White On Fingernails — What It Really Means

Friends, are you bothered by the white dots that suddenly appeared on your fingernails? Let’s talk about white on fingernails and what these spots signal.

What Does White On Fingernails Mean?

It’s easy to mistake the white spot on one of your nails for something serious, but most of the time, it’s really not. It’s a common misconception to believe that these spots are related to deficiencies in calcium or even zinc, but a lot of the time, they’re pretty harmless.

Causes Of White Spots Or Dots On Your Nails

Trauma

This is the most common cause of white spots on your nails. These spots signal a past trauma or injury to the base of your nail—otherwise known as its “matrix”, and these spots only show up weeks after the injury itself, a little over a month after.

This is why people don’t usually associate them with damage to your nails’ base—as the time frame between the injury and the spot showing up is really quite far apart. This discoloration is officially known as Leukonychia. The discolored spots eventually disappear as your nails grow which is why how fast it disappears depends on the rate of your nail growth.

Allergic Reactions

Other than injuries to the base of your nails, white spots may also come as a result of allergic reactions with certain substances such as nail polish, gel nails, and acrylic. Certain brands may have properties different people are allergic to.

Vitamin or Mineral Deficiency

As previously mentioned, while not as common as physical injury, the spots may actually be caused by deficiencies in minerals such as calcium or zinc. It could also be caused by iron deficiency.

Fungal Infections

Limited to the toenails, one specific fungal infection which is toenail fungus or “White Superficial Onychomycosis”. While it may also appear on your fingernails, it is mostly limited to the toenails.

Not just one but several white spots present is a sign of this infection, and if left to grow to the nail bed can cause brittleness of the nails. When the right conditions are met for the fungi or bacteria naturally present on your feet to grow, the fungi develops and starts to cause problems. The condition is an environment with adequate moisture and heat which can, for example, result from wearing shoes for long periods of time.

5 Tips For Perfect Nail Care

White spots aren’t the only things you should be turning to your attention to. Proper nail care is important as well, and if you’re looking for tips on how to do so, the following may be things that are worth taking a look at:

1. The most obvious thing is to keep your nails clean. Any dirt on your nails or the skin surrounding them is a big no-no, and a gentle way of doing so is taking a toothbrush, putting some soap on it, and lightly brushing your nails making sure to remove any dirt or dead skin present.
2. Keeping your nails trimmed is almost as important as keeping your hair trimmed. It helps prevent dirt from accumulating and also lowers the chance for infections to take place. Not only that, but it helps prevent nail peeling as well, especially if one trims them in a rounded manner.
3. As much as possible, leave your cuticles alone. While it may be something you want to remove to make your nail look “cleaner”, you’d be denying it of they’re function to seal the base of your nails, preventing bacteria from entering and lowering the chance for infections.
4. Having an emery board at the ready can be handy in smoothing out rough edges that you get on-the-spot. Make sure to replace them every so often though, as using the same one over and over would be no different from not using one at all on account of how tattered it would be.
5. Using different gloves for different occasions is no doubt good for your nails. When washing dishes or clothes, use rubber gloves to prevent nail peeling (from the dryness that comes after the prolonged water exposure) and to prevent exposure to harmful chemicals. Other protective gloves come in handy for chores that could leave dirt in your nails such as gardening, and mittens are good in cold weather to prevent dryness.
6. Slather on moisturizers, butters, or hand creams to pamper your hands. There are a lot of fascinating natural ingredients that you can try like jojoba oil, avocado oil, coconut, grapeseed, pomegranate, almond milk and honey products. Not only will they make your hands smell heavenly, they will soften and moisturize your hands especially during winter and cold months when it’s important to keep your hands from flaking and cracking. Be confident holding hands with your loved one with these hand care set.