Nail Conditions & Disorders | Diagnosis & Treatment

Dents in your nails that look like they were made by a little icepick could be a sign of psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, alopecia areata (an autoimmune disease that also can cause hair loss), and other disorders. It’s important to identify the cause of nail pitting to ensure the right treatment and to help prevent a condition from advancing.

Usually occurring over the course of years, the tips of the fingers enlarge and the nails curve around the fingertips. Nail clubbing can be a result of low blood oxygen or a sign of various types of disease. Check with us at the first sign of nail clubbing.

Spoon nails are soft, curved upward and “scooped,” like spoons. Spoon nails can signal that you may not be getting enough iron, which can be the result of lack of proper nutrition, a stomach or intestinal problem or celiac disease. Spoon nails might help alert you to heart disease or hypothyroidism. We can diagnose spoon nails and consult with your other trusted medical professionals to help you receive the care you need for any underlying condition.

If most of your nails appear white except for a narrow pink band at the tips, you may be experiencing Terry’s Nails. While sometimes attributed to aging, Terry's Nails may be a sign of diabetes, or of an underlying illness of the liver, heart or kidney. Our dermatologists can help determine the cause.

Vertical nail ridges, which are fairly common, extend from the cuticle to the tip of your nail. They often become more numerous or prominent with age and are not usually associated with a physical health condition.

This happens when the nails thicken and overgrow. Some of the reasons people get Ram’s Horn Nails include psoriasis or circulation problems, or it can also be a condition that runs in the family. You’ll want to seek our assistance for proper cutting and treatment of these types of nails.

Beau's Lines are indentations that run horizontally across the nails. These indentations can appear when nail growth is slowed or stopped because of injury or severe illness. Uncontrolled diabetes or peripheral vascular disease, as well as illnesses producing a high fever, such as scarlet fever, measles, mumps and pneumonia can cause Beau’s Lines. Eczema around the nail, zinc deficiency, chemotherapy for cancer, or improper nutrition can also result in Beau's Lines. With such diverse possibilities, medical evaluation is needed when you see this condition. Once the cause is addressed, nails often begin growing normally again.

When the fingernails become loose and partially separate from the nail bed, the separated part of the nail becomes opaque with a white, yellow or greenish tinge. The cause can be from an injury or infection (such as from an aggressive manicure or from using a sharp object to clean under your fingernails), from a drug or consumer product interaction (nail hardeners or adhesives can cause injury, as can drug reactions, especially to antibiotics), or from thyroid disease and psoriasis. If your nails are lifting up, we can suggest treatment to help them grow out normally, again.

Women are more prone than men to have splitting, brittle, soft or thin nails. Brittle nails often occur as a normal result of aging, but they can also be caused by certain diseases and external conditions. Rarely, internal disease or vitamin deficiencies are the reason for this nail condition. Long-term exposure to moisture or nail polish can cause nails to peel and become brittle. If your fingernails split, but your toenails are strong, we can help you explore if an external factor as the cause.

Did you know that wearing red nail polish without a base coat, or smoking can turn your nails yellow? With Yellow Nail Syndrome, however, nails also thicken, and new growth slows. Yellow Nail Syndrome can be a sign of respiratory disease, such as chronic bronchitis, lung disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and can also be related to swelling of the hands (lymphedema), and is cause for further examination.

A new or changing dark streak in a fingernail or toenail is your sign it’s time to see us for a total-body skin cancer check. That dark streak could be melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer. A key indicator of one type of melanoma is called a "Hutchinson's sign" and looks like a dark streak that extends from the tip of the nail down to the nail bed and into the cuticle. Not every dark streak is a melanoma, but it’s better to check it out. Early detection is important for prompt and proper treatment.

If you have redness and swelling around a nail, you may have an infection. When diagnosed early, you can often treat an infection with soaks and antibiotics. If an open sore forms, you may need more extensive treatment and should contact us. (See more information in Nail Infections section.)

When bacteria causes a nail infection, the nail can turn greenish black. Without treatment, a nail infection tends to worsen. Treatment offered by your dermatologist can get rid of any discomfort and help clear the infection.

Green Nail Syndrome is a bacterial infection of the nails that leads to a greenish discoloration. The green discoloration varies from blue-green to dark green and blue-grey. The discoloration is underneath the nail, so it can’t be washed away. The condition is usually confined to one or two nails and can involve fingernails or toenails. While the nail is usually not painful, the skin around the nail, including the cuticle, may be swollen, tender or red.

Splinter hemorrhages are small areas of bleeding (hemorrhage) under the fingernails or toenails. Splinter hemorrhages look like thin, red or reddish-brown lines under the nails, running in the direction of nail growth. They look like what their name implies – a splinter under the fingernail. Trauma to the nail from sports or housework, for example, is the most common cause. Hemorrhages can also be caused by environmental factors, skin disorders, systemic diseases, other health conditions and medication use. Your dermatologist is an expert at diagnosing these marks.

Warts are a benign growth caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) infection. While they are generally harmless, they are infectious, can be painful, and rarely can progress into Squamous Cell Carcinoma (also known as Squamous Cell Cancer or SCC). Warts around and under the nail can sometimes be difficult to eradicate and often times require more than just the simplest treatments.

Squamous Cell Skin Cancer can arise from a wart but most commonly is a consequence of chronic exposure to UV from the sun. Generally this type of skin cancer is readily treatable, but when neglected can sometimes invade bone and necessitate amputation of a finger or toe.

Melanoma is a potentially dangerous skin cancer that usually (but not always) shows up as a dark spot or discoloration in or around the nail (see above). Unfortunately, melanomas in this location are often misdiagnosed as an infection or a collection of blood. A new dark spot in or around the nail is therefore worthy of prompt evaluation by a trained professional.