened nails: vitamin B12 deficiency.
Splitting nails: lack of hydrochloric acid, sulfur amino acid deficiency.
Washboard ridges: Iron, calcium, zinc deficiency.
Hangnails: Protein, folic acid, and vitamin C deficiencies.
White bands on the nails: protein deficiency.
White nails: liver disease, copper excess.
White spots: zinc deficiency, thyroid deficiency, and hydrochloric acid deficiency.
Fungus under nails: lack of lactobacillus in colon.
Bluish nails: chronic lung conditions (not enough oxygen).
TREATMENT—
• Supply the indicated deficiencies, listed above, which apply to you.
• Eat a high-protein diet, including Brewer's yeast, calcium, silica, and, if necessary, hydrochloric acid.
• Water causes the nails to swell and they shrink when dry, resulting in loose, brittle nails.
• Avoid immersing the hands in detergent water.
• Never cut the cuticles. This damages the nail and invites infections. Do not push them back.
• Brittle nails are common among teenagers, pregnant women, and those with food allergies. The problem is malabsorption or nutritional deficiencies (unsaturated essential fatty acids, amino acids, calcium, iron, or zinc).
• Hangnails are caused by an essential fatty acid deficiency. Put vitamin E oil or aloe vera directly on it, to reduce further breaking and likelihood of infection. They are particularly common among women who have their hands in water a lot or who bite their nails. Keep nails clipped short. Rub vegetable oil into the hands occasionally.
• If you tend to pick at your nails, wear clothes with pockets; and, when you find yourself starting to do it, put your hands in your pockets.
ENCOURAGEMENT—If we commit the keeping of our souls to God by living faith, His promises will not fail us. We are limited only through our lack of faith, submission, and obedience.
INGROWN NAILS
SYMPTOMS—The nail (usually on the big toe) has pushed into the soft tissue alongside it. Soon it results in sharp pain. Infection can result.
CAUSES—Wear large enough shoes! This is the underlying problem for many cases of ingrown nails! If you cannot solve the problem otherwise, cut out the front of the shoe! Podiatrists know that people who wear shoes which are large enough rarely have food problems.
Never cut your nails too short! Cut them straight across, but not rounded. The outside edge of the nail should be parallel to the skin. Do not trim the nail deeper than the tip of the toe.
TREATMENT—
• Soak your foot in warm water, to soften the nail. Dry carefully and then insert a tiny (tiny) wisp of sterile cotton under the burrowing edge of the nail. This will slightly lift the nail, so it can grow past the tissue. Apply some peroxide as a safeguard against infection. Change the cotton insert daily, until the nail has grown past the problem area.
• Do not cut a "v"-shaped wedge out of the center of your toenail! It only worsens the problem. Nails grow from back to front, not from inward to outward, or vice-versa.
• If you accidentally cut or break a nail too short, carefully smooth the edges with an emery board.
• Never cut nails with scissors; none are small enough to do the job right, and they often leave a sharp edge.
ENCOURAGEMENT—Prayer and faith can do what no power on earth could ever accomplish. In Christ, we can resist temptation and obey the Ten Commandments.
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