What Do Black Stripes On The Nail Bed Indicate?

Posted on Tue, 25 Jul 2017

Question: My name is Harshad and I have a brother who is working in Oman. he is 33 years old and has habiting of biting nails since childhood. recently he noticed that there is a black stripe of line in his nail bed. He is afraid if this could be a sign of cancer as he read somewhere about this sign. Request you to kindly opine on the same. I shall attach the pic of his nail for your reference.

Answered by Dr. Asmeet Kaur Sawhney (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Longitudinal melanonychia and its causes

Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for being at HealthcareMagic
I have gone through your complaints as well as reviewed the attached photograph.
It seems to be longitudinal melanonychia.
It is a common variant in dark skinned persons but is considered abnormal in white people.
It has various causes , most common being racial variation.
Other less common causes are certain drugs, skin diseases like lichen planus, fungal infection, trauma ( nail biting in your brothers case), subungual naevi, squamous cell carcinoma and rarely malignant melanoma.
Your brother's nail is slightly disfigured, probably due to the habit of nail biting but I can appreciate some blackish discolouration on the proximal nail fold which seems little abnormal.
I would recommend you to consult a dermatologist and get it examined clinically and go for a biopsy if required.
Regards
Dr Asmeet

Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng