What causes brown lines on fingernails?
Melanonychia is caused when the pigment cells, called melanocytes, deposit melanin brown-colored pigment into the nail. These deposits are usually grouped together. As your nail grows, it causes the stripe of brown or black to appear on your nail.
What deficiency causes brown nail lines?
Melanonychia can be caused by inflammatory skin diseases that affect your nails. It can also be caused by inflammation due to friction from shoes and biting your nails. Poor nutrition. Malnutrition can cause melanonychia, especially a lack of protein, vitamin D, or vitamin B12.
Should I worry about melanonychia?
Melanonychia is a very worrisome entity for most patients. It is characterized by brownish black discoloration of nail plate and is a common cause of nail plate pigmentation. The aetiology of melanonychia ranges from more common benign causes to less common invasive and in situ melanomas.
What do lines on your nails mean?
Fingernails: Possible problems Beau’s lines are indentations that run across the nails. The indentations can appear when growth at the area under the cuticle is interrupted by injury or severe illness.
Is melanonychia reversible?
It is usually fully reversible, but can take six weeks or more to resolve. Melanonychia is an uncommon side effect of hydroxyurea; reported rarely in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (2.32%).
What do nails look like with anemia?
Spoon nails (koilonychia) are soft nails that look scooped out. The depression usually is large enough to hold a drop of liquid. Often, spoon nails are a sign of iron deficiency anemia or a liver condition known as hemochromatosis, in which your body absorbs too much iron from the food you eat.
Can melanonychia turn into melanoma?
There are times melanonychia is so egregious that it can only be melanoma. A wide, deeply pigmented band with irregular lines and pigmented extension onto the periungual tissues is nearly pathognomonic for melanoma.
How long does it take for melanonychia to go away?
In the majority of iatrogenic melanonychia cases, the pigmentation develops 3-8 weeks after the initiation of treatment and fades away 6-8 weeks following treatment cessation [3].
Can melanonychia spread?
For example, if the melanonychia is malignant, it could spread and affect other parts of the body, leading to severe health issues. Some causes of melanonychia can lead to the nail becoming deformed, which people may find concerning or bothersome.
What vitamin deficiency causes lines in nails?
Our nails naturally develop slight vertical ridges as we age. However, severe and raised ridges can be a sign of iron deficiency anemia. Nutritional deficiencies, such as a lack of vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin B12 or keratin can result in fingernail ridges. Hormonal changes can also cause ridges to appear.
What causes longitudinal melanonychia?
Longitudinal melanonychia can result from an overproduction of melanin (skin pigment) or an increase in melanocytes (pigment cells). These increases in melanin or melanocytes can occur for many reasons ranging from harmless growths to injuries, infections, or cancer.