Moo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oonin' over you-ou.

December 13, 2005 4:19 PM

So I don't have any lunulae (half-moons) anymore. What's up with that?

I am female, and I grow my nails. I paint them rarely (like once a year) and I've never worn fake nails. I have no clubbing. My nails have always been (and are still) extremely thick and strong and not at all prone to breaking. When I was a kid, my nails had lots of strong ridges along the length, but I outgrew that by the age of 10 or 12. If I press down on a nail until it turns white, full circulation returns in about a second and a half. The base of my nails is a purple that shades to very pale near-white at the top (still under where the actual white of the nail begins). Neither nails nor lunulae have ever been blue, azure, red, yellow, or any other interesting colors, and my lunulae have never been triangular (you get a lot of both of these if you do lunulae-health-type Googling).

I would never have thought missing lunulae were a problem, but my coworker noticed today and was joking around, giving me a hard time about it. I know I used to have lunulae -- they used to be medium-large -- so should I be concerned that I don't anymore? I don't know when they disappeared, but I don't have any on any fingers anymore. If I shove my cuticles all the way down, I can see a sliver of lunulae only on my thumbs.

Probably not-very-good sources tell me that this could point to a lot of problems, including low chi and cancer (that last is a .pdf). I am not inclined to take them seriously, especially because the former site says it's a breathing problem and I'm a classical singer who diaphragm-breathes like whoa. But I've been looking at everyone else's fingernails today, and everyone else does have lunulae.

What gives?

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (37 answers total)

My sister and I have small, square hands and small nails. From childhood, we have had lunulae only on our thumbs, and not at all on any fingers unless we religiously push back our cuticles. Even then they're tiny and disappear quickly without maintenance. We're still breathing and cancer-free, thank goodness, in our early forties.

I have never heard of anyone who had them actually losing them before, so I hope someone can clear that up for you.
posted by maudlin at 4:56 PM on December 13, 2005

This page makes reference to "decreased or absent altogether" lunulae, and cites:

Cohen PR. The lunula. J Am Acad Dermatol 1996;34:943-53.      

Lewis BL, Montgomery H. The senile nail. J Invest Dermatol 1955;24:11-8.

Someone go dig those up plskthxbye.
posted by trevyn at 4:57 PM on December 13, 2005

IANAD yada yada yada. I too only have them on my thumbs, and I used to have them on all of my fingers. I hardly ever use nail polish and don't use fake nails. I too 'have no clubbing', if that means what I think it means. What about your toenails? I just checked mine and all the half moons are gone.

From what I've been told, having them only on your thumbs or having them disappear entirely is a sign of fibromyalgia, but who knows? I don't have fibromyalgia. I'd run this by a doctor. But try not to obsess over it - mine disappeared about 10 years ago and I'm fine.
posted by iconomy at 5:02 PM on December 13, 2005

I'm twenty, male, and have relatively large hands.

I only have them on my thumbs and middle fingers.

Um, and I never knew about them before, but thanks for giving me cancer.

In all seriousness, I can't imagine being concerned about a lack of them nearly as, say, bright green or some other fluorescent color coming from beneath your nails.

Maybe you could get lunulae transplants...
posted by disillusioned at 5:26 PM on December 13, 2005

while all of AskMe checks its nails... hmmm, time for a manucure for seawall!

I still have my half-moons, despite having mistreated my nails in the most horrible of ways - rock climbing, fake nails (gel, then acrylic), torn off nails from canoeing, ingrown nails from bad management of regrowing nails.

Really, anonymous, there's nothing to worry about if your half-moons are gone, or not. If you are really, really worried, then get a full blood test with your GP next time you go for a full annual check up. You might find that all is well, or you might find that you have to add a vitamin here or a mineral there.

But really - don't obsess over something that may prove to be an insignificant change.
posted by seawallrunner at 5:28 PM on December 13, 2005

Um, and I never knew about them before, but thanks for giving me cancer.

