clubbing in which the nail is coved upward
Clubbing of the fingers or toes refers to certain physical changes to your fingernails or toenails that result from an underlying medical condition. These changes can include:
These changes can develop in a matter of weeks or years, depending on the cause. They can be the result a variety of underlying medical conditions, many of which are serious. If you develop clubbing of your fingers or toes, make an appointment with your doctor.
It’s not completely understood why clubbing occurs, but certain conditions are known to activate components in the bloodstream. This activation plays a role in changing the nail bed.
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Nail widening that characterizes clubbing happens when the tissue under your nail plate becomes thicker. This can be triggered by a number of conditions throughout the body. For example, clubbing often results from lung issues, such as:
To treat clubbing, your doctor will need to address the underlying cause of your symptoms. Your recommended treatment plan will depend on your diagnosis. For example, your doctor may prescribe:
The only way to prevent clubbing is by taking steps to prevent and manage the underlying conditions that cause it. For example, you can:
Evaluation Of Clubbing
If you’ve been diagnosed with a lung disease, follow your doctor’s recommended treatment plan, which may help you maintain your blood oxygen levels and prevent clubbing.
Most of the underlying conditions that cause clubbing are serious. Early diagnosis and treatment may improve your outlook. Talk with your doctor if you notice any signs of clubbing of your toes or fingers.
Typically, treatment and management of clubbing is focused on treating the underlying condition. The more serious or farther along the underlying condition, the harder it may be to reverse clubbing of the fingers.
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Has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.Nail clubbing is when your nails appear wider, spongelike or swollen, like an upside-down spoon. Clubbed nails are often a sign of a health condition that needs treatment, such as lung cancer. Treating the underlying condition may help nails return to normal.
Nail clubbing is a change in the appearance and structure of your fingernails or toenails that can occur as a symptom of an underlying health condition. If you have nail clubbing, your nails may:
Nail clubbing can affect a few of your nails or all of them. Often, it starts in your thumb and forefinger (pointer finger) before spreading to other nails.
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Nail clubbing often occurs gradually and may be hard to spot at first. In the early stages, you may notice any of the following:
Nail clubbing is most often associated with diseases of the heart and lungs, like lung cancer, lung infections, interstitial lung disease, cystic fibrosis or cardiovascular disease.
Nail clubbing itself isn’t harmful and usually isn’t painful. Sometimes, nail clubbing occurs in a healthy person without an obvious reason. However, it’s often a sign of a serious health condition that needs medical care, so don’t wait to get it evaluated by a healthcare provider.
Nail Abnormalities Information
Because nail clubbing is usually a sign of an underlying health condition, providers typically direct treatment at the underlying cause. For example, your treatment plan may include:
There’s no known way to prevent nail clubbing. But you can prevent some of the conditions that lead to nail clubbing by doing the following:
If you notice nail clubbing or any changes in your nails, see a healthcare provider. Nail clubbing may be a sign of a health condition that needs treatment.
Clubbed Nails Picture Image On Medicinenet.com
The health and appearance of your nails are a window into your overall health. See a healthcare provider if you notice any nail changes. Getting treatment for the underlying cause of nail clubbing can help you live your healthiest life possible.
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Jean Williams Taylor of Wigan, England, posted a photo of her curved fingernail — growing downward at a sharp angle instead of straight out from the nail bed — asking if anyone had seen anything similar. A number of people responded advising her to seek medical care.
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“I was urged to go to the doctor. A tad extreme I thought, ” she wrote in a follow-up post on Facebook on Tuesday.
Taylor was then rushed for blood tests and a chest X-ray, she noted. Two days later, she was directed to go for a CT scan, and then a PET scan and more blood tests. That led to a breathing test, a heart scan, an MRI and a lung biopsy.
“After a gruelling (sic) 2 weeks, yesterday I got my results.......Cancer in both my lungs !!!!” Taylor wrote, adding she had no idea curved fingernails could be a symptom of lung disease. “Hope this post can help someone else in the early stages of cancer.”
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The nail condition, called clubbing of the fingers or toes, can indeed signal lung trouble, said Dr. Phoebe Rich, director of the Nail Disorders Clinic at Oregon Health and Science University.
“It is a pretty characteristic finding and a good diagnostic clue to look at the lungs, ” Rich told . “It probably has something to do with oxygenation of the tips of the digits, although there’s really no literature that explains it with 100 percent certainty.”
Clubbing often occurs in heart and lung diseases that reduce the amount of oxygen in the blood, the U.S. National Library of Medicine noted. Lung cancer is the most common cause, although congenital heart defects, chronic lung infections, celiac disease, liver disease, Graves' disease and other conditions can also cause it.
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“Not everybody with lung issues will get this, but if you have this, there’s a good possibility that you have a lung problem, ” Rich said. “In other words, lots of people have lung cancer and don’t have this.”
In clubbing, the nail may curve downward so it looks like the round part of an upside-down spoon, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) noted.
Usually, all of the nails are involved, not just one, Rich said. The condition affects fingernails more commonly than toenails, but she has seen it in both types.
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The last section of the finger may also appear large or bulging. The curved nails can develop quickly and may return to normal quickly when the cause of the health problem is treated, NIH added.
All doctors, including primary care doctors, should be able to recognize the symptoms, not just nail specialists, Rich said. If you have clubbed nails, your doctor may order a chest X-ray and look for pulmonary problems.