The content of this podcast is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended as,

nor should it be considered a substitute for professional medical advice.

You are listening to Ichi and Bichi, a podcast that provides answers to your many health questions.

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On a daily basis, I have patients who are concerned about their thin and brittle nails.

They usually assume that they have a problem with their thyroid, which is certainly one thing that

can cause nail problems, but there are many other reasons for having issues with your nails.

I will not go into all of the types of nail disease because it would probably bore you to death,

but I will discuss the most common issues I see.

Let's start with nail brittleness, which can be caused by aging.

I know no one wants to hear this, but our nails get thinner and break more easily as we get older.

So it can just be an effect of getting older.

Pregnancy is another reason. At least there's an end to that versus the problem with aging,

but pregnancy can be a cause of brittle nails.

Skin diseases like eczema can trigger that.

Systemic disorders like iron deficiency anemia, thyroid disease, or peripheral disease can cause

brittle nails. And iron deficiency anemia specifically causes something called spoon nails,

where your whole nail indents, so it looks like a spoon.

Environmental exposures such as wet work, occupational exposure to chemicals,

and use of nail cosmetics can cause brittle nails. So using nail polish, nail polish

removers, nail sculpturing, application of acrylic gels, and now there's just a dip that they

use as well that just is hard on the nail.

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