What Causes Inflamed Skin Around Nails?

Inflamed skin around nails can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'minor' to 'very serious'. 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
identify any nutritional deficiencies
have a doctor review your case (optional)

Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose inflamed skin around nails, 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 "inflamed skin around nails" as a symptom. Here are three possibilities:

Fungal Infection
Zinc Need
Lupus (SLE)

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:

adult acne

moderate frequency of sex

minor mouth sores

sensitivity to bright light

very deformed toenails

unpleasant smell sensations

calcium-based antacid use

elevated ANA levels

H2-blocker antacid use

green/greenish fingernails

a few white spots on fingernails

calcium supplementation

... and more than 40 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of inflamed skin around nails:

Cause	Probability	Status
Fungal Infection	95%	Confirm
Lupus (SLE)	20%	Unlikely
Zinc Need	5%	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.

In the Fingernail/Toenail Symptoms section of the questionnaire, The Analyst™ will ask the following question about inflamed cuticles:

Do you experience inflamed/red cuticles (the skin around the edge of your nails)?

Possible responses:

→ No / don't know
→ Slightly - Occasionally / one or two nails
→ Significantly - Regularly / a few nails
→ Severely - Usually or always / several nails

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate minor inflamed cuticles, inflamed cuticles or major inflamed cuticles, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Fungal Skin / Nail Infection

Lupus, SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus)

Inflammation of the nail fold (red, puffy skin around the nail) may indicate lupus or another connective tissue disorder.

Zinc Requirement

Concerned or curious about your health? Try The Analyst™