Why do we have nails?

Most of us have already wondered why we have hair or why we have belly buttons, but have we ever questioned; why do we have nails? Ever since we are babies, our fingertips are already covered with hard surface covering that are commonly called as nails. These nails are there for a reason, but the question is, what is that reason? Here are some of the answers as well as theories as to why we have nails on our fingers and our toes.

There are actually already a lot of speculations and theories as to why we are given nails on the tip of our toes and fingers. Some experts believe that since we are classified under the kingdom Animalia, these nails are the replacement of claws in other animals. As we can see, animals use their claws in order to attack their prey or even do about their daily routine of running, climbing, burrowing or even scratching. However, unlike animals, we, humans do not use our nails in such similar ways. We are even accustomed to having then trimmed in order to make it less sharp and a lot more pleasant to look at. Because of this, other people have concluded that nails are present in order to provide its main purpose and that is to cover the nail beds. However, many doctors and experts disagree with this theory since people who lost their nails have been shown to have tougher and thicker nail beds. They have even concluded that the nail beds become very thin due to the presence of our nails.

Nevertheless, fingernails and toenails are always there for a purpose. Even though we cannot pinpoint exactly what its functions are, we can still say that they are very helpful or useful. Whenever we feel something itchy on our skin, we always use our nails to scratch it. Aside from this, our nails are also used in dealing with other things such as peeling fruits, opening small things or removing small or minute particles. Our nails are also very useful in untying knots and other small variety of tasks. Just like what apes do with their nails, they are also utilizing it in order to get very tiny particles or things such as their body lice.

We humans are also fond of using our nails in adding extra grip on things and as well as for tearing or ripping. It is strategically placed on our fingertips since these portions of our body are the ones that are commonly used in a lot of activities. As we can see, these nails are very useful even in small things; however, we could not disregard these small things since they could also affect us a lot (imagine scratching a very itchy portion of our skin without our fingernails!). In addition to this, nails are also made up just like our hair, which is made primarily from a protein called keratin. Basing on this fact alone, taking care of our nails is just as important as taking care of our hair.

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