What Causes White Spots on Fingernails?
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There are many myths surrounding those mysterious white spots on fingernails that occasionally show up, but the simple truth is that the majority of white spots on fingernails are caused by a previous injury to the nail bed. They can be loosely compared to bruises on the skin.
If you notice white spots, also known as leukonychia, on your nails, they unlikely to have been caused by a vitamin or mineral deficiency. In a few cases, white spots on fingernails can indicate an underlying infection, but much more commonly, they are the result of injury. Similar to bruising, white spots on fingernails do not show up immediately. It may take several days or weeks before you notice the spots. Because they are generally the result of a minor injury, you are likely to have forgotten all about banging your fingernail against the car door.
White spots on fingernails are usually not the result of serious injury to the nail, such as being hit with a hammer, which would more likely result in dark blue to black spots and possible necrosis or death of the nail tissue. Fingernails grow at an average rate of half an inch per month, so most visible injuries to the nail take about eight weeks to grow out completely. Sometimes, white spots on fingernails fade before they completely grow out.
Some of the common myths associated with white spots on fingernails claim they are the result of a calcium deficiency or eating too much mayonnaise. While these white spots may be the result of a zinc deficiency, it is likely that other signs of zinc deficiency, such as hair loss or a slow immune system, would be present as well. Occasionally, a few white spots on fingernails may indicate an allergic reaction to a product used on the nail, such as nail polish, hardener, or polish remover.
Many people who wear acrylic nails find white spots on their fingernails after removing the artificial nails. The spots could simply signal trauma to the nail bed during application of the acrylic nails or an allergic reaction to one of the products used. However, acrylic nails have been known to cause fungal infections, which appear yellowish. If you have questions concerning your fingernail health or notice large areas of white on the nail bed, visit a dermatologist and discontinue using nail products until your visit.
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Discuss this Article
I have had a white spot appear in the middle of a finger nail occasionally throughout my life. I am 48. Right now I have one on my right index finger. I noticed it several weeks ago. I *may* have injured it but I don't remember. After reading this article, it appears they are no big deal.
- anon34658
white specks are there for a reason, stop pickin ur nails.
- anon33312
I have white stripes on top of nails, but they are quite faded as compare to bottom stripes on nails... I see such stripes after some infection, especially, urine infection or food poisoning... and they vanish after infection is over.
- anon33233
For me it was not trauma related (one doctor said that white spots on nails are caused by banging the nails against a bed headboard while sleeping--which made no sense for me because my bed does not have a headboard or anything else hard within arm's reach). My white spots cleared up completely when I eliminated gluten foods from my diet due to diagnosed intolerance and added zinc supplements, and they have not been back for years since.
Wheat is known to deplete zinc and other minerals in the body, so that also supports the zinc connection. - anon31936
It was so nice to read that other people have the same as me: I've always had white spots on my nails all my life and they disappear if I wear nail varnish for a while. I do bruise easily so maybe it is related to that. I never get them on my toenails.
- anon31598
I've had the white spots on 7 of my fingers since childhood. I am now 38. I developed the disease Alopecia (which causes hair loss) when I was 23. I don't know if the two are related or not. I do know that people with Alopecia often have tiny pin hole sized indentations in the fingernails.
- anon30974
I am a nail technician and have been for 12 years. I was taught that white spots were small injury marks. Over the years I have learned that they might appear if you have an allergy to formaldehyde, so check your nail polishes and hardeners.
- anon30886
I've had them my whole life and they seem like they're part of my fingernail. They moves as my fingernail grows and they never stop coming.
- anon30678
My spots are definitely a zinc deficiency, but it took years to work out because taking zinc didn't help and taking VitC did (only in larger doses). It turns out that VitC removes copper and copper interferes with zinc absorption.
So sometimes the link isn't straightforward,but zinc is definitely the major cause of your normal white nail spot. My white spots also correspond to what I eat ie. my nutritional status. They stay away if I eat well and regularly which complicated working out what was causing them. When my zinc levels are up the spots don't occur regardless. I found the simplest way to ensure you get enough zinc is to take a multi-vitamin (one without copper!). :-) PS. My copper excretion levels are 10x normal and have been for the past 3 years or so. That's a good thing it's coming out. Ran this all past the doctor just to make sure I didn't have Wilson's, but the test is negative. - anon28533
The white spots aren't from biting your cuticles at all, as I read someone said in one of these comments. I attack mine all the time from stress and I don't have any of these white spots on those fingers at all.
- anon27964
Today I noticed a light peach/white spot on the lower left 'corner' of my index fingernail. My first reaction was to worry. I thought "Is it an infection? Should I be worried about this?" Until I came here and read the part of the article that said "you are likely to have forgotten all about banging your fingernail against the car door."
About 2 weeks ago I was opening our kitchen window for the first time since moving in. They're one single pane windows and do not glide open smoothly like newer windows. I had my right hand holding open the latch and my left hand helping guide it when the window got caught. I wiggled the window loose and it shot open, crushing my poor index finger between the open window and the metal frame. Well I'm glad I figured that out. haha :D - Reignbeau88
i have these spots since childhood. i am in my sixties now ..the cause not related to any diseases or lack of vitamins..it is caused simply by air under the fingernail.. like let's say bubbles under the nail...this information from a very smart dermatologist i consulted long time ago...
