Is melanonychia harmful?

Is melanonychia harmful?

It can affect your fingernails or toenails. It can be in one nail, a few nails, or all of your nails. Melanonychia can have many different causes that range from harmless to potentially fatal. You should always have a doctor examine any dark streaks in your nails.

How common is melanonychia?

Melanocytic activation

[11] The incidence reportedly varies from 1% in whites, 10%–20% in Japanese and Asians, and 77–100% in African Americans. [7] Racial melanonychia is more common in fingers (thumb, index finger), generally involves multiple nails [Figure 5] and the band width increasing with age.

How do you know if melanonychia is benign?

They found melanonychia to be wider among children than among adults, which presented as a sharply demarcated pigment band of even width. More importantly, the presence of Hutchinson’s sign with longitudinal brush pigmentation may favor a diagnosis of benign nail matrix nevus over subungual melanoma.

What is Subungual melanoma?

Subungual melanoma presents as brown-black discolorations of the nail bed. It can present as either a streak of pigment or irregular pigmentation. The discoloration can progress to thickening, splitting, or destruction of the nail with pain and inflammation.

Is a black line on nail always melanoma?

Most black lines on the fingernails and toenails are harmless. However, if a person has melanoma, the earlier the condition is diagnosed, the better their prognosis.

Why do I have a black line in my nail?

This condition is called a splinter hemorrhage because it may look like a wood splinter under your nail. The condition is caused by damaged small blood vessels underneath your nail.

Why do I have a black line on my nail?

Conclusion. The black line on nail is usually caused due to splinter hemorrhages which depending on the underlying cause can be treated and rarely poses any fatal threats. Usually, this is a harmless health condition but can be a sign of a serious problem too. Generally, it grows if you face any nail trauma.

What does Stage 1 melanoma look like?

Stage IA Melanoma: The melanoma tumor is less than 1.0 millimeter thick (less than the size of a sharpened pencil point) with or without ulceration (broken skin) when viewed under the microscope. Stage IB Melanoma: The melanoma tumor is more than 1.0 millimeter and less than 2.0 millimeters thick without ulceration.

How can you tell if a nail is melanoma?

When checking your nails for melanoma, dermatologists recommend looking for the following changes: A dark streak. This may look like a brown or black band in the nail — often on the thumb or big toe of your dominant hand or foot. However, this dark streak can show up on any nail.

Why do I have a line on my nail?

Fingernails: Possible problems
Beau’s lines are indentations that run across the nails. The indentations can appear when growth at the area under the cuticle is interrupted by injury or severe illness.

What are the warning signs of melanoma?

The most important warning sign of melanoma is a new spot on the skin or a spot that is changing in size, shape, or color. Another important sign is a spot that looks different from all of the other spots on your skin (known as the ugly duckling sign).

How long can you live with melanoma?

5-year relative survival rates for melanoma skin cancer

Is nail melanoma curable?

While anyone can develop melanoma on their nails, it’s more common in older individuals and people with skin of color. A personal or family history of melanoma or previous nail trauma may also be risk factors. The good news is that when found early, melanoma — even on the nails — is highly treatable.