3. Pitting and Grooving Nails
Nails are generally supposed to be smooth. However, small cracks and depressions on your nail — known as “pitting” —can be a sign of psoriasis. Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes patches of skin that are itchy, sore, or red, and often have silvery scales. Your nails may also crumble, loosen, or even fall off.
Since hair and nails are so closely related, this might also be a sign of alopecia areata, which is a medical condition in which you lose patches of hair. There usually aren’t any other symptoms of alopecia other than its impact on your hair and nails.
“Both conditions often require a physical exam to check for symptoms on other parts of your body,” says Dr. Vlachos. She further explains, “treatments for psoriasis include phototherapy using ultraviolet lights, as well as topical or oral medications. Treating alopecia areata may involve receiving steroid injections, using topical medications, or undergoing ultraviolet light therapy.“
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