Why do spots appear on nails?

Healthy nails appear pink in color, with a smooth, smooth surface and a slight natural shine. If they don't look right, this indicates a problem within the body or directly with the nails.

Changes in the color of the plate are called dyschromia in medicine. The color is distorted throughout the plate or in individual areas. Dyschromia of nails in the form of spots of white, red, yellow, blue, brown or black is more common. The reasons for their appearance are diseases of the liver, kidneys or heart, the influence of external factors, infections, and deterioration in the nutrition of the nail apparatus. Let's look at them in more detail depending on the color.

White

White spots or leukonychia are the most common type of dyschromia; they are usually not dangerous to health and are regarded as a temporary cosmetic defect. At least once in their lives, adults and children had white spots on their nails.

Why are they formed? Essentially, these are air bubbles trapped between the bed and the nail plate. At the site of the bubble, the nail retreats from the vascular skin, and a white spot appears on a pink background.

Leukonychia occurs in the form of dots, transverse stripes or wide spots.

The list of causes that causes it includes:

Allergy to nail polish, hardener, remover or other manicure products;
Fungal infection, white superficial onychomycosis. Initially, small white dots are visible, then the infection spreads to the entire plate. Nails peel, thicken, crumble;
Injuries to the plate or nail matrix. Impacts, pinching, injuries during manicure or pedicure, wearing artificial surfaces;
Lack of protein, zinc, calcium, iron in the body due to an unbalanced diet or metabolic disorders;
Tight shoes. This is the reason why white spots appear on the toenails;
Taking certain antimicrobial medications or treatment with chemotherapy drugs;
Heavy metal poisoning.

It is not always possible to determine the exact reason why white spots appear on the nails of the fingers or toes. To do this, it is better to contact specialists.

If the stain is only on one finger, then most likely the cause is injury. As the plate grows, it will move to the free edge and leave along with the cut part of it.

If there are a lot of spots, you need to go to the doctor, because it is a matter of systemic disorders. When poisoned or taking medications, leukonychia appears as long light transverse stripes. With onychomycosis, the boundaries of the spots are unclear.

The doctor will examine your fingers and prescribe additional tests. In case of a systemic disorder, the underlying disease is treated. If leukonychia is caused by side effects of medications, the doctor will recommend an alternative. For onychomycosis, the affected area is cleaned, and then fungicidal ointments or creams are applied daily. In case of nutrient deficiency, vitamin and mineral complexes are prescribed.

Reds

Red spots are one of the symptoms of disease or the result of the harmful influence of external factors.

Such changes cause:

Infective endocarditis or bacterial damage to the heart valves. During the disease, microthrombi form, which clog the capillaries in the area of the nail plate. Infective endocarditis appears as small red streaks, dots that resemble splinters;
Injuries that lead to local hemorrhage;
Psoriasis. This is an autoimmune pathology. Sometimes it manifests itself in the form of subungual hemorrhages, forming dark red spots;
Contact with aggressive household chemicals without protective gloves.

If there have been no injuries, to find out why there are red spots on the nails, it is better to go to the doctor.

For infective endocarditis or psoriasis, complex treatment is necessary. To confirm infective endocarditis, a blood test and an ECG and chest X-ray are done. To confirm psoriasis, the doctor will prescribe a blood test and carefully examine the formations on the skin and the condition of the nails. If necessary, a scraping will be taken for analysis.

Red spots on toenails are associated with severe hypertension, lung disease, and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Diagnostic methods

The diagnosis of subungual melanoma in the later stages is not difficult. Diagnosis at the initial stage, when there are no specific symptoms, is very difficult. Dermatologists at the Yusupov Hospital carry out differential diagnosis of subungual melanoma of the big toe with the following diseases:

Panaritium;
Fungal infection of the nail bed (onychomycosis);
Wart;
Subungual and subepidermal hematoma;
Nevus;
Cavernous thrombosed hemangioma.

The specific localization of the tumor process and its latency at the first stage make it difficult for the patient to visualize the tumor. Subungual melanoma is not visible in the photo at the beginning of the disease. Often the diagnosis is established already at the stage of vertical growth and the beginning of the spread of metastases.

