What causes purple fingernails?

Blue fingernails or purple nail beds can be a sign of various disorders and should be checked out. In the case of Raynaud's disease, the fingers and toes blanch, then turn blue and may become numb or painful upon exposure to cold. read more

The main cause of a purple tinge in fingernails is low oxygen levels in the blood. This can be caused by poor circulation, as well as habits that inhibit oxygen absorption such as smoking. A single fingernail may also become purple if it has been injured, indicating a bruise underneath the nail. read more

For instance, emphysema causes breathing problems much earlier than it does clubbed nails. An illness may cause nail changes in some people but not in others. Not everyone with liver disease will develop white nails, for example -- and not everyone with white nails has liver disease. read more

Your nails, both fingers and toes, can tell you a lot about your health. So if you have purple nail beds, it could be a sign of an underlying problem. In a healthy person, nails should be light pink. If they aren’t that color, then you need to look more into the situation. read more