Introduction:

Nail disorders belong to a specific group of health disorder which affects the look of human fingernails as well as toenails. Human nails can speak a lot regarding the health status of a person. Nail infections which are caused due to bacteria, viruses, or fungus can cause serious abnormalities for the nails. Nails can be defined as one of the unique structures of the human body which are made out of keratin, in a similar fashion like hair as well as the layers of skin. Diseases of nail vary both in morphology and etiology.  There are various reasons which are responsible for nail disorders and the major among them include:

• Alopecia areata
• Anemia
• Eczema
• Inflammatory response of the immune
• Psoriasis
• Poor Heart conditions
• Thyroid disease
• Lung disease

Types of nail disorders:

There are different types of nail disorders and fingernails act towards protecting the sensitive fingertips from accidental trauma.  The fingernails are formed using a layer of the germinal tissue known as the nail matrix.

• Nail discoloration: The original color of nail is pinkish and the nail which grows out of finger remains white as there is nil connection with the vascular nail bed. Discoloration of the nail can happen due to smoking tobacco, nail bed injury and infection, Wilson’s disease, liver disease or renal failure.
• Bacterial paronychia: It is a bacterial infection which is caused due to nail fold. This infection is found more in people who keep their hands in contact with the moisture a lot or have a bad habit to bite nails or get them manicured in the wrong way.
• Chronic paronychia: In this condition, the nail fold becomes thickened and turns tender as well as mildly reddened. Chronic paronychia happens due to various factors like allergy, chemical irritation, and contact with excess moisture leading to fungal infection.
• Traumatic disorder: This is one type of nail disorder which is caused due to injury which leads to nail uplifting, nail plate loss or nail ridging.
• Ingrown nails: When the nail overgrows and moves towards the skin at both sides of a nail it causes severe pain and may lead to infection.
• Nail thickening: The toenails thickening is a natural age-related issue, but when there is abnormal thickening at a young age then it is a disorder. Such disorder occurs because of an injury, arthritis, tight shoes, abnormal gait or even because of Psoriasis

Apart from the above, there are various other nail disorders but the above mentioned ones are the most common.

Treatment:

Depending on the nature of the nail disorder, dermatologist recommend medication to the patients. The common types of medicines which are recommended to patients are:

• Anti-inflammatory creams. There are many topical creams which are available over the counter for reducing any type of inflammation or redness due to disordered nails.
• Antibiotics. If the infection is critical then dermatologist may recommend topical antibiotic creams in addition to oral antibiotics to treat the nail infections caused due to bacteria.
• Antifungal medicines. If it’s a fungal nail disorder then in such scenario oral as well as antifungal medicines are given for destroying the nail fungus.

It is advisable to do these treatments under an expert skin doctor or a famous dermatologist.