Nail Growth & Conditions

NAILS

(GROWTH & CONDITIONS)

Nail Growth

The growth of the nail is influenced by nutrition, health and disease. The nail grows forward, starting at the matrix and extending over the tip of the finger.

The average rate of growth in the normal adult is about 1/8 of an inch per month, growing faster in the Summer than in the Winter. The nails of children grows more rapidly, whereas those of elderly people grows more slowly. The nail grows faster in the middle finger and slowest on the thumb.

If the nail is separated from the nail bed through injury, it becomes distorted or discolored. If the nails becomes injured after the loss of a nail, a badly formed nail will result.

The nails are neither shed automatically or periodically, as are hairs. If the nail is torn off accidentally, or lost through an infection or disease, it will only grow as long as the matrix remains in good condition. Nails lost under such conditions, are on regrowth, frequently badly shaped, due to interference at the base of the nail. Ordinarily replace of the nail takes about 4 months.