Ditto!!!! Another thing to freak out about.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:46 PM on December 13, 2005 [1 favorite]

I don't have any visible lunulae, and my nails are otherwise pink, healthy, and strong. I don't paint them or get them manicured or anything -- I just keep them clipped as short as possible and then forget about them for a week. Whole milk is my beverage of choice. My nails look pretty good to me.

Is it really that weird to not have lunulae? I never would have noticed, had I not read this post.
posted by Marit at 5:55 PM on December 13, 2005

Whoa. Where did mine go??? And when??
posted by CunningLinguist at 5:55 PM on December 13, 2005

I always wondered why I don't seem to have any (though I swear I remember having them as a kid). Now I've got another body part to get paranoid about!
posted by Orrorin at 6:03 PM on December 13, 2005

I have 6/10th of mine. Oddly the ones missing are the ones I bite the least (also have the tightest cuticles, probably because of lack of said biting).
posted by artifarce at 6:04 PM on December 13, 2005

I would love to know what your co-worker said about your half moonlessness. Was she lording her lunulae over you?
posted by iconomy at 6:10 PM on December 13, 2005

Wow, I only have one on my left thumb. I seem to remember having them at one point, but I don't look at my fingers often. It seems pretty normal not to have them...

...or maybe it's a sign of the apocalypse.
posted by muddgirl at 6:12 PM on December 13, 2005

So I got curious -- I couldn't find full texts of the articles trevyn mentioned, but I did find the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology & Venereology, which had an interesting letter regarding lunulae.

But.

Good God. Don't go looking at dermatology journals right before you plan on eating strawberry cheesecake. Okay? Okay.
posted by Marit at 6:12 PM on December 13, 2005

What everyone else said. I only have them on my thumbs.
posted by matildaben at 6:26 PM on December 13, 2005

I have them only on my thumbs. I know I had them on the rest of my fingers but I don't have a clue when they disappeared. It never occurred to me to be concerned.
posted by deborah at 6:44 PM on December 13, 2005

Add me to the list of (probably mostly male) readers that did a collective "what the [bleep] is a lunulae".

visual aid
posted by Rhomboid at 6:55 PM on December 13, 2005

I'm a female reader, and I've never heard of a lunulae until now. I apparently have six out of 10. Lunulae on my thumbs and the two closest fingers, not on my pinkie or ring fingers. I can't say that I care, or that I'd let a coworker make me feel insecure about them.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 7:15 PM on December 13, 2005

I have lunulae on both thumbs and index fingers and one middle finger ("lunula this!") and will swear that I used to have ten. I blame it on co-workers.
posted by TimeFactor at 7:40 PM on December 13, 2005

I have them on all ten fingers, and both big toes. I do not have them on any of my smaller toes, and I swear I used to at one point. The ones on my non-thumb fingers end with a straight line, not a curve.

Then I went and interrupted my boyfriend and checked his nails. After looking, I explained. He thinks I'm crazy now. He doesn't have them anywhere, and claims he never has. (Anon, his feet are mildly frightening, so I want you to know this was no small thing I did.)
posted by cmyk at 8:03 PM on December 13, 2005

BTW, why is this anonymous?
posted by TimeFactor at 8:15 PM on December 13, 2005

BTW, why is this anonymous?

I don't get it either.
posted by 6550 at 9:05 PM on December 13, 2005

BTW, why is this anonymous?

she doesn't want anyone to know the real reason why she's typing in the office with gloves on

i only have them on my thumbs
posted by pyramid termite at 9:10 PM on December 13, 2005

I can tell you this much: it's definitely not low chi. I would not worry about that at all; ignore all diagnoses along that line.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 10:13 PM on December 13, 2005

Very strange question. I too remember having them everywhere because I recall learning the word and thinking "oh, so thats what all these things are called"

Of course I just checked and they're all gone on my fingers. Even checked my toes and it looks like my big toes still have them but not the others. So I wouldnt be inclined to worry. This seems like one of those cases where the Internet is alarmist in that brief googling seems to indicate I may have diabetes or tubercolosis or heart failure. Meh.
posted by vacapinta at 10:19 PM on December 13, 2005

Not to get racial or anything, but word was, in the community of peckerwoods where I grew up, Black people didn't have moons. Years later, a lot of careful observation has proven this to be untrue.

I (still) have 'em on my fingers, thumbs and big toes.
posted by Rash at 11:14 PM on December 13, 2005

I don't have them on my pinkies, and just barely have them on my ring fingers.

And yeah, time for a manicure.
posted by cactus at 11:32 PM on December 13, 2005

According to the full text of this article (which is unfortunatley not free), 23% of patients entering a hospital have no lunalle on 6 or more fingers. The only thing they found this to be correlated with was age, so I'd say you are safe for now.
posted by scodger at 1:33 AM on December 14, 2005

When I was a kid I was told that the amount and size you have correlated to the amount of calcium intake. More calcium = more pronounced half moons etc. I have nothing to back this up but seeing as I'm now not a big milk drinker this could make sense as they have seriously disappeared in my adult life and now only have them on my thumbs and forefingers. Never noticed them on my toes as a kid so I'm not going to check now :)
posted by floanna at 6:26 AM on December 14, 2005

I have them on all fingers, but I see now that my pinky ones are nearly gone.

I won't give the circumstance, but a quack once grabbed my hands and declared that I had the biggest lunalle she'd ever seen. She said that the 'Ancient Chinese' believed that they were indications of 'personal energy' and I must be the most energetic person ever.
posted by unixrat at 7:16 AM on December 14, 2005

BTW, why is this anonymous?
Because she/he's in fear of all the anti-lunulaeites here!

I have them on both thumbs, small ones on five other fingers, and none on three others. I am a freak.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 7:51 AM on December 14, 2005

Whoa. Where did mine go??? And when??

count me as another who never would have noticed - but I only seem to have them on my thumbs now. How weird. anyone know what they are, anyway? I mean, what causes them/ etc
posted by mdn at 9:33 AM on December 14, 2005

This is the best link I've found to explain what parts of nails are, specifically the lunalae. Apparently the lunalae are the front end of the nail matrix (which is mainly behind the nail, and under the skin). The whiteness comes from the keratin-producing cells not being quite flattened yet, and hence are opaque rather than just showing the blood cells underneath (yes, I just realized that our pretty pink nails are so because it's BLOOD!).
posted by artifarce at 5:37 PM on December 14, 2005

Well, uh, I read the blood part, but now I'm wondering if there's any part of the nail that's covering actual blood rather than skin. I guess that's easy to determine - people who aren't white, aka pink, have nail colors relative to their skin. So forget the blood part.
posted by artifarce at 5:40 PM on December 14, 2005

Pooh! Now that everybody is looking at their hands, who's got hair on the second joint of their fingers (that's the joint in the middle)?

Bonus points if anybody knows why this is significant.

(Yes, it is significant, but not concerning health. Answer is available in high school biology classes in states that don't start with K.)
posted by warbaby at 5:47 AM on January 7, 2006

Bonus points if anybody knows why this is significant.

You might have a werewolf in the wood pile?

I'm guessing that Cosmopolitan or Allure is going to come out with a "Take Our Lunale Test," or possibly "50 Things Your Lunulae Say About You!" or maybe even "25 Tips For Making Your Lunulae Bigger."

Me? 5 out of 5 for fingers. My toe nails are covered in red nail polish so they will just have to remain a mystery.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 9:37 AM on January 7, 2006

i had always heard it was about your diet and circulation--weird.

I'm sure i had all 10 too, but now just on thumbs and first 2 fingers--on both hands.

No hair on my second joints, but i know that's from our monkey heritage--when they loped or ran along the ground that's the area that they used to push off from, no?
posted by amberglow at 11:32 AM on January 7, 2006

Hair on the second joint is a sex-linked inheritable characteristic. You have hairy second joints if and only if your father has hairy second joints.
posted by warbaby at 1:53 PM on January 7, 2006