vertical ridges on nails?

[happyjack12]

seem to have appeared over last few weeks...any ideas what causes them please?

Usually aging.

Sometimes it can be nail bed trauma - typing with long fingernails and repeatedly bashing them can also do it.

Interested in this too. My acupuncturist commented on mine but didn't say what the significance was. I'm 26 so I don't think it's age related and I haven't had trauma to every nail. It's only slight ridges. I am deficient in vit D and have just started on metformin for PCOS, will be interesting to see if they go.

I have these too and was told (by someone completely unqualified to do so) that it could be related to rheumatoid arthritis 😮

Medication could do that if you’re taking anything new?

I have these and was asked if I had a dairy allergy, which I do. I'm intolerant to lactose so tend to avoid dairy products.

My GP told me it was a form of eczema but didn't offer me any solution! I've read that B12 deficiency can also cause it.

I think it’s just one of those things. I have ridged nails, so does my mum. I’m not aware that either of us are deficient in anything and we both eat healthy, varied diets. The ridges have become more prominent as I’ve aged. You can get rid of them by buffing, but they obviously return as your nails grow.

I eat a lot of marmite so not B12 deficiency for me

Don't think it's RA because my blood test for that was negative.

I think it's genetic. Mine are the same as my mother's.

I've read on here that it was a sign of anaemia. I used to have it and it went away when I took iron supplements last year.

That's interesting about dairy intolerance. I have them and have just found out that I am. God I love cheese...so unfair.

I've got this - I'm definitely not lactose intolerant,don't have RA,but I do have eczema.There is nothing that looks at all eczema like near the nail beds though.
I'd thought it was age,but I hate it as unless I'm very careful my nails split along the ridges.
If anyone has any tips to stop it I'd be so grateful!

Had it all my adult life, just like others in my family. No vitamin deficiency.

Rubbing cuticle oil on my nails helps with the ridges.

think I'll start a multi vitamin and mineral tablet and see how it goes.

JaneJeffer even if your bloods are negative for the RA factor you can still have it - it's called Sero-Negative RA.

rightknockered me too, it's a bummer. I can tolerate a little goats' or sheep's cheese occasionally.

That's interesting scar.

I have it too unfortunately after wear geltips for 15 years.

Another RA sufferer here who noticed these appear a couple of months before being diagnosed

I have had them since my mid-twenties. No RA as far as I know but was told it could be related! Prone to dermatitis and skin issues though and also dairy intolerant. I have noticed they have reduced substantially by taking supplements (calcium and zinc - I want to add some selenium I think)

I had these but I was pretty deficient on every vitamin going for a while back. So assumed it was that!

I have them too. I am fairly sure I am not lactose intolerant, although I do eat very little dairy because I don't really like it - my sister IS lactose intolerant and has IBD, no idea what her nails are like. I have a really healthy diet and am careful to make sure I get all nutrients (supplement anything I might struggle to get through diet). I too have been tested for RA and it came back negative, but during that round of tests I was diagnosed with benign joint hypermobility syndrome (similar to ehler's danlos, which more people have heard of - it is a milder version though), which is all linked to connective tissues - I have wondered whether there is a link there.