- najlayousif
You don't get them because of lack of calcium. You get them because they are little bruises on your fingernails.
- anon25930
Well I have been getting these spots on my nails for maybe a year and a half. It turns out during this time I had an exhaust leak in my car and was getting carbon monoxide poisoning. It's been a little over a month since I had my exhaust fixed and I'm already noticing that the spots are going away and I feel 100% better. Crazy...
- anon25516
I have 'em too, except thanks to this page, I now know it's from trauma. I have a bad habit of attacking my cuticles on my thumbs, and those are the only fingers I have them on. You don't have to actually hit the spot where they show up, if u harm the cuticles or the skin nearby they can appear.
- anon25338
i like white because its a color that is nice. nails are sometimes with white spots therefore i like it aesthetically speaking but i fear it may mean i am sick. i eat calcium 2 times a day and zinc as well so i dont understand. ive tried using nail polish but it didnt work too. im 74 now and ive had it since i was 73. i am male but but i have erectile dysfunction. probably is related? thank you in advance for helping me on my query...
- anon25132
A doctor told me white spots on nails mean you are not getting enough potassium.
- anon24876
I've had white circles for 6 months now, and my hair started to fall out 3 months after the spots appeared. Having a poor diet (Joy, college), I think mine is zinc related. But mine are more along my tips of my fingernails, not in the bed of my nail. Could it also be trauma too?
- anon23214
my music teacher told me that is should drink more milk, i drank so much milk that i got a kidney stone!!!!!
- anon22939
im at freshman at college and started taking vitamins to stay healthy on the college student diet". A few weeks ago, a white spot appeared on 3 of my fingernails. I dont think it's from trauma though because the spots showed up in the middle of my fingernails, not just at the cuticle. And it can't be zinc or calcium deficiency because those are both well accounted for by my vitamins. and ideas?
- anon22471
i always have white spots on my fingernails when one goes away another one pops up. i dont drink milk except for when i eat cereal in the morning. does this mean i should drink more milk?
- anon22179
the only time I get white spots on my fingers is when im trying to get the cuticle off my fingers. I tend to dig to deep and hit the bed of the nail. after about a month I see white spots then they just go away later.
- anon21739
i dont think i can believe it's from lack of calcium, because i drink a half gallon of milk a day. milk does not give you strong bones i'm skinny as hell and my bones are slim and weak.
- anon21286
i've had these white spots on my finger nails since childhood. now i have a few dark lines running through my nails. its not fungus. all doctors i spoke with said it's a hemoglobin thing and i should quit smokin.
- anon21285
I heard that white spots come from your mother not loving you.
- anon19642
I've always had the white spots, but when I started to eat A LOT of cereal, they mostly went away, meaning it's either lack of calcium or lack of Zinc...eating cereal supplies you with those minerals. I have also wondered about nail polish, though, cuz remover seems very bad for the nails.
- anon17726
White spots which appear in your fingers nail which are not caused from an injury, generally relate to a lack of zinc. I have white spots and have regular blood tests to monitor my zinc levels, white spots are definitely an indicator that zinc levels are low.
- anon15666
i am 35 and recently got these white spots on my nails. i don't eat a lot of dairy, but i don't go without either. i have only gotten this since i have gotten an autoimmune disease. so go figure, i have always been told your finger nail can tell you something about your health. i have looked up finger nails and everytime i have it shows my nails say i have an autoimmune disease.
- anon15337
I have noticed these white only every now and then since I can remember sometimes years with out them then one year in a few they seem to just appear and I never knew why yet thought the most likely reason would be - not enough vitamins or too much vitamins - and then they would just fade and disappear again so I never thought too much about them. So I've recently got them again, for me its definitely not a case of trauma or damage to the nail bed (i don't use nail polish or acrylic nails etc either) and the fact that they appeared from nowhere all over the nail at the same time (maybe over a day or two) including the tips means they didn't grow from the nail bed. So I was thinking WHY?. I had been to the doctors and had all blood tests done just a few weeks ago - because I hadn't been to a doctor for years and just wondered for piece of mind - all the tests were fine so for me it's nothing to do with iron intake etc. So, after looking at this page I am convinced I have these spots as a result of too much calcium, because I have recently been eating a lot more yogurt and dairy products milk drinks etc - because I've been so busy I forgot to buy bread to make my lunch for work so i've been eating 3 yogurts and an apple and milk drink instead for this week and am very sure it is linked to this now. I remember I always had stages when I was young where I drank lots of milk and ate cheese everyday also which could explain why I've had them off and on, I guess it is also possible too much calcium could cancel out another vitamin and cause a deficiency which could cause the white spots but I'm going to do more research on this - overall for me too much calcium is the culprit!!.
- anon13181
Mine are definitely not calcium-related. When I'm at home I get through several bowls of cereal a day - loads of milk. When I'm at university (1/2 the year) I consume no milk. None. And the spots stay all year round. They are definitely not "bruises" to the nails - I know I haven't hit them on anything, because I'm have slight OCD and would notice.
