Longitudinal Melanonychia

[jgs31794]

I have a single darkish brown streak on one of my fingernails. I am fourteen and my race is a mixture of Caucasian, Native American, and African-American. My mother isn't concerned, where as I am worried that it could be serious. I did some research and believe that it is possibly Longitudinal Melanonychia.

What should i do and are there any possible ways to get rid of it?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
It does not look like longitudinal melanonychia which presents as pigmented band arranged lengthwise along the nail unit and may be associated with subungual melanoma. At your age it is unlikely. If you have hurt your finger recently then it can be a subungual hematoma but it has been present for quite some time then there is nothing to worry about.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[Ashwin Bhandari, MBBS]

Hi, thanks for your query. I do not see a concerning problem here. You do not need treatment now. it's just cosmetic, try to relax and feel lucky to have got a single brown streak. You could use a nail polish to cover it up, sometimes as the nail starts to grow the streak tends to grow with it and finally would disappear. Just don’t worry, try to relax. If it persists even after a month or two then meet a dermatologist for further management.
Wish you good health