Nail changes (patient information)
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Nail changes |
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Nail changes On the Web |
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-In-Chief:; Assistant Editor(s)-In-Chief:
Overview
Nail abnormalities are problems with the color, shape, texture, or thickness of the fingernails or toenails.
What are the symptoms of nail changes?
What causes nail changes?
Injury:
- Crushing the base of the nail or the nail bed may cause a permanent deformity.
- Chronic picking or rubbing of the skin behind the nail can cause a washboard nail.
- Long-term exposure to moisture or nail polish can cause nails to peel and become brittle.
Infection:
- Fungus or yeast cause changes in the color, texture, and shape of the nails.
- Bacterial infection may cause a change in nail color or painful areas of infection under the nail or in the surrounding skin. Severe infections may cause nail loss.
- Viral warts may cause a change in the shape of the nail or ingrown skin under the nail.
- Certain infections (especially of the heart valve) may cause red streaks in the nail bed (splinter hemorrhages).
Diseases:
- Disorders that affect the amount of oxygen in the blood (such as abnormal heart anatomy and lung diseases including cancer or infection) may cause clubbing.
- Kidney disease can cause a build-up of nitrogen waste products in the blood, which can damage nails.
- Liver disease can damage nails.
- Thyroid diseases such as hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism may cause brittle nails or splitting of the nail bed from the nail plate (onycholysis).
- Severe illness or surgery may cause horizontal depressions in the nails (Beau's lines).
- Psoriasis may cause pitting, splitting of the nail plate from the nail bed, and chronic destruction of the nail plate (nail dystrophy).
- Other conditions that can affect the appearance of the nails include systemic amyloidosis, malnutrition, vitamin deficiency, and lichen planus.
- Skin cancers near the nail and fingertip can distort the nail. Subungal melanoma is a potentially deadly cancer that will normally appear as a dark streak down the length of the nail.
- Darkening of the cuticle associated with a pigmented streak may be a sign of an aggressive melanoma.
Poisons:
Medications:
- Certain antibiotics can cause lifting of the nail from the nail bed.
- Chemotherapy medicines can affect nail growth.
Normal aging affects the growth and development of the nails.
Who is at highest risk?
When to seek urgent medical care?
Diagnosis
Treatment options
Diseases with similar symptoms
Where to find medical care for (condition)?
Directions to Hospitals Treating Condition
What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?
Possible complications
Prevention
Sources
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