The nail plate is also home to many interesting and important diseases.
- Flat/spoon-shaped (“Koilonychia”) – these nails may lose their natural color and become thin and brittle. They are associated with iron-deficiency with or without anemia, thyroid dysfunction, renal disease, impaired peripheral circulation, Lupus, musculoskeletal conditions, and can be due to trauma or malnutrition.
- Clubbed nail plate – this deformity is associated mostly with disease of the heart and lungs, such as: empyema.
- Vertical ridges – usually the result of aging, a crush injury, or arthritis. Rarely it is associated with iron or Vitamin B deficiency.
- Horizontal lines (also known as “Beau lines”) – result of chemotherapy, infection or injury.
- Pitting in nail plate – may be due to psoriasis, arthritis, lichen planus, alopecia areata, eczema, trauma, or it could just be hereditary.
- Onycholysis – this means loosening of an exposed portion of the nail from the nail bed, beginning at the free edge and continuing to the lunula. It is frequently associated with internal disease, trauma, infection, nail fungi, allergy to nail enhancement product, or side effects of certain medications.
- Black/Blue – often due to trauma, nail fungus, or tight fitting shoes (especially in runners).
- White transverse discolorations of the nail plate (known as “Leukonychia”) – caused by cirrhosis, chemotherapy, or physical injury. When it shows up on all or almost all of the nails for a months to years, it can suggest Zinc deficiency.
- Brown/yellow (called “Melanonychia”) – associated with psoriasis when nail plates are pitted, dry and crumbled. Melanonychia are vertical bands, described as nail ‘moles’. Sudden changes in the nail plate could signify malignant melanoma. Dark streaks are very common and normal in dark-skinned individuals.
Allison Ippel, Student Blogger (SCPM 2013)
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