What Causes Brittle Fingernails?

Brittle fingernails can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'minor' to 'life-threatening'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

Diagnose your symptoms now!

understand what's happening to your body
let The Analyst™ find what's wrong
identify any nutritional deficiencies

Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose brittle fingernails, we could:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "brittle fingernails" as a symptom. Here are eight of many possibilities (more below):

Iron Need
Dehydration
Anorexia/Starvation Tendency
Hypothyroidism
Vitamin C Need
Psoriasis
Poor Digestion
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) Need

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

poor concentration during cycle

hypothyroidism

low alcohol consumption

insufficient water consumption

occasional rashes

high iodine consumption

highly elevated basophil count

upward-curving fingernails

difficulty losing weight

low desire to eat breakfast

severe tinnitus

weak appetite

... and more than 110 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of brittle fingernails:

Cause	Probability	Status
Poor Digestion	95%	Confirm
Dehydration	25%	Unlikely
Iron Need	18%	Unlikely
Anorexia/Starvation Tendency	1%	Ruled out
Hypothyroidism	0%	Ruled out
Vitamin C Need	0%	Ruled out
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) Need	0%	Ruled out
Psoriasis	0%	Ruled out

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

If you indicate abnormal fingernails and toenails, The Analyst™ will ask further questions including this one:

Are your fingernails brittle - do they chip, peel or break easily?

Possible responses:

→ Don't know
→ No
→ Somewhat
→ Very

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate either absence of brittle fingernails or brittle fingernails, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Alopecia (Hair Loss)

Anorexia / Starvation Tendency

Biotin Requirement

Calcium Requirement

Chronic Fatigue / Fibromyalgia Syndrome

Dehydration

Nails can become brittle due to disease or dehydration. Nail dehydration can be caused either by external factors such as chemicals, or by the body being dehydrated and trying to conserve water.

Dyspepsia / Poor Digestion

Eczema

EFA (Essential Fatty Acid) Type 3 Requirement

Fungal Skin / Nail Infection

Hypothyroidism

Thyroid diseases may produce brittle nails or splitting of the nail bed from the nail plate.

Iron Requirement

A deficiency of essential nutrients and minerals such as iron, zinc, vitamins and calcium can cause the nails to become weak.

Nephrotic Syndrome

Over time, the protein loss occurring in nephrotic syndrome will result in a generally malnourished state, causing hair and nails become brittle.

Psoriasis

Vitamin A Requirement