Look at your hands right now. Do you see faint raised lines running across your nails? Most of us do—and most of us either worry they mean something terrible or shrug them off as “just how my nails are.”
The truth is far more nuanced. Your fingernails are one of the body’s quietest but most honest health indicators. Those little lines aren’t random; they’re a language. Learn to read them, and you’ll catch problems months before other symptoms appear.
Here’s your straightforward guide to what nail ridges actually mean—and when you should actually worry.
Vertical vs. Horizontal: The Only Distinction That Matters
All ridges are not created equal. Direction is everything:
- Vertical ridges → Run from cuticle to tip (like the grain in wood). Almost always harmless. Think of them as “nail wrinkles.”
- Horizontal ridges → Run side-to-side across the nail. Much rarer and far more significant. These are called Beau’s lines, and they mean nail growth literally stopped for a while.
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