Nailfold Capillaroscopy

Once upon a time, checking your circulation meant cold fingers, vague guesses, and maybe a “you’ll be fine” from your doctor. But modern medicine has a new trick up its sleeve - capillaroscopy. If you're someone who likes answers (especially the non-invasive kind), capillaroscopy might be your new favourite test.

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 This painless, non-invasive technique lets you take a very close look at the tiny blood vessels (capillaries) near your nailbeds. Why? Because those little loops and twists can tell you a lot about what’s going on inside your body - especially when it comes to autoimmune and connective tissue conditions. Originally developed to help identify diseases like systemic sclerosis (say that five times fast), capillaroscopy has become a helpful way to spot early signs of:
 

• Raynaud’s phenomenon

• Lupus

• Dermatomyositis

• Mixed connective tissue disease

• And more conditions with names that barely fit on a lab report
   

With the help of a microscope or specialised camera, you can see whether your capillaries are healthy, a little bit unusual, or waving red flags. Abnormal shapes, missing loops, or micro-bleeds? These could be signs that your immune system is up to something sneaky.

 

Curious? Head to scholar.google.com and search “nailfold capillaroscopy” to dig into the science for yourself. It's your body - and sometimes, the tiniest blood vessels can tell you the biggest stories.