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Pitted nails

If you avoid the manicurist because your nails are a mess, maybe you need to see a doctor. Nails that are pitted, deformed, or discolored (yellow-brown), or nails that thicken or separate from the nail bed, can point to many health problems.

Nail changes are common in people with psoriasis, a chronic skin condition; psoriatic arthritis, a related joint condition; and alopecia areata, a type of patchy hair loss.

Pitting has been reported in patients with Reiter’s syndrome, a type of arthritis, and incontinentia pigmenti, a genetic skin condition.

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