Oftentimes, most people ignore the changes on their fingertips or nails. But one of them can indicate a sign of serious disease.
Paying attention to the changes in your fingertips or nails helps you do something early for your health. This warning is called finger clubbing.
Clubbing is a medical condition. It is more serious than merely treating it as a manicure issue. Be warned, this can also lead to demise in extreme cases.
It is critical to understand this condition and catch yourself having this in the early stage. This can also help you do something about the risks associated with the condition.
What is Finger Clubbing?
Finger clubbing is a condition in which the fingertips become thick. This makes your fingers appear rounder and larger. While the nails are overgrown, curving downward. The nails and fingertips may appear like a bulb that has a dehydrated impression.
The normal fingertips have opposite nails and finger ends to each other.
You can check your fingertips through a nail window test. Align your two index fingers together.
The normal fingers have a small space between each other, which are oppositely meeting one with the other. Should that small gap disappear, it can be clubbing.
What are the 5 Stages of Finger Clubbing?
Finger clubbing has different stages to bear in mind. If you’re having one of them, it’s best to consult your doctor right away.
Clubbing is a condition that gradually develops over time. Knowing these five stages can help you evaluate your nails’ health and fingertips’ condition.
These stages are different, which are linked to the levels of oxygen present in the person’s blood. Lower oxygen levels in the blood affect the gradual enlargement of the fingertips.
Here are the five stages of the finger clubbing:
Soft-feeling Nail Beds
As you touch the base of your nails, they feel soft or spongy.
Glossy, Slightly-Curved Nails
The color of the nails appears to be glossy. Making the nails slightly curved.
Swollen-Look Fingertips
A stage where the ends of your fingers start to appear nail-overgrown and rounder.
Downward-Curved Nails
In this phase, the nails are too attached to the downward direction of the fingers.
Bulb-Like Look
The fingertips appear to be thickened and enlarged. An obvious, unappealing, but revealing condition where your fingertips appear to look like a bulb.
What Causes the Clubbing of the Fingers?
The clubbing of the fingers itself is not a disease. This condition is a symptom of a serious medical condition.
This symptom develops due to chronic problems. Such chronic problems can cause certain issues, like tissue overgrowth, impaired blood circulation, and interrupted oxygen flow in the body.
Finger clubbing functions like a physical warning or a manifestation of a deeper medical problem.
Here are the causes of finger clubbing that you should know:
Heart and Lung Problems
The following heart and lung diseases are what cause finger clubbing. Affecting your body through low oxygen flow.
- Congenital Heart Disease – Someone with congenital heart disease will develop finger clubbing as they grow. People diagnosed with this condition have lower levels of oxygen. It affects someone’s organs, such as their fingers.
- Pulmonary Fibrosis – Those who are diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis have their oxygen levels low at some point. It is also the culprit for the lungs becoming hard and contracted. Finger clubbing may appear if someone’s oxygen levels are low.
- b – Certain conditions, such as bronchitis and tuberculosis, cause damage to the lungs. This makes the levels of oxygen limited due to that damage.
- Lung Cancer – Someone who has lung cancer can also develop finger clubbing. This is due to the tumor that triggers the tissue in the fingertips. It can also be caused by the drop in oxygen levels in someone’s blood circulation.
Liver and Digestive Problems
Finger clubbing can also be caused not just by the lack of oxygen, but also by the inflammation you feel. Here are the liver and digestive conditions manifested by the finger clubbing:
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease – Clubbing fingers in someone is due to the person’s inflammation. The body signals nail tissue problems. This results in finger clubbing.
- Liver Cirrhosis – The person who has liver cirrhosis is also prone to finger clubbing. A scar that builds up in the liver that affects oxygen and blood.
Other Problems
There are medical conditions that are manifested through finger clubbing.
- Thyroid Disorders – The finger clubbing came from the tissue swelling. It could mean that someone has a thyroid problem.
- Other types of Cancer – Someone who has Finger clubbing can indicate that someone has cancer in their liver, intestines, or lymphatic system.
Does Finger Clubbing Stay Permanently?
The answer is not a definitive yes. It must still be consulted first with the doctor. Finger Clubbing varies from person to person.
The doctors can help you treat finger clubbing. If they can trace the root cause of the symptom.
For instance, a heart surgery can reverse the swelling caused by finger clubbing. In some cases, your fingers will return to their normal state if the organs are treated properly.
However, it can be permanent. Especially if you have a chronic condition.
This is the reason why early medical attention is vital to one’s health. Even if you did not experience finger clubbing, consulting a doctor is an essential step. They are the only professionals who can help you with that condition.
Ask for a medical check-up from your doctor. If you’re fingertips look unusual and puffy, they indicate something serious.
If you feel finger clubbing along with physical pain, it is better to consult with a different medical specialist to diagnose your condition better.
Conclusion
Finger clubbing is your body’s way of telling you that there’s something wrong. Your fingertips can indicate if you have serious liver, heart, lung, or organ complications.
Be calm in this situation, but don’t be confident in your health. Always check your fingers and nails often.
If you feel that you need a consultation or if you have finger clubbing signs, consult your doctor.
Monitor your health for early detection and treatment; this can save your life.
Always remember the power of your fingertips to detect an early disease. But also take care of your body.
Never disregard your body’s slow wake-up call.