Nails

Does UC, or possibly the meds, affect your nails? My nails are so brittle and break, split or snag so easily anymore. I keep them fairly short. Or maybe it's just the effects of aging in general. I take biotin but doesn't seem to really help. Just wondering about experience of others.
Thanks.

No, they have never been thin. They've been getting more brittle over the last few yrs but seem worse over the last few months.

I take multiple supplements but not a multi-vitamin.

I see that you were also on Cortenemas? Steroids can also cause brittle nails. Are you still on them? Did the thinning of the nails coincide with the Cortenemas usage?

What dose of Biotin do you take? I found that anything less than 5mgs or 5,000mcgs don't work very well. I take 5mgs daily to help with deep horizontal ridges due to nail psoriasis.

Try upping it to 5,000mcg's and see if that helps. Biotin is non-toxic and whatever your body doesn't need will be flushed away when you use the bathroom.

Faithmac, I also thought lines/ridges in your nails can be from cuticle damage?

It depends on the ridges tho. Vertical ridges are pretty typical in many people and is more common as we age. If the vertical ridges are extremely high, then it might mean a deficiency.

However, it is not normal to have horizontal ridges. Horizontal ridges can come from damage to the nail bed, diseases, or vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Like for instance, I use Biotin for my nail psoriasis but not for the cuticles, for the deep horizontal ridges that I get in my nails due to cuticle damage.