Table of Contents
What causes vertical brown lines on fingernails?
Melanonychia is caused when the pigment cells, called melanocytes, deposit melanin into the nail. Melanin is a brown colored pigment. These deposits are usually grouped together. As your nail grows, it causes the stripe of brown or black to appear on your nail.
What vitamin deficiency causes brown lines in fingernails?
According to research published in The Journal of Family Practice in 2012, vitamin B12 deficiency can affect nails by turning them entirely blue, or causing blueish-black pigment with “wavy longitudinal dark streaks, brownish network like pigmentation and longitudinal darkened streaks”.
What does dark lines in your fingernails mean?
Another cause of black lines on the nails is a splinter hemorrhage, which occurs when blood vessels under the fingernail are damaged, often due to injuries, such as hitting. More seriously, a black line or lines on the nails can indicate the presence of melanoma, a dangerous form of skin cancer.
What does Melanonychia look like?
Melanonychia is a brown or black color in your nail. It can affect your fingernails or toenails. It can be in one nail, a few nails, or all of your nails.
What does Brown nails indicate?
If you have brown fingernails and the discoloration is round, as opposed to linear, it could be another condition. For example, brown spots on nails, especially if they’re pitted, could be a sign of nail psoriasis. Course of action: Get any brown pigmentation on your nail checked out by a dermatologist.
Can B12 deficiency affect your nails?
Both iron and B12 are necessary for keeping nails strong and healthy. A deficiency in vitamin B12 can result in entirely blue nails, bluish-black pigments with wavy longitudinal dark streaks and brownish pigmentation ( 5 , 6 ).
What are Muehrcke’s lines?
Muehrcke lines are multiple transverse white linear bands parallel to the lunula of the fingernail. They represent an apparent leukonychia as they result from an abnormality in the vasculature of the nail bed. This activity reviews the etiology, evaluation, and treatment of patients with this condition.
What is the vertical brown line under finger nail?
“If you notice a vertical brown line on a fingernail or toenail, do not ignore,” begins Kally Papantoniou, MD, FAAD, with Simply Dermatology in NY. Dr. Kally, as she is known by her patients, continues: “This can represent a benign mole that is occurring within the nail bed or nail matrix where the nail is being formed, but it takes a professional to distinguish the features of a benign vs. malignant growth.”
What causes vertical black lines on fingernails?
Black lines that appear under fingernails and toenails in most circumstances is a splinter or fingernail hemorrhage. They are thin vertical lines that develop under the nail as a result of splinter hemorrhages.
What do horizontal lines on your fingernails mean?
These white, horizontal lines on nails are a sign of low protein levels in your blood. They can occur due to health problems like malnutrition or liver disease. In most cases, ridges on your nails are a sign of more severe issues.
What do vertical ridges on all fingernails signify?
In the eyes of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), vertical ridges on the nails may indicate malabsorption of nutrients from food (which most likely stems from poor digestion). As nails receive less and less nutrition, they may become pale and ridged.