Some Hair Raising Cuticle Facts.
Mansoor Mirza.
Both hair and nails have certain similarities such as:
- They are appendages of the epidermis
- They are both made up of Keratin protein.
- In most cases they have to be well groomed. Hair can be cut, styled, pruned, dyed, combed and brushed. Similarly nails too can be cut, filed, manicured, pedicured and polished in different hues and shades.
Forensic sciences have been able to identify a suspect or a criminal from a single strand of hair found at the scene of the crime. Besides the colour and texture, the DNA pattern makes it a genetic fingerprint which undoubtedly belongs to only one individual.
Artists have painted intricate details on a single human hair and some have even split it into many fractions thereby earning a place in the Guiness Book of World records.
Medically, especially clinically, the human nail and nailbed elicit many important and vital signs useful in making or aiding a diagnosis of a disease. For example
Blanching - pallor, state of capillary refill, peripheral circulation. Cyanosis. Yellow
nails indicate jaundice. Pitting indicates psoriasis.
Clubbing indicates Crohns disease, smoking, serious respiratory and cardiac ailments.
Splinter haemorrhages may be a clue for Infective a endocarditis.
Fungal infection cause thickened, discoloured and brittle nails.
A close look at the nails will reveal whether there is nail biting, dirt beneath the nails; the manicured nails and the colour of the nailpolish also help in deciding the Homoeopathic constitutional remedy.
