What is Leukonychia?

It is not uncommon to experience some type of nail disorders at some point in your life.

Often the nail disorder is a result of an infection such as fungal infections, injury to the nail or a disease or deficiency in the body.

Nail disorders should not be ignored and though they can be very embarrassing, they should not be covered instead of treated; if a nail disorder is suspected seek the advice of your physician.

Nail disorders will often begin with just a few manageable symptoms and then progress if left untreated. Some nail disorders such as Leukonychia may present themselves with easy to cover symptoms; however, it is always important to find the root cause of the problem to avoid further damage to the nail as well as finding hidden health problems.

Leukonychia presents itself most often with small white spots or patches on the nail but can completely cover the entire nail in a white coloring. The most common cause of the discoloration is some type of injury or trauma to the base of the nail where it is formed.

This part of the nail is called the nail matrix. Though the most common cause of Leukonychia is injury it may also be a symptom of a larger problem such as heart disease, arsenic poisoning, and pneumonia, hypoalbuminemia or vitamin deficiency.

Some of these conditions can be life threatening and therefore if you appear to have Leukonychia it is important to seek the advice of a health professional.

Leukonychia that is a result of injury will present itself in the nail that was injured and the white spots will eventually grow out without the need of any treatment on your part. However, it is important that the nail be kept very clean and very dry to avoid an infection including fungal infection.

As the nail grows out the white spots which are often air pockets caused by the trauma can allow debris, bacteria and infection into the nail bed and result in a deep set fungal infection.

Leukonychia that affects more than one nail without having had a trauma or injury is often due to a health concern. Most often it is a vitamin deficiency but can be from more serious issues and should not be ignored. The best treatment for non injury related Leukonychia is changes in the diet to include more vitamins.

Multi-vitamin supplements can be taken to treat a vitamin deficiency; however, the white spots will not go away with the improved diet.

As the vitamin deficiency is remedied you will notice that no new spots appear; however, the old spots will need to grow out and this can take up to 8 months to completely disappear.

If you have consulted your physician and are preventing further spots from appearing the Leukonychia can be covered by the use of nail polish until all the spots have had time to grow out. 

To improve your overall nail health you should include foods in your diet such as foods rich in calcium, iron and vitamins A and E.

Spinach and broccoli are sources that are high in iron and vitamins, dried fruits, nuts and beans will provide iron which can help improve your nail and your physical health as well.