What can white spots on the nails mean? Learn how to identify the root cause and help clear your nails of white spots.
White spots popping up on your nails occasionally are common, and can sometimes be referred to as “milk spots” or the technical term leukonychia.
But, why do these spots happen and does it mean something is wrong?
In this article, we will cover some of the main reasons for seeing white spots on your nails and give you some guidance on how to get rid of them.
The white spots you sometimes see on your nails are called leukonychia, and almost everyone has had them on their nails at one point.
These spots are completely harmless and do not cause any pain or discomfort.
You can find them as dots or marks on one or many nails, and sometimes they can even span pretty far across the nail in more of a line shape.
The most common cause of white spots is a minor injury to the nail bed.
This injury can occur because you banged your nail on something, your hands got in the way when you were hammering in a nail, you are a chronic nail-biter, or because you had a particularly rough manicure one time.
Basically, we use our hands for everything, and sometimes the delicate nail beds get slightly damaged from everyday activities - leading to a little white mark popping up a few weeks later.
Read Related: Ridges in Fingernails: 14 Reasons They Can Happen
Some other causes of white spots on the nail may be:
Less commonly, these more severe issues may cause white spots on the nails:
If you aren’t sure what could be causing white spots on your nails, and they are popping up a lot or all of the sudden, it is likely time to speak with your doctor about the white spots to make sure nothing more serious is going on.
The best way to get rid of white spots is figuring out why they happened in the first place:
You likely injured your nails during your handiwork.
Take steps to wear protective gloves next time you use tools or build something.
Avoid that product in the future and if the spots were due to an allergy they will likely clear up.
You may have a nail fungus, and need to have that taken care of before the spots will go away.
Making sure your symptoms and conditions are kept in check for any underlying disease may help reduce the appearance of the white spots.
Your nail might not be getting all the vitamins and minerals they need, and this is showing up as white spots.
Look into a good multi or hair, skin, and nail supplement to ensure you are getting the basics.
Also Read: 6 Vitamins for Fingernails You Should Be Getting Daily
StrutVite is a great go-to hair, skin, and nails supplement from Strut Health to make sure you are covering all of your nutrient bases for your nails.
If you have a few white spots popping up and you are pretty sure there has been no nail injury or underlying condition related to the spots, trying out a nail supplement may be beneficial.
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