What are
" Xantonichia " is the technical term that indicates the chromatic alteration of yellow nails: a very common beauty problem that affects both women and men.
The causes that lead to the yellowing of the nail plate can be very trivial, therefore easily solvable. If instead the origin depends on more serious disorders, such as metabolic pathologies or infections, the chromatic alteration of the nail must be interpreted as a desperate request for help from a suffering organism.
Behavioral Causes
As mentioned, the yellow nails can represent the consequence of wrong behaviors or of an unhealthy and unregulated lifestyle.
First of all, among the main behavioral causes that favor the appearance of yellow nails, we recall the smoking habit. The habit of smoking (smoking), in fact, can alter not only the natural color of the nail, making it more yellow, but also worsen its structure.
Remaining in the field of nail varnishes, the yellowing of the latter can also be caused by the application of highly pigmented colored enamels without the prior application of the base (top coat) on the nail plate. This does not mean that the product used is necessarily poor, but that the enamel in question is able to stain the nail precisely because of its high pigmentation.
Moreover, we must not forget that even an unbalanced diet associated with a lack of nutrients, vitamins and mineral salts can cause a progressive yellowing and weakening of the nails.
Finally, even taking some types of drugs can cause yellowing of the nails.
Pathological Causes
Unfortunately, the causes of yellow nails are not always behavioral. In some cases, in fact, this phenomenon is triggered by basic pathologies, very often not yet diagnosed and sometimes quite serious.
For this reason, when you notice chromatic alterations of the nail plate, it would be good to always contact your doctor, in order to exclude the presence of any illnesses in progress.
The yellowing of the nail, in fact, could be a mirror of jaundice, in turn a sign of problems and disorders in the liver or gall bladder.
Similarly, the appearance of xantonichia may represent the sign of any chronic respiratory problems, such as bronchitis and sinusitis.
However, the most common pathological cause of yellow nails is probably due to fungal infections, better known as onychomycosis.
Even more serious conditions such as HIV / AIDS have consequences for nail coloring.
Finally, the yellow nails could connote disorders affecting the lymphatic system, diabetes or liver weakness.
In any case, when there are alterations in the skin appendages in general (nails, hair), it is advisable to undergo a specialized diagnosis, to identify systemic problems: the nails, even more than the hair, can in fact help the doctors in identifying of some pathologies.
Yellow Nail Syndrome
Yellow nail syndrome is the typical case in which xantonichia is caused by pathological causes.
The yellow nail syndrome, in fact, is a rare disease that is characterized by the yellowing of these skin appendages, which is accompanied by a more serious symptomatology given by primitive lymphedema and chronic respiratory disorders.
Sometimes, under this syndrome, the altered color of the nail may fade from yellow to greenish. In addition to the chromatic variations of the nail plate, patients suffering from this rare pathology have slowing down or even stopping the growth of nails that thicken, becoming opaque and without cuticles. Furthermore, the curvature of the nail is more pronounced and can lead to onycholysis (loss of the nail).
All these alterations can occur both in the nails of the hands and those of the feet. In some patients, nail abnormalities generated by this syndrome tend to regress spontaneously. However, even in the case of healing, the respiratory symptoms remain in chronic form, significantly affecting the patient's life.
Tips and Remedies
Useful tips and effective remedies to prevent and combat the appearance of yellow nails
It should be remembered that the natural remedies listed below can only be considered if the cause causing the yellowing of the nail is linked to an incorrect lifestyle.
- Quitting smoking: the yellowing of the nail caused by smoking is a reversible phenomenon; in fact, the nail will return to normal a few days after having abandoned the habit.
- Keep nails short and clean to avoid infection.
- Use quality enamels and mild solvents.
- Use moisturizing hand creams.
- Tradition teaches that the use of lemon, combined with bicarbonate, is a good natural remedy to prevent and lighten the yellow nail disorder.
If the triggering factors are pathological in nature, no natural remedy will be able to dismantle the yellow paint deposited on the nail, which can only be solved by treating the pathology at its root.
For example, if the yellowing is due to a fungal infection, the doctor will prescribe topical or systemic antifungal drugs to the patient. In the case of more serious pathologies, on the other hand, it is necessary to contact a specialist who will be able to indicate to the patient the therapeutic strategies that best suit his case.
However, in principle, once the basic pathology has been resolved, the problem of yellow nails should disappear with it.
