Women love beautiful firm nails. Like a piece of jewelry, some put their fingertips in the limelight: they paint their nails colorful, decorate them with glittering stones or small rings. This creativity and passion was already shared by wealthy women in ancient times, who decorated their long nails with gold and jewels to express their social rank. The length of the nails was at that time a status symbol, with which woman showed that she did not have to perform heavy manual labor.
Today, the focus is less on the length and more on the well-groomed appearance of the hands and nails. The condition of our nails reveals a lot about our personality, whether we work in an office or do manual labor, whether we are nervous and bite our nails, and how meticulous we are about grooming. But beware of drawing conclusions too quickly: Cracked and brittle nails – a blemish with which an estimated one in two women has to contend – are not necessarily a sign of poor hygiene.
Nail changes
Nail changes can also be due to disease or simply caused by improper care. “Nail polish, polish remover and excessive in-shaping attack the nail surface in the long run. This not only looks unsightly, but can also lead to inflammation,” explains Maria Schwormstedt, a doctor at the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK). For example, the frequently practiced trimming of the cuticle is poison for the fingertips, because bacteria can penetrate through the tiny injuries and cause infections.
People with diabetes in particular should be careful, as they are more prone to inflammation. Bacteria also have an easy time of it for those who frequently work in the garden and handle a lot of water or cleaning agents. This is because constant contact with water swells the tissue of the nails, causing them to lose their resistance and become brittle.
