Horizontal fingernail lines
If you have one single horizontal line, perhaps that’s a leftover mark from a time when you were fighting off an illness. Essentially, this means that the nail growth process was interrupted by injury or sickness, and the proof lies in that indentation.
If there’s more than one, you might have a problem. Studies have shown that multiple horizontal lines could be a sign of a chronic issue. These types of ridges, also called Beau’s lines, may be a sign of any of the following:
- Uncontrolled diabetes
- Peripheral vascular disease
- Scarlet fever
- Measles
- Mumps
- Pneumonia
- Zinc deficiency
- GI, kidney, liver or lung disease
If you’ve been mountain climbing lately, Beau’s lines (also called Everest nails) may be from hypoxia at high altitude.
