Dark lines on nails: melanoma?

Nails can tell a lot about your health. One of the phenomena that you should pay special attention to is the dark lines on the nails. And in today's article, you'll find out why.

Dark stripe on the nail - at first glance, it does not seem to be a global problem, but everything can be more serious than you think. A client of my colleague faced such a problem, who complained to her about a black vertical line on the nail. Initially, the girl only wanted to make a coating in dark colors that would cover the mark.

For many years, the girl went to salons where manicurists told her that the black line on the nail is either a hematoma, or a sign of calcium deficiency, or just a hereditary sign. But this time, she was lucky to fall into the hands of my colleague, who, by a happy coincidence, was a doctor by education, but eventually became a manicurist. She advised her to see a doctor immediately. A couple of weeks later, the girl called and said that the vertical black line on her nails was diagnosed as aggressive melanoma, which had already spread to her lymph nodes.

Melanoma of the nail is officially called subungual melanoma if it is under the nail, or periungual melanoma if it is located around the nail. It is a rare but potentially fatal disease. One of the dangers is that very often patients do not receive an accurate diagnosis right away. The median time to diagnosis for patients with subungual melanoma is two and a half years, and that's not because people don't notice the black line on their nails, but rather because they don't care.

In addition, subungual melanoma is really outwardly very similar to a hematoma, which can be obtained during a common household injury. It is enough just to “successfully” hammer in a nail or slam the door with your finger. :)

However, in this case, over time, a healthy nail will begin to grow, and the discolored place will grow together with it. Outwardly, they also differ slightly, because most often the hematoma has a heterogeneous shape, it can appear as uneven spots, etc., while subungual melanoma appears as clearer lines arising from the root of the nail and stretching to the edge.

Most often, subungual melanoma forms on the thumb, big toe, and index finger.

It is worth paying special attention to the line on the nail if the following signs are observed:

• If the line is very dark
• If the border of the strip is blurred
• If there are changes in the appearance of the line on the nail
• If the patient had cancer in the family

Of course, only your doctor can accurately diagnose subungual melanoma. Therefore, if you notice a new dark mark under the nails, and cannot remember any injury that could have caused it, do not delay your visit to the hospital. After all, as they say, it's better to be overdressed than underdressed. :)

The good news is that if the disease is diagnosed early, removing the nail and the cancer underneath will be enough to fix the problem. Timely surgical intervention will help get rid of cancer cells before they begin to spread.

I hope that the problem of melanoma of the nail never touches you! But still, in the case of any oncology, and indeed with any disease, it is better to be aware and pay attention to the signals that our body gives us. Be healthy and beautiful! :)