Nail pitting: the meaning & causes of fingernail pits!

FINGERNAIL DISORDERS: Nail pitting

What is nail pitting? Nail pits are small, round depressions on the surface of the nail plate. They are usually due to disease in the proximal matrix, or sometimes, the proximal nail fold. And the arrangement of the depressions in the surface of the nail is presumably due to the extent and location of the disease in the nail matrix. Random pits in the nail can be seen as an idiopatic finding. When the pitting is uniformly distributed, giving the entire nail plate a roughned appearance, it is called trachyonychia. Treatment of nail pits should be directed to the matrix of the nail. What causes nail pitting? Nail pits are usually the result of: • psoriasis (10-50% of patients have nail pits); • alopecia areata; • eczema; • Reiter’s syndrome; • incontinentia pigmenti; • in children nail pitting can be a normal condition of the nail (not caused by a disease). MORE ABOUT THIS FINGERNAIL DISORDER: Nail pitting – a disorder in the nail

PHOTO – Nail piting in fingernails:

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