Wednesday, October 9, 2013

So How Exactly Does Smoking Cause Yellow Finger nails

Stains From Tar and Nicotine


Two major ingredients in cigarettes are sticky and greasy substances that can latch on to the smoker's hands when he holds a cigarette. These are nicotine and tar. Oftentimes nicotine is responsible for the yellower stains and tar for the browner ones. Most smokers with nail staining have a yellowish brown color due to the mixture of both. It can sometimes be removed by soaking the fingers in lemon juice if the stain is new, but heavy smokers will just see the stains continue to build up over time.


Increased Risk of Nail Fungus


Smokers are more likely to get nail fungus than their nonsmoker counterparts. This is because smoking can decrease blood circulation to the extremities, making them more susceptible to infection. A fungal infection can cause the nails to become not only yellow but dry, thick and dull and, in some cases, even deformed. The fungus will grow under the nail indefinitely unless the smoker sees a doctor or obtains an over the counter anti-fungal treatment. Nail fungus is more likely to occur on the toenails than the fingernails, due to the more hospitable environment of darkness and dampness, but both are entirely possible and have been known to happen.


Increased Risk of Contracting a Serious Disease


Smokers should consider themselves lucky if their yellow nails are simply due to staining or fungus. If not, they may have a much bigger problem on their hands, both figuratively and literally. A lot of disorders can manifest themselves in the fingernails, including the big one for smokers: lung disease. And smokers put themselves at a higher risk because they are allowing so many harmful substances into their bodies. Problem is, it can be hard to tell the difference between what some doctors dub "yellow nail syndrome" and the discoloration from nail fungus or run of the mill nicotine and tar stains. So many smokers will just assume it is one of the latter and not go to the doctor to get checked.









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