Why does anemia cause spooning of nails?

The most common cause of spoon nails is iron deficiency, or anemia. This makes your level of red blood cells lower than normal. If anemia is causing your spoon nails, you may also experience: fatigue.

Can anemia cause koilonychia?

Although the aetiologies of koilonychia are myriad, to simplify they may be divided into hereditary or congenital, acquired and idiopathic causes. It is primarily considered to be a manifestation of chronic iron deficiency anemia due to malnutrition, worms, celiac disease, gastrointestinal blood loss, and malignancy.

How does anemia affect your nails?

Brittle Nails: Anemia or Thyroid Disease Anemia is a condition where your body lacks enough hemoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. While fatigue is the leading sign of anemia, this condition can also show itself through brittle or spoon-shaped nails — called koilonychia.

What deficiency causes bent nails?

Abnormal Curving. The condition of an abnormally shaped fingernail is called koilonychia. Nails that curve upward in a “spoon” shape have a form of koilonychias that is indicative of a vitamin B12 deficiency or iron-deficiency anemia.

How do you feel when your anemic?

Symptoms common to many types of anemia include the following: Easy fatigue and loss of energy. Unusually rapid heart beat, particularly with exercise. Shortness of breath and headache, particularly with exercise.

Can anemia cause blue fingernails?

Blue fingernails are caused by a low level or lack of oxygen circulating in your red blood cells. This condition is known as cyanosis. It occurs when there isn’t enough oxygen in your blood, making the skin or membrane below the skin turn a purplish-blue color.

What do nails look like with an iron deficiency?

Spoon nails (koilonychia) are soft nails that look scooped out. The depression usually is large enough to hold a drop of liquid. Often, spoon nails are a sign of iron deficiency anemia or a liver condition known as hemochromatosis, in which your body absorbs too much iron from the food you eat.

How does iron deficiency cause Koilonychia?

Koilonychia occurs in 5.4\% of the patients with iron deficiency. It is thought to occur due to the upward deformation of lateral and distal portions of pliable iron deficient nail plates under mechanical pressure. Nail matrix changes due to blood flow abnormalities was also proposed as a pathomechanism.

What do spoon nails indicate?