Surely our children and ourselves have had more than once those white spots on the nails, whose medical term is "leuconiquia". From the Greek "Leuko", "white" and "Onyx", 'nail', refers to the white discoloration of the nails, frequent in both children and adults.
It is popularly thought that the responsible for this discoloration is the lack of calcium, although the most typical cause is some wound or blow at the base of the nail (the womb), where the nail is formed.
These blows occur on nails weakened by the use of detergents or other aggressive substances (this cause is unlikely in children) or by lack of certain nutrients in the diet related to proper birth and nail development. It is the case of zinc, iron, or vitamin B6 and A, whose deficiency in nutrition would cause some weakness in the nails and that white spots appear more easily after trauma.
White spots are formed by hitting the nails many times without noticing it. But they can also be due to other origins with some clinical importance, such as hereditary syndromes, or be secondary to a disease or health disorder, such as psoriasis, nephritis, peptic ulcer, cholelithiasis or ulcerative colitis, among others.
Types of white spots on the nails
These are the types of leuconiquia or white spots on the nails:
- True or proper, of which we speak here in general: white discoloration of the nail that arises after damage or injury to the nail matrix and / or zinc deficiency.
- Apparent: white appearance of the nail due to changes in the nail bed.
- Transversal: arched transverse band as a result of general diseases.
- Dotted: small white spots under the nail.
- Longitudinal: sometimes attributable to small tumors.
- Leukonychia Totalis: white discoloration of the entire nail. It may be due to hypoalbuminemia, genetic condition, or a side effect of sulfonamides, a group of antibiotics.
- Leukonychia Striata: discoloration in stretch marks that can be caused by cirrhosis, chemotherapy or a physical accident in the womb.
The discolorations by leuconiquia are very frequent in the children because they hit their fingers, and they also appear in those who bite their nails. In general, they are more frequent in several fingers and one or two toes.
These spots of "leuconiquia own" disappear after about eight weeks that is the time it takes to grow a nail (more in the case of the feet).
Remember that the skin, hair and nails are constantly renewed and, for this, they need a continuous supply of nutrients. It is known that the deficit of certain substances in the diet causes alterations in their growth and appearance, such as leuconiquia or white spots on the nails.
