Put two fingers together. A simple test can reveal heart disease, liver disease, and lung cancer

Bring the fingernails of the index fingers together with the highest joints (as if you were placing your palms in the sign of the heart). What you see? If you can see a diamond-shaped slit (the so-called Schamroth sign), that’s fine. If not, you’d better schedule an appointment with your doctor. Lack of this space may indicate some congenital heart disease, liver disorders, and even lung cancer. How it’s possible?

1. If during the Schamroth window test you cannot see the space between the nail plates of the fingers of both hands, this may indicate changes leading to the so-called stick fingers
2. Band fingers are found in certain lung diseases, such as lung cancer, lung abscess, pulmonary fibrosis, and bronchiectasis
3. This deformity also develops in some congenital heart diseases and liver disorders
4. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

The Schamroth window test – what is it and what does it show?

The activity described above is the Schamroth window test. “It is used by doctors as a partial method of confirming ailments, but it can also be done on its own – it only takes a few seconds,” explained Cancer Nurse Emma Norton in the Huffington Post a few years ago.

To perform this test, place the fingernails of both hands together, along with the highest interphalangeal joint. These can be index fingers, but also thumbs, ring fingers, etc. We arrange them as if we were to form the top of the heart with them. When you do this, you should see a diamond-shaped “window” between your fingernails and the uppermost joints of your fingers. If your fingernails are fully seated together, you may have a so-called stick fingers (also known as Hippocratic fingers or drummer fingers).

The tips of the stick fingers are thicker than the rest of the fingers, and the nail plate adjusts to their shape and begins to resemble a watch glass. So the nails are not only enlarged, but also clearly rounded. This type of deformity develops slowly (it can take years), so initial changes may not be noticeable. Redness and softening of the nail bed (soft skin under the nails) may signal the beginning of the process. The Schamroth window test described above is also a good test.

Rod-shaped fingers are a signal of serious diseases, including lung cancer

Rod fingers are formed when the amount of soft tissue under the nail beds increases. The condition does not require treatment, but can be a signal of a health problem. These changes appear in some lung diseases, such as lung cancer, lung abscess, pulmonary fibrosis, and bronchiectasis (not associated with pneumonia and asthma).

According to MyLungCancerTeam (a social network supporting people with lung cancer and their relatives), 80 percent. In cases, the stick fingers are caused by this tumor (it may be related to low oxygen levels, and the tumors are suspected to produce hormones that cause fluid to accumulate). Rod fingers are also found in some congenital heart disease and liver disorders. Of course, it can also be an inherited trait, not related to any disorder.

Rod fingers can be a temporary or long-term (even permanent) symptom, depending on the cause. If you notice any changes in the shape of the nails as described above, swelling in your fingertips, or you do not see a gap between the nail plates during the Schamroth test, see your GP. The tests ordered by him will make it possible to diagnose or rule out diseases that may cause deformation of the fingers.