Here’s What It Means if You Have Tiny White Specks on Your Nails – Dermatologists Reveal
Most people may have noticed tiny white spots on their nails at some point. Dermatologists suggest the white spots called leukonychia could or could not be a cause for concern, but a simple test can check for that. There are two types of leukonychia– true leukonychia is the white spots on the nail plate and apparent leukonychia that refers to the spots that seem to appear on the nail plate but are actually present on the nail bed skin. These spots usually disappear when pressed on the nail for this type, per a report by Reader’s Digest.
Chris G Adigun, MD, FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist, said white spots are more often than not a sign of trauma. It indicates that nail-making tissue under the skin may have been under stress or interrupted by accidental damage. For instance, your nail got stuck between doors, or you banged it on the cabinet. However, the white spots caused by these accidents would not appear instantly but rather months later. The North Carolina-based dermatologist revealed, “By the time you see any kind of change in your nails, the event that caused it actually happened months before.”
Other times, true leukonychia indicates poisoning from heavy metals or arsenic that cause Mees lines that appear as parallel white bands on the nail plates. Doctor Ivy Lee, MD, a dermatologist from Pasadena, California, pointed out that the above said is rare nowadays and true leukonychia is mostly “benign” these days. She is also an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at UCLA. Some types of fungus also attack nail plates causing them to appear white with powdery spots that resemble true leukonychia. They do not disappear when applied pressure on the nail and exhibit distinct characteristics.
“You can almost scrape it out from the fingernail,” Dr. Adigun disclosed. There are also cases when nail spots show symptoms of skin cancer. Manicurist Jean Skinner talked about a client with a “dark vertical stripe down her nail” which they wanted to cover up with a dark nail polish. The expert was immediately concerned for her client as she suggested that it was possibly a symptom of melanoma. Subungual melanoma is a skin cancer that occurs under the nail and affects 0.7 to 3.5% of people with melanoma, according to the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Though uncommon, the dark stripe in the nail is a stark indication of the disease spreading into the lymph nodes, per The Healthy.
Now, apparent leukonychia can oftentimes be concerning. There are two common types– Terry’s nails which appear completely white and Lindsay’s nails which are white on the bottom and reddish brown on top. They are also called half-and-half nails. The report suggests that both types are symptoms of health issues related to the kidney, liver, or heart because the diseases also affect the veins in the fingertips making the nails appear whiter than usual. A simple press on the nail will prove if it is an apparent or true leukonychia. If upon pressing the nail, the white spots disappear or change color, it is evident that the nail bed skin is affected and might be linked to a serious issue. These are usually symptoms that develop at a later stage of a disease and are often used as a diagnostic clue.