Why do my child's fingernails peel off?

Why do nails peel off?

• Damage. A nail may fall off a foot or hand because an injury has occurred: pinched by a door, for example.
• Fungus. Sometimes children can suffer from fungal infections of the nail plate, and the sooner you contact a mycologist, the better. Traditional methods will not help here, but will only aggravate the process . Of course, the doctor may scold you for bringing the child’s nails to the point where they are peeling off. Because when affected by a fungus, the nail plate will change and begin to peel off at a more advanced stage.
• Diseases of internal organs. If the nails on all your fingers begin to flake and peel off, there is no need to rely on traditional methods. Be sure to go to the pediatrician. And then it will be clear what it is: quite possibly, pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract. They, in turn, occur with an unbalanced diet. supermams.ru will tell you about the correct diet below.
• Other diseases in which the nail plates peel off include problems with the functioning of the heart and blood vessels, the endocrine system, and the nervous system. Nails can come off with atopic dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis.
• Vitamin deficiency, lack of microelements and minerals. Your child is just growing and developing, and his body, which is still fragile, reacts sharply if something is missing. Nails will not peel off if there is enough zinc, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus.

Your doctor may order a complete blood test. It will help you determine which elements are missing.

Causes of split nails in a child

Without eliminating the provoking factor, there is no point in treating peeling nail plates. In some cases, parents are able to independently determine what led to the development of the pathological condition. To do this, you need to remember how their baby spent the last days: did he violate the regime, did he get injured, how did he eat, what was he sick with. It is important to tell the specialist who will examine the child about all this. It is also useful to pay attention to accompanying abnormalities that can act as indirect symptoms indicating the root cause of the pathological condition of the fingernails or toenails.

Injuries

If mechanical damage occurs (bruises, pinching, blows), after them, as a rule, hematomas (purple-bluish or black bruises) form on the nail plates. They dissolve and lighten over time. When a new nail grows, the described symptoms completely disappear. On the feet, nails often peel due to wearing narrow socks or tight shoes, which strongly compress the toes and soft plates.

Avitaminosis

Lack of vitamins and minerals is another reason that can provoke delamination of the plates. In this case, the base of the nail is involved in the pathological process. In this way, the body reacts to a lack of vitamin D and calcium, iodine, silicon, zinc and iron. Vitamin deficiency can be diagnosed by additional symptoms: the color of the plates changes from light pink to brown, nails do not just peel off, but break off, hair becomes dull, split ends, falls out, jams appear on the lips, the skin becomes tight and dry.

Nervous disorders

Their appearance may be associated with the baby’s adaptation period when entering kindergarten or school. Due to stress, the child tries to constantly suck his fingers or bite his nails. At the same time, he sleeps anxiously at night, cries for no reason, and throws hysterics.

In such situations, in order to restore the elasticity of the nail plates, you need to contact a child psychologist. Only he will be able to suggest a solution to the problem that has arisen.

Fungal infection

Fungal infection also causes separation of the stratum corneum. The disease debuts with a change in the color of the nail plate. It becomes yellow or dirty gray, raised stripes appear on its surface, the skin of the nail fold is inflamed and swollen. The nail exfoliates and crumbles due to the fact that fungi, in the process of their life activity, constantly dig tunnels and passages, moving into the deeper layers of the stratum corneum. As a result, the structure of the plate becomes similar to a speckled honeycomb. And this can result in complete loss of the nail.

Peeling nails as an alarming symptom

Many doctors are able to preliminarily determine where exactly the pathological process is developing in the body based on the condition of the nails. Splitting fingernails may indicate:

• to disruptions of the endocrine system;
• for the presence of anemia;
• for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
• for infection with worms;
• on the course of dysbacteriosis;
• for circulatory disorders.

Peeling nails are often a secondary symptom of heart defects, diabetes, and lung diseases. Therefore, it is so important to seek medical help in a timely manner and, together with your doctor, determine the cause of nail plate dystrophy. For this purpose, a laboratory and instrumental examination of the child is performed. A referral for a general blood and urine test is required, a scraping is made from the affected area, and the biological material is first sent for microscopy. If a fungal infection is detected, bacteriological seeding is carried out in special cultural media. It allows you to identify the causative agent of infection and indicate its sensitivity to existing antimicrobial drugs.

If the child is very small

If a small child’s fingernails are peeling off, perhaps the reason is untimely hygiene procedures. In babies, the nails are usually as thin as leaves, and the fingers are small. Mothers are afraid to touch them again, especially to cut something with scissors. Young mothers perceive nails as real edged weapons.

But if you don’t trim and file your baby’s nails in time, they can begin to flake and peel off.

Another important factor: if a child sucks fingers or chews them, this also worsens the condition of the nail plate. It is imperative to fight this bad habit.

By the way, sometimes a small child’s toenails come off for the same reason: because of the disgusting habit of biting them. Yes, yes, you heard right. It is sometimes difficult for an adult to imagine how to reach his toes, but for a child this is easy. Observe, and if he does this, this may be the key to understanding why the nails are coming off.

