Changes in nail growth

Changes in nail growth as we age?

Changes in nail growth can occur for different reasons

Changes in nail growth happen throughout life for different reasons, which we are going to look at today.

Children and young teens are the luckiest when it comes to having nice healthy long nails and they heal and grow back very quickly.

As parents of small children will remember having to cut their nails almost every other day.  This carry’s on until they reach puberty which at this stage the nails growth slows down to less than 50% of its previous rate of growth.

So this would indicate that age does play a big part in the growth of the nails but health is also a main factor.

Illnesses and certain drugs such as chemotherapy can slow nail growth down or even cause nails to fall off.  Pregnant women often experience the opposite effect to that as their hormones  boost metabolism and increase circulation, which causes nails and hair to grow more quickly.

Finger nails are said to grow faster in the summer compared with the winter but we are not sure why, it has been said that maybe in the summer nails are used more often and exposed to the elements which could help them grow faster.

Fingernails grow about three to four times faster than toenails do and fingernails grow about 3 mm in a month. If you lose a fingernail it will take four to six months to regrow completely and toenails take a year to a year and a half to grow from cuticle to tip.

It is always important to take notice of change in your nails and see your GP if you have any concerns.

So there we go there are a few reasons for Changes in nail growth.