Leukonychia

Leukonychia
ICD-10	L60
ICD-9	703
OMIM	151600
DiseasesDB	7207
MedlinePlus	003247

WikiDoc Resources for Leukonychia
Articles
Most recent articles on Leukonychia Most cited articles on Leukonychia Review articles on Leukonychia Articles on Leukonychia in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ
Media
Powerpoint slides on Leukonychia Images of Leukonychia Photos of Leukonychia Podcasts & MP3s on Leukonychia Videos on Leukonychia
Evidence Based Medicine
Cochrane Collaboration on Leukonychia Bandolier on Leukonychia TRIP on Leukonychia
Clinical Trials
Ongoing Trials on Leukonychia at Clinical Trials.gov Trial results on Leukonychia Clinical Trials on Leukonychia at Google
Guidelines / Policies / Govt
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Leukonychia NICE Guidance on Leukonychia NHS PRODIGY Guidance FDA on Leukonychia CDC on Leukonychia
Books
Books on Leukonychia
News
Leukonychia in the news Be alerted to news on Leukonychia News trends on Leukonychia
Commentary
Blogs on Leukonychia
Definitions
Definitions of Leukonychia
Patient Resources / Community
Patient resources on Leukonychia Discussion groups on Leukonychia Patient Handouts on Leukonychia Directions to Hospitals Treating Leukonychia Risk calculators and risk factors for Leukonychia
Healthcare Provider Resources
Symptoms of Leukonychia Causes & Risk Factors for Leukonychia Diagnostic studies for Leukonychia Treatment of Leukonychia
Continuing Medical Education (CME)
CME Programs on Leukonychia
International
Leukonychia en Espanol Leukonychia en Francais
Business
Leukonychia in the Marketplace Patents on Leukonychia
Experimental / Informatics
List of terms related to Leukonychia

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Synonyms and keywords: Leuconychia

Overview

Leukonychia is a medical term for white discoloration appearing on nails. It is derived from the Greek words Leuko white and Onyx nail. The most common cause is injury to the base of the nail (the matrix) where the nail is formed.

Classification

Leukonychia Totalis: This condition is a whitening of the entire nail. This may be due to hypoalbuminaemia, a genetic condition, or a side effect of sulphonamides, a family of antibiotics.

Leukonychia Partialis: This condition is whitening of parts of the nail. There are several types of this condition.

Leukonychia Striata or Transverse Leukonychia: This is a whitening or discoloration of the nail in bands or "stria". It may be caused by cirrhosis, chemotherapy, or physical injury to the nail matrix. (i.e. excessive nail "tapping" or slamming in a car door).

This condition looks similar to Mee's lines, a condition caused by Arsenic, Lead, or other heavy metal poisoning.

True Leukonychia: This is the most common form of Leukonychia, small white spots on the nails. Picking and biting of the nails are a prominent cause in young children and nail biters. In most cases, when white spots appear on a single or a couple of fingers or toes, the most common cause is injury to the base (matrix) of the nail. When this is the case, white spots disappear after around eight months, which is the amount of time necessary for nails to regrow completely.

White spots showing up on all or nearly all nails for longer periods of time (months and years) can be due to one of several reasons. One common explanation is zinc deficiency.

Causes

Causes In Alphabetical Order

• Anemia
• Arsenic poisoning
• Cardiac Diseases
• Cirrhosis
• Congenital isolated nail dysplasia
• Darier's disease
• Fever
• Hypoalbuminemia
• Iron deficiency
• Leprosy
• Mycosis
• Nitrate solution
• Silver solution
• Sulphonamides
• Noxa
• Steatocystoma multiplex
• Trauma
• Vitiligo
• Witkop syndrome
• Zinc deficiency

Diagnosis

Past Medical History

A doctor will take a thorough medical history, and may test liver and kidney function.

Treatment

Pharmacotherapy

Chronic Pharmacotherapies

If a zinc deficiency is identified, a diet rich in zinc or zinc supplements may be administered.

References

Template:WikiDoc Sources