Black

Black spots look very unattractive. They come in bright black or a desaturated shade.

Why do they appear?

Black spots on the fingernails or toenails are often caused by hematomas resulting from injuries. A blow with a heavy object, pinching or squeezing causes rupture of the vessels under the plate. The resulting blood becomes baked and turns dark burgundy or black. When pressing on the affected nail, pain is felt, which gradually subsides.

In addition to injuries, there are other reasons why black spots appear under the toenails or fingernails.

Among them:

Diseases of the heart and blood vessels;
Gastritis or peptic ulcer of the stomach or duodenum;
Eating too much medium-rare meat;
Lack of vitamins A, C, group B;
Impaired blood flow in the region of the brachial artery. At the same time, you feel unwell and weak in your hands;
Frequent use of decorative varnish in black or other rich dark shades, the coloring components of which penetrate into the structure of the plate;
Liver pathologies associated with contamination of the organ. Appear as small black dots;
Fungal infection (onychomycosis).

The cause may be a genetic factor. If your closest relatives have noticeable black stripes on their nails, then sometimes this defect is inherited.

If it is not a matter of injury, spots should not be left unattended or self-medicated. This is a serious reason to be wary and go to the doctor.

In addition to the reasons listed, they can be a sign of melanoma, a type of skin cancer. Especially if they occur simultaneously with skin rashes, multiple moles or papillomas.

Healthy nails

If a person has no health problems, then his nails look healthy. The appearance of healthy nails provides a smooth, even surface without roughness of uniform color throughout the entire plate, except for the lunula and the cut line. In addition, if the plate is not mechanically damaged, then it should have a slight shine. As for the shade of the nails, it should be light pink. If your nails do not meet any of these criteria, then most likely there are some problems in the body.

Among other things, it is necessary to pay attention not only to problems such as weakness and splitting of nails, which are very often considered exclusively a cosmetic defect. Specks, nets, irregularities and various types of plate deformations - all this can tell us about certain pathologies that prevent healthy nails from growing freely. The reason for such deviations may lie in certain diseases of the internal organs, or lie directly in impaired growth of the nail plate.

Yellow

Yellow spots on fingernails or toenails appear on one finger or several at once. Sometimes the entire plate turns yellow.

The reasons why yellow spots appear on nails can be harmless or dangerous to health. Harmless ones, for example, include the frequent use of decorative varnishes in bright, saturated colors - red, orange, yellow.

Nails turn yellow when safety precautions are violated when working with aggressive chemicals, paints, bleaches, and solvents. From constantly wearing gel polish and extended acrylic coatings. Artificial coatings interfere with air access and also contain harmful substances, which, when in contact with the plate for a long time, cause a number of changes.

Yellow spots on fingernails appear over time in smokers. Why? The fact is that nicotine and other harmful substances from tobacco smoke are absorbed into the structure of the plate. Usually the nails on the index and middle fingers of the hand with which a person holds a cigarette are affected.

Of the diseases, such a deviation is provoked by:

Psoriasis. With psoriasis, changes in the form of yellow spots and plate detachment appear even earlier than the characteristic skin rashes;
Fungal infection (athlete's foot, candidiasis, rubromycosis). In addition to the appearance of yellow spots, the nails become rough, flake, and peel;
Use of low-quality varnishes and means for their removal;
Diseases of the liver and gallbladder - stagnation of bile, hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, stones or other formations in the bile ducts. Lead to the accumulation of bile pigments in the nail bed area;
Diabetes;
Lymphedema or stagnation of lymphatic fluid. In this case, the toes are affected;
Carotenoderma, or yellow discoloration of the skin and nails due to excessive consumption of foods rich in carotenoids or due to impaired absorption of vitamin A.

Another cause of yellow spots is physiological age-related changes associated with the aging of the body, impaired blood circulation and nutrition in the tissues of the nail apparatus.

What to do if yellow spots appear on your nails? There are special products and bleaching compounds for camouflage. But before using them, we advise you to see a doctor.

