White nails may indicate malnutrition of nails, deficiency of trace elements, or the presence of parasites, trauma, chronic inflammation, etc. For example, white spots or flocculent white patches on the nails may indicate zinc deficiency, gastrointestinal diseases, or anemia. In addition, the possibility of fungal nail infection (onychomycosis) should also be ruled out. In the early stages of onychomycosis, the nails may develop white spots due to fungal infection, manifesting as white nails.
1. If white spots appear on the nails and they are particularly fragile and prone to breakage, you can go to the hospital for a vitamin check. This may be due to a lack of certain vitamins in the patient's body. This is often caused by zinc deficiency, and you can eat more vegetables, fish, walnuts, peanuts, and other foods with higher vitamin content. Once the vitamin levels normalize, the white spots will naturally disappear.
2. Trauma to the nail bed or the surrounding area, even something minor like tearing off a hangnail, can cause damage. Such trauma can affect the growth of nails.
3. If white spots on the nails are accompanied by abdominal pain and diarrhea, it may indicate the presence of intestinal worms. This condition is more common in children.
4. In severe cases of chronic hepatitis, symptoms may manifest on the nails as white spots surrounded by pink areas. If a patient exhibits such symptoms, they should promptly go to the hospital for a liver function test.
5. The initial manifestation of onychomycosis is white nails. When the nails are infected with fungi, white spots may appear, and the nails may become soft, leading to depression of the nail bed. In this case, it is necessary to first treat the onychomycosis to prevent other healthy nails from being infected.
