US Hair Restoration Home | Contact US

Posts Tagged ‘nail changes with alopecia’

Alopecia Areata: Nail Pitting Treatment

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

I’m a man living with Alopecia Universalis, which hasn’t been an issue from an aesthetic perspective since I’m 68 years old, secure with myself and where I’m at in life, and possess an optimistic perspective about life and believe in a higher power at work in the world. But, there is one issue disturbing me, my finger nails and toe nails. The nail bed has pits and seems to be eroding. I don’t know what options I have at this point. I tried having my nails coated with acrylic at a nail salon and, for a majority of the time, it seems to be good enough for me until they grow long and break.

To aid in restoring my nails, I’m wondering if I ought to be taking vitamin pills, like Biotin or Zinc?

Thank you and please advise,

-

A:

Thanks for your email. I love your attitude about Alopecia Universalis. Alopecia Universalis is a more severe type of Alopecia Areata. You ask a good question. Personally, I searched and didn’t find an answer every place I looked. It was a topic of conversation with a few of my dermatologist friends (when nail health is involved, dermatologists are familiar with this condition and I think they’ve seen or dealt with comparable cases of Alopecia Universalis or Alopecia Areata nail deterioration).

I did find two answers that might be of help to you, though.

1.  Well, I’ve seen a good number of people with major deformities of their nails, including dents, flaking, rippled nails, and distal phalanges with granulation tissue, symptoms which started after these people went in for acrylic manicures. The nails end up becoming kind of rough and the nail beds get damaged.

2.  Hey Doc! Unfortunately, there’s not much a person can do about treating the nail pitting that is a part of having Alopecia Universalis or Alopecia Areata. A person can coat it with acrylics, that’s OK, but acrylics will, without a doubt, further corrode the nail bed over the long haul. It’s better to use nail polish or manicure the nails. Taking Biotin is OK if a person is trying to have healthier-looking nails, but it’s not the solution to the underlying problem. There’s also the option of taking topical steroids to see whether that makes any kind of difference. Good luck.