Disease progression

In the initial stages, subungual melanoma has a limited size. Cancer cells have not yet affected other tissues and organs. The risk of further spread of the tumor process is low. If the tumor has not grown into the epithelial tissue, the person is diagnosed with stage zero melanoma. At the first stage of development of the pathological process, the thickness of the neoplasm does not exceed one millimeter. When the tumor thickness is up to 4 mm, the disease is at the second stage of development. At this stage there may be microscopic ulcerations. They are very dangerous: even one such cell located on a square millimeter can cause aggressive metastasis. At this stage of the disease, raised bumps may appear on the surface of the nail.

At the third stage of the tumor process, the thickness of the neoplasm exceeds 4 mm. Pathologically changed cells spread from the nail to the surrounding areas and lymph nodes that are nearby. Doctors at the Yusupov Hospital determine the presence of altered lymph nodes using a biopsy and histological examination.

At the fourth stage of development of the malignant process, melanoma cells begin to spread to other organs. Most often the liver, gastrointestinal tract, brain, and heart are affected. At this stage of the disease, the effectiveness of therapeutic measures does not exceed 10%.

With slow progression of melanoma, metastases appear at the most advanced stages. There is also a fulminant form of subungual melanoma, when metastases spread extremely quickly through the bloodstream to distant organs. The following signs indicate tumor metastasis:

Change in skin tone (it becomes dull, ashy);
The appearance of a noticeable compaction under the nail plate;
The nail is almost completely destroyed and bleeds;
Having a chronic cough;
Increased body temperature;
Development of seizures;
Enlargement and hardening of lymph nodes;
Loss of body weight.

Patients in the later stages of the tumor process develop cachexia. Patients in need of palliative care receive it at the Yusupov Hospital.

Blue

Blue spots, like black spots, most often appear due to injury. Even minor injuries that were not immediately noticed or quickly forgotten about cause the plate to turn blue.

Other reasons why blue spots form on nails are associated with diseases of the heart, blood vessels, and lungs, when the blood is poorly saturated with oxygen or the circulation in the extremities is impaired.

Deficiency of iron and vitamin B12 provokes blue nails due to the development of iron deficiency anemia.

The most dangerous cause of blue spots is a glomus tumor of the nail phalanx, which looks like a dark blue bruise. This is a serious lesion that requires surgery.

Brown

Why do brown spots appear on nails?

They talk about the following violations:

problems with the kidneys;
increased iron content in the blood;
hormonal imbalance, Addison's disease or adrenal insufficiency;
diabetes mellitus with complications in the form of trophic disorders;
fungal infection caused by trichophyton red;
long-term use of certain medications (zidovudine, gold preparations).

Various factors lead to spots on the nails of one color or another. It is impossible to competently understand this problem on your own. You need to consult a doctor, take additional tests, undergo examinations to understand why dark or light spots appear on your nails. For the health of nails and the whole body, it is important to eliminate the cause of the stains, and not to mask them with colored varnishes. And prevention requires proper care, proper nutrition and protection from harmful external influences.

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Recommendations and tips

Nail health depends on the individual. It is necessary to carefully monitor the condition of the nail plates. This will help to promptly identify hidden diseases that have affected the body.

In other situations, you can avoid the appearance of darkening on your nails if you follow the recommendations given by experts. Necessary:

Regularly care for your hands and feet and follow the rules of hygiene. This will help prevent the development of fungal nail infections.
Do a manicure (pedicure) using only an individual tool or a pre-processed one.
Visit the bathhouse (sauna) in rubber flip-flops. The same applies to the beach.
Strengthen your body without exhausting it with diets.
Learn how to choose the right shoes to avoid injury to your nails and fingers.
Work with chemicals using rubber gloves.
Give up the bad habit of biting your nails. This will help avoid unnecessary injuries, and therefore bruises.
When visiting the pool, use antifungal sprays. Use only a personal towel and shoes.
When in a public place, treat your hands with antiseptics.
To refuse from bad habits.
During seasonal temperature changes, lubricate the skin with a special nourishing cream, and do not neglect gloves.

Black dots on the nails are a sign that you should pay close attention to your own health. Such a symptom may indicate the occurrence of problems of both an external and internal nature. If darkening appears on your nails, you should consult a doctor.