What Causes Pale Fingernails?
Pale fingernails can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'worrying' to 'generally fatal'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.
Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose pale 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 "pale fingernails" as a symptom. Here are seven possibilities:
- Liver Cancer
- Congestive Heart Failure
- Iron Need
- Need For Dietary Improvement
- Cirrhosis Of The Liver
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:
shortness of breath when at rest
severe fatigue after slight exertion
not eating garlic
moderate alcohol consumption
major fatigue for over 12 months
pain between shoulder blades
having low TT4 level
being medication sensitive
severe tongue soreness
frequent abdominal discomfort
... and more than 60 others
Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause
A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of pale fingernails:
|Need For Dietary Improvement
|Congestive Heart Failure
|Cirrhosis Of The Liver
* This is a simple example to illustrate the process
Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis
is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.
Are your fingernails more pale than they should be? Normal nail beds are a strong pink color. You could try comparing your nails those of other people.
→ No, my nail beds are a healthy pink / don't kknow
→ Yes, my nail beds are a little pale / light pink
→ Yes, my nail beds are very pale / almost white
Based on your response to this question, which may indicate either pale fingernails or very pale fingernails, The Analyst™
will consider possibilities such as: