What Do White Spots On Your Nails Mean

In this image you can see the fingers are also jaundiced another sign of liver trouble.

Most white lines on nails are harmless and should be of no concern. By the time the white spot shows up about six weeks after the injury you ve probably forgotten all about banging or knocking your fingers. However if you have similar lines on many nails or a pair of lines that runs all the way across the nail these could be an indication of a more serious underlying condition. For the most part those white spots are nothing to worry about.

The cause for the white spots on your nail may dictate how the spots appear. Most of the time the white spots simply are a sign of some past injury to the matrix base of your nails. Most white lines on nails are harmless and should be of no concern. If all of the nails are white or partially whitened it usually means that a systemic problem is occurring.

In more advanced cases it can spread on to. With true leukonychia the white areas remain unaffected when pressure is put on them. When you bang your nail on a cabinet by accident the nail making tissue under your skin gets interrupted says chris g adigun md. Only about 1 percent of all melanomas in caucasians occur in the nail but if you re african american 20 percent of melanomas start there rich said.

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These types of spots often develop near the cuticle or at the tip of the nail rather than in the middle. An allergic reaction may cause several dots all. White nails may be all white or partially white depending on the cause. If your entire nail turns white it could mean something like heart disease or diabetes and if your white mark stretches across the whole nail it could mean that you ve been poisoned.

White spots can also be a sign that your nail is suffering from an infection such as a fungus yeast or mold. A single fingernail that turns white may indicate an issue with that specific finger. If the nails are mostly white with darker rims this can indicate liver problems such as hepatitis. When the white spot or line is caused by damage to the nail the condition is known as true leukonychia.

As these spots grow out it can cause the nail to flake or split as well. A nail injury may cause a large white dot in the middle of the nail.