- anon12761
Im 11 and I have a white spot occasionally on one of my fingers and they are usually big. I remember slamming the door on my finger where the white spot is. But its no big deal for me, they go away in like 3-4 months. My friends say that its how many people that like you or my parents say that I told a lie too
- anon12660
you've all had these white spots since childhood? i remember some years back that one of my friends told me that when u have white spots on your fingernails it means someone has a crush on you. a bit childish i know, but sometimes it's a little easier to hold on to a superstition instead of nothing at all. especially if you don't remember being injured.
- anon12403
This website was so helpful.....by sister and brother both have a few white spots on their nails. We thought that there might be something wrong, but after reading the article, we are sure that it was just some past injury to their nail beds. Thanks again for your helpful article.
- anon12004
I had these spots since I was 4-years old. They finally went away at the age of 43. Not trauma related. Probably metabolic in origin...
- IanMcGhee
hi im 15 and i have had white spots on my nails for ever. there are always about 7 on each nail. never on my toenails and i only put nail polish on my toes. it isnt from biting my nails or cuticles or anything because i dont do that. i also get enough calcium, and the right vitamins. but i do drink LOTS of milk - calcium - so maybe that does have a link to it. im not anemic. it isnt caused by trauma. yes well its just a bit strange and all the things i have heard on this page i have heard before so it didnt really help me a lot. i was also told that it was for each lie i told but that cant be true... =]
- anon11376
Don't bite your nails or cuticles. This is what causes it :) Trauma to the nail base, then it grows out and shows up.
- anon11111
hmmm, that's interesting... well now i know what those white spots r, lol, i used to have my nails full of them when i was in elementary school!! wild child... jeje, i used to ask my mom & dad & they'd tell me that was how many presents i was getting on my b-day, christmas, etc... which ever holiday was closest, then they went on to telling me each one stood for a lie i've told, wow....... my parents r crazy, i'm almost 20 now & i have a 2yr old boy & i can see myself telling my kids the same thing just for the hell of it, lol...
- anon10399
i have had them since childhood. I take a lot of milk and dairy products so i think there may be a calcium link to it. I have them several finger nails and they change shape each time. Now i have this one that looks like cumulus clouds-beautiful! I dont think it is caused by any trauma or vitamin deficiency as i eat a fairly well balanced diet.
- anon10155
White spots are just minor bruises on fingernails. I never have them on my toenails. They go away if you wear polish for awhile...I take in plenty of calcium, zinc, etc. But...if I bump my nails, the white spots eventually appear. If I wear nail polish...even clear polish, they go away.
- anon9495
I agree with one of the responses on this page. White spots on the fingernails indicate that you are getting lots of calcium in your diet. I used to get them once in a while. This time, I have white spots on 6 out of ten fingers all of a sudden. These white spots started when I started taking a new vitamin pack. This vitamin pack has 6 different pills. one is a calcium pill.
- anon9139
Umm.. I'm eleven years old. My mom's anemic, and my doctor is saying I probably am too. I started getting white spots when I was ten (when I switched different vitamin brands), and now there are four or five huge spots that have stayed for over a year. I can't switch back to that vitamin brand because they give me daily nosebleeds though... like 2 or 3 per day.
- anon8912
I have always had several white spots on all my nails since a child and I am now in my fifties--if anything, it is now worse. My spots seem to go away if I wear nail polish for a while--but then they gradually come back. No doctor has been able to give me a definitive answer for these spots--the last response I have had is that it is related to psoriasis, which I do have. It is definitely not calcium related--I have always had high levels of calcium in my body. Nor is it from anemia--I have never been anemic. And I have never had them on my toenails!
- anon8449
Ok I'm A Guy, So I Don't Wear Fake Nails, Therefore Why Do I Have These "White-Spots". + I've Had Them Since I Was A Kid And I'm 20 Now.
- anon5908
I think the white spots are when you're getting enough calcium in your diet. If you ever notice the white spots disappear, it's because you're not getting enough.
- anon5111
I have also had these spots since a child, maybe not in the exact same spot, but anytime you look at my nails you would see 3 or more on each nail, it also looks like stripes on my nails when you look at them from an angle.I have always seemed to have less energy than other people and was anemic as a child,probably still am but don't go to the doctor because I don't have insurance.I just wonder if they are caused by some deficiency and that would explain the lack of energy.
- anon3703
have had these spots since childhood ..they don't seem to go away they disappear and re-appear!!
now i notice them on my toe nails too..but strangely the white spots turn hollow if too much pressure is applied on it ...when it is being manicured!...... - anon3680
Today I removed my nail polish. It had been on for two weeks.
I almost died from fright. Each nail had big white spots on them. I NEVER, NEVER ever had this. I am scared.
Why now after all these years and I have just turned 64 do I have this? - anon2515
I agree with the "not trauma" part.
As far as I can tell it certainly is diet related. Possibly zinc or copper. - anon2257
i've had the same white spots on the same four fingers since i was little and i am now in my thirties. i don't think this is caused from trauma, considering it hasn't gone away and i haven't had any trauma. I also don't think it is a zinc deficiency.
- anon2050
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