Isla Bennett
White bands on nails can be a sign of a number of health conditions. Doctors refer to the spots as 'punctate leukonychia' and they are usually the result of an injury to the nail. However, they can also be a sign of other health conditions, including low levels of protein in the blood, liver disease, malnutrition, arsenic poisoning, other metal toxicity, congestive heart failure, or some infections.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Medical term | Leukonychia |
| Other names | Muehrcke's lines, punctate leukonychia |
| Appearance | Paired, narrow, white bands on the fingernails |
| Cause | Injury to the nail, low levels of protein in the blood, liver disease, malnutrition |
| Serum albumin level | Below 2.2 g/100 mL |
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What You'll Learn
- Muehrcke's lines are parallel white lines that extend across the nails and are a sign of low levels of protein in the blood
- Beau's lines are deep grooved ridges that run side-to-side on the nail and are caused by a temporary delay in nail division
- Mees' lines are white, non-blanching transverse bands that are often associated with arsenic poisoning, metal toxicity, congestive heart failure, and some infections
- Terry's nails are characterised by a white nail plate and a ground glass appearance, caused by a decrease in vascularity and an increase in connective tissue in the nail bed
- White spots on nails, or leukonychia, are usually not a problem and will go away in time. They are typically caused by injury to the nail
Muehrcke's lines are parallel white lines that extend across the nails and are a sign of low levels of protein in the blood
White spots on nails are usually not a problem and will go away in time. Doctors refer to them as 'punctate leukonychia' and they are typically the result of injury to the nail. However, they can sometimes indicate other health conditions.
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Beau's lines are deep grooved ridges that run side-to-side on the nail and are caused by a temporary delay in nail division
White bands on nails can be a sign of low levels of protein in the blood, which can be caused by liver disease or malnutrition. Doctors refer to these spots as 'punctate leukonychia' and they usually result from injury to the nail. In most cases, they are not a problem and will go away in time. However, in some cases, they may indicate other health conditions.
Beaus lines are deep grooved ridges that run side-to-side on the nail and are caused by a temporary delay in nail division. This could be due to an infection or trauma. They are different from Muehrcke's lines, which are parallel white lines that extend all the way across the nails and are not grooved.
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Mees' lines are white, non-blanching transverse bands that are often associated with arsenic poisoning, metal toxicity, congestive heart failure, and some infections
White bands on nails can be caused by injury to the nail, or in some cases, they may indicate other health conditions. Doctors refer to white spots on the nails as 'punctate leukonychia'.
Mees lines are white, non-blanching transverse bands that are often associated with arsenic poisoning, metal toxicity, congestive heart failure, and some infections. They are caused by an insult to the distal nail matrix, which results in parakeratosis of the ventral nail plate. Mees lines are an important distinguishing feature from Muehrcke's nails, which are also white bands on the nails. Muehrcke's lines are narrow, paired white bands that are a sign of low levels of protein in the blood, and can occur as a result of liver disease or malnutrition.
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Terry's nails are characterised by a white nail plate and a ground glass appearance, caused by a decrease in vascularity and an increase in connective tissue in the nail bed
White bands on nails can be caused by a number of factors. Doctors refer to white spots on nails as 'punctate leukonychia' and they are usually the result of injury to the nail. In most cases, they are not a problem and will go away in time. However, they can also be indicative of other health conditions.
White bands that extend all the way across the nails are known as Muehrcke's lines and are a sign of low levels of protein in the blood. They are not grooved and can occur as a result of liver disease or malnutrition.
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White spots on nails, or leukonychia, are usually not a problem and will go away in time. They are typically caused by injury to the nail
Leukonychia can also refer to the appearance of white bands on the nails, known as Muehrcke's lines. These are a sign of low levels of protein in the blood and are associated with liver disease or malnutrition. They are characterised by parallel white lines that extend all the way across the nails. In contrast, Beau's lines are deep grooved ridges that run side-to-side on the nail and are associated with a temporary delay in nail division in the nail matrix, such as an infection or trauma. Mees' lines are another type of white band that can appear on the nails, often associated with arsenic poisoning, other metal toxicity, congestive heart failure, and some infections.
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Frequently asked questions
White bands on nails can be a sign of low levels of protein in the blood, which can be caused by liver disease or malnutrition. They are also known as Muehrcke's lines.
Muehrcke's lines are paired, narrow, white bands that extend all the way across the nails. They are not grooved, unlike Beau's lines.
Beau's lines are deep grooved ridges that run side-to-side on the fingernail or toenail. They are often caused by an infection or trauma.
In most cases, white spots on the nail are not a problem and will go away in time. They typically result from injury to the nail. However, if you are concerned, you should contact a healthcare professional.
