The nail bed supports the hard part of your nail as it grows.
It includes the hyponychium and the onychodermal.
These are layers of tissue that prevent pathogens from infecting the skin underneath your nail plate.
Nails also consists of the nail matrix.
This part of the nail produces new nail plate cells.
Healthy fingernails are smooth, without pits or grooves.
They're uniform in color and consistency and free of spots or discoloration.
Sometimes fingernails develop harmless vertical ridges that run from the cuticle to the tip of the nail.
Vertical ridges tend to become more prominent with age.
After a nail separates from the nail bed for whatever reason, it will not reattach.
A new nail will have to grow back in its place.
Nails grow back slowly.
It takes about 6 months for a fingernail and up to 18 months for a toenail to grow back.
Nail bed injuries can occur many ways.
Often, they happen when your nail's caught between two objects or hit by something heavy, such as being slammed in a door, having something being dropped on it, or being hit by a hammer.
They can also be caused by cuts, such as from a knife or a saw.
You can often treat a minor nail bed injury at home by:
Removing all jewelry.
Washing the injured area gently with fragrance-free soap.
Bandaging the injury gently, if there is an open wound.
Applying an ice pack for about 20 minutes at a time.
Elevating the injured hand or foot.