Preventing nail problems

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Parents can prevent onycholysis in their baby by following simple measures to prevent the disease:

• immediately eliminate the consequences of finger injuries, treat with iodine, brilliant green or other alcohol compounds;
• monitor the child’s diet and periodically give vitamin supplements;
• strengthen the immune system by hardening, walking and sports;
• allocate separate scissors for the child and keep them clean.

Detachment of nails in a child can be easily treated if detected at an early stage. Therefore, parents should inspect nails after each bath, keep the house clean and create a comfortable environment.

source: gribkovye-zabolevaniya.com

If you notice any changes in the baby’s appearance, you need to immediately find out the reason for their appearance. It often happens that children's nails peel. Not all parents know what to do in this case. They raise a panic and take their kids to all sorts of doctors. In the worst case, they go to the pharmacy on their own, buy medicine and give it to their children. This should absolutely not be done, as you risk undermining the functioning of the child’s immune system.

Why do my toenails still peel?

Above, we talked to you about the reasons in general, without specifically highlighting whether the nails of the feet or the hands are affected. Let's say, like the nail plates of the hand, the feet can be affected by a fungus.

But sometimes it happens that the baby is bothered by one toe. When a child’s toenails come off, we look for why, among these factors:

• problems with blood flow in the lower extremities - it is slow,
• wearing tight shoes - ask every time if they are tight, check yourself by feeling with your fingers, because the child may not say that the shoes are too small or uncomfortable for him.

Diagnostic features

There are many reasons for peeling nails, so a specialist will need to conduct several different studies. This will include examining the fingers, taking scrapings and taking tiny pieces of epithelium. This will help determine the type of fungus and react to antibiotics.

If a child’s problem is caused by a disorder in the functioning of the internal organs, a comprehensive examination is carried out at the same time by specialized doctors. You may need to consult a mycologist, therapist or surgeon and take bacterial samples.

What should children eat?

The products below are not a panacea. This does not mean at all that if a child’s fingernails come off, then it is enough to simply start feeding him “according to the list”, and everything will immediately return to normal. Maybe this will happen, but online diagnostics are impossible.

Consider the list below as a kind of “checklist”. Of course, if you do not provide these foods, they must be included in the diet. But this is only an addition to a specialist consultation.

• Porridge. Oatmeal, buckwheat. It is good to season them with linseed oil.
• Broccoli.
• Dairy products, cottage cheese and tofu cheese, for example.
• Eggs.
• Lean fish.
• Nuts (especially almonds), dried fruits (especially raisins, dried apricots) - they contain a lot of iron.
• Marmalade.

Perhaps the doctor will prescribe a complex of vitamins for children. For example, Multitabs or Pikovit.

Treatment of onycholysis in children

A child’s nails are peeling due to the cuticle photo

After diagnosis, the specialist draws up a treatment plan, which includes several important steps:

• destruction of fungal infection;
• a rational diet aimed at restoring immunity and strengthening the baby’s health;
• elimination of inflammation of internal organs that affected the deterioration of marigolds.

Treatment of nail detachment in a child is complicated by the limited number of drugs that are approved for use. Children are recommended to use antifungal creams and ointments:

• Clotrimazole;
• Ketoconazole;
• Lamisil;
• Loceryl varnish;
• Fluconazole;
• Terbinafine.

Clotrimazole ointment for fungus

Every day, the product is rubbed into the nails, the cuticles and spaces between the fingers are treated. First, you can hold your fingers in warm water and slightly trim the plate with a file. With the doctor's permission, a special medicinal varnish such as Batrafen is applied, which destroys the infection and strengthens the weak plate. The course of treatment for exfoliation is at least 3 months and requires a systematic approach from parents.

If onycholysis is accompanied by a secondary infection, the specialist will definitely recommend a course of antibacterial drugs. They are selected on the basis of laboratory tests, taking into account the weight and age of the baby and concomitant diseases. At the same time, you can steam your fingers in warm water with soda, eucalyptus oil or sea salt.

In case of severe damage and deformation, the doctor may recommend removal of the diseased nail, which is carried out in a hospital setting. As an alternative, a laser is used, but this procedure is only available in large cities.

In order for nails to grow faster and have a beautiful appearance, parents must organize proper nutrition. It includes a large set of microelements: calcium, magnesium, potassium and selenium. To improve intestinal function and increase immunity, healthy fermented milk products, fruits and fruit drinks are added to the diet.

Treatment of fungal infection

Treatment for a fungal infection should be prescribed by a medical professional. There are many pharmaceutical drugs that help cope with the causative agent of the disease, but if they are selected incorrectly, they can cause a significant blow to the child’s immune system.

You need to do general cleaning of the apartment more often and disinfect toys that are often in the hands of the baby. Don't forget about regular baby hygiene. At the same time, follow all recommendations given by your doctor.

Thus, if nails peel in children, you need to find out the cause of this phenomenon, after which treatment should begin.

source: fb.ru

Parents should closely monitor any changes in the appearance of their children. Usually they are a consequence of disruption of various processes occurring in their body. In particular, if a child has peeling fingernails or toenails, this is a clear sign that he currently has certain health problems.

The task of parents in such a situation is to notice the deviations that have arisen in time, understand why this happened, and take appropriate measures as soon as possible. In most cases, even before going to the doctor, it is possible to find out what was the impetus for such an unpleasant external defect.