What White Dots on your Nail Say

Our body undergoes number of changes when it is trying to tell you that there is something wrong.  Colour, texture and white dots on your nails points some or the other health condition. The problem may be severe or a milder one but your nails are surely saying that ‘go and visit a doctor’.

One of the most common causes for these little white spots, which can show up on both fingernails and toenails, is a condition called leukonychia.

Causes of White Spots on Nails

Leukonychia is the medical term given to white discoloration appearing on nails. The name may appear to be serious but the condition is not that serious.

• Some people believe that while dots of nails are due to lack of calcium and vitamin in diet. However this is not true, white dots are simply because of the minor to major injury that may have taken place in the growing stage of the nail.
• If you have white spot on your nail and you can’t think of anything that may have injured your nail then consider the fact that nails grow very slowly. It takes quite a few weeks for complete growth cycle of a nail. So it is possible that injury may have occurred weeks before the spots appear on the nail plate.
• Other possible cause of white spots includes mild infections, allergies or side effect of certain medications.
• If all of your nails are showing white spots then the problem of leukonychia can be related to serious conditions such as cardiac disease, cirrhosis, anaemia, diabetes and kidney disease.

Treatment of white spots in nails

There is no effective treatment for leukonychia. Irrespective of the source of injury the white spots don’t need any typical treatment. They gradually disappear when the nail grows outward from nail matrix to nail plate. However, it can be prevented by reducing the injuries to nail. The problem does not come back unless your nail suffers from another trauma.

White dots must be considered seriously when they are large in number. If you notice white spots in almost all your finger nails then it is good to consult a doctor. As they may be due to serious health conditions as well.

It is a good practice to be attentive to the abnormalities and changes in your fingernails and listen to what they say!

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