Ridges are very common with nails, and thus, are experienced by a lot of people. They are known to be resulted from various causes, from some trauma to the nails and nail beds to the natural process of aging that we all are going to experience. There are two types of nail ridges, according to various studies—the vertical and the horizontal ones. While vertical nail ridges are commonly harmless and triggered by aging, horizontal nail ridges may convey different messages.

What horizontal toenail ridge means

You might not spend a lot of time paying attention to the toenails, although some changes on them, including toenail discoloration may convey a significant information about your health status. Horizontal ridges that occur on your toenails is known as the beau’s lines. It can be caused by severe injury to the toenail, chemotherapy, or certain medications. If you have experienced a trauma that involved the nail and its nail bed, beau’s line should not indicate any severe problems, other than traumatized wound. However, toenail ridges might also be accompanied by the depression of the nail, which is more serious. This commonly indicates the presence of severe conditions that disrupt the growth plate of the nail, such as heart diseases, diabetes, malnutrition, infection, and mineral deficiency. Dented toenail ridges may be located along the nail plate, and you can probably have more than one dents on your toenail.

How to get rid of horizontal toenail ridges

Toenail ridges may tempt you to do some nail buffing. However, this is not an advised treatment to do with any toenail ridges, as it may weaken the nails. Excessive buffing may even cause the nail to split, resulting in ripped nail or complete nail detachment. There are some considerations to take if you notice some developed horizontal toenail ridges, especially the dented ones:

• Dented horizontal toenail ridges develop commonly as an indication of some health issues. To check, pay attention to what your body is telling you. If you are experiencing some other symptoms, such as prolonged fatigue, difficulty to concentrate, rashes, or fever, you might have developed some health problems, such as high cholesterol, heart diseases, diabetes, or liver problems. Talk to a doctor if you are not sure about the potential health problem.
• Most horizontal toenail ridges are also associated to mineral and vitamin deficiency. Therefore, to get rid of this ridge, start to fulfil your body need of vitamins and minerals by maintaining your diet. Eat more raw nuts, vegetables, and fruits to provide sufficient amount of beneficial nutrients.
• Exercising regularly also helps get rid of horizontal toenail ridges, as this contributes to various illness prevention. Do some cardiovascular exercises and strength training to maintain your hearth health and cholesterol level.
• If you are suffering from non-dented horizontal toenail ridge, instead of buffing it, try to add some moisture to the affected nails. You can apply some moisturizing cream to help aiding sufficient moisture to the nails and soften the area around the nail to prevent hang nails. This will improve the dark fine lines that run across the nail plate.
• Horizontal toenail ridges can also be removed by wearing well-fitting shoes. Too-tight shoes may lead to nail bed injury, which may eventually appear as the dark fine lines on the nail plate known as these beau’s lines. If you are a runner, wearing well-fitting and breathable running shoes is highly recommended in order to get rid of existing toenail ridges as well as prevent it from occurring in the future.