Well kept and manicure nails make one’s hands look polished and elegant, but sometimes having great looking nails is either difficult or not possible for patients suffering from psoriasis.  This skin disease can also cause problems with the patient’s nail bed presenting as pitting in the actual nail, thick and discolored nails, and or separation of the nail from the nail bed.  For patients who experience nail pitting, one way to improve the nails’ aesthetic appearance is to use nail polish.  Even men can benefit from this approach by using a non-shiny clear coat on the nail.  While thick and discolored nails can be treated with cortisone injections around the nail bed, this is a very painful approach. If the patient’s psoriasis is treated with a biologic agent or oral medication, sometimes the biologics helps to clear the patient’s nails too.  The key here is patience because it can take as long as six months for nails to fully regenerate themselves.  Finally, for patients who experience nail bed separation, it’s imperative to keep the nails trimmed short and clean.  At West Houston Dermatology we strive to support our psoriasis patients in any way possible. Sometimes we try to pass along helpful suggestions from other patients that we feel might benefit others.  If you have a good nail suggestion for our psoriasis patients, please feel free to share it with our staff.