Causes of Leukonychia

Picking, biting, chewing on the nails, or slamming a digit into something are the main causes for both adults and kids. For the most part, when these white spots appear, the common culprit is injury found at the base of the nail. White spots will disappear after 8 months time. It will take 8 months since that is the standard time for a nail to completely grow out.

Symptoms of Leukonychia

You can have an allergic reaction to:

• nail enamels,
• nail hardeners, or
• artificial nails,

Some products can cause bitter nails as well as split nails which can bring about whitish spots. Other Symptoms are caused from a lack of:

• Zinc
• Protein
• Cirrhosis (a chronic liver disease brought on through alcoholism)
• psoriasis and eczema

All of these can cause your nails to become completely white save for the tips. A pattern of whitish color bands along the nails width may appear. If the spots have appeared by themselves, it’s unlikely the result from psoriasis or eczema.

Remedies for Leukonychia

Keep in mind when white spots appear due to Cirrhosis, very rarely are they a primary sign and they normally appear after cirrhosis is already present. Ointments and orally taken medication will clear up this problem within a couple of weeks.

Many things can cause white spots and if you suddenly have them on your nails, make sure to have an appointment scheduled with your dermatologist.

Causes of Koilonychia

This disorder can be present at birth by the autosomal dominant trait and is known by many doctors and practitioners as a symptom for the lack of iron.

Symptoms of Koilonychia

• Koilonychia is the result of the softening and/or thinning of the nail plate.
• Hand over-excessively exposed to petroleum based solvents
• A person being malnourished
• Trauma to the nails such as the direct use of vibrating devices
• Any injury, but mainly severe, to the nail plate
• Nail polish can cause the nails to become brittle and over time lead to this disease.

Treatment of Koilonychia:

• Wear rubber gloves with a cotton lining when cleaning, using chemicals, or washing the dishes
• When this is a result of malnutrition, ask a doctor the best way to change a person or your eating and dieting routine. If it is a deficiency from iron, include iron in the diet but remember to not over saturate the food. That will lead to food poisoning.
• Wear snug and comfortable shoes instead of sandals. This will help protect the nails from any accidental bumps and tearing of the skin.

• Skin disease
• Injury to the hands
• Infection of the nail
• It can also result from too much filing of the nails
• Exposed to too many chemicals
• Allergic reaction to a glue or nail hardener
• or the hands being submersed in water too often

Onycholysis happens when the nail becomes separated from the nail bed and is often times, painless. The disease called “psoriasis” can lead to onycholysis and is it very hard to tell these two infections apart from another.

Symptoms of Onycholysis:

Most often several nails are affected despite the culprit. Infections from bacteria turn the loose part of a nail green. Yeast can grow in the space found under the nail and will turn the nail white or yellow. In order to the nail to attach it’s again, the bacteria or yeast have to be taken care of first before the nail becomes permanently deformed.

Remedies for Onycholysis:

Here is a list of treatments for Onyclysis:

• First start by clipping all of the non-attached nails off
• Keep the infected hand away from water as much as you can
• Use rubber gloves when having to deal with chemicals and water
• avoid mechanical cleaning under nail
• Do not place bandages over the cut nails
• Use a drying agent like Thymol after washing hands for three months
• Trim nails on a daily basis until the nail reattaches
• Oral medications in sever cases need to be used

• Biting
• Picking
• Poorly administered manicure

Other ways a person can be infected with the fungal type of Paronychia is through having you hands in water excessively. Doing this will

• Weaken the natural seal
• Being in contact with large amounts of soaps will remove the natural oils, crack, and dry out the skin causing cracking.

Paronychia can come in two forms, acute and chronic. Acute Paronychia will start without warning where as Chronic Paronychia will start in a gradual manner.

Acute Paronychia
Acute paronychia appears after a couple of hours following when a nail fold becomes, red, swollen, and most often painful and pus then can be found under the cuticle. In severe cases, fever glands in the under arms will become painful due to the bacteria known as “staph”.

Chronic Paronychia
Chronic Paronychia is gradual and harder to rid yourself or another of especially during the winter or if you have bad circulation. It starts off in a single skin fold spreads too many others. Each affected skin fold becomes swollen, red, tender, and sometimes yellow pus can be present under the cuticle. The nail will become warped, becomes yellowish, and breaks easily. It is caused by many different bacteria’s such as the Candida and Gram Negative strains.

Remedies for Acute Paronychia
Mild cases of Acute Paronychia can be treated with

• Soaps
• Antibiotic creams
• Orally administered antibiotics
• Abscesses have to be lanced

Acute Paronychia normally will clear up in a couple days time and it reoccurs very rarely.

Remedies for Chronic Paronychia:

• Keep the hands clean and dry
• Avoid wet work
• Use waterproof gloves when wet work cannot be avoided
• When hands get dirty use an antibacterial soap
• Follow hand washing with some hand cream

Treatment is normally a topical cream and/or lotion as well as an oral dose. It can take months to be rid of paronychia; it can recur, and may take a year for the nails to revert back to “normal”.