CHANGES in your finger nails can be down to a number of issues and while they are usually nothing to worry about – they could be deadly.
Subungual melanoma is a rare type of skin cancer that occurs in the skin under your nails.
One doctor previously warned that there’s a key sign you can pick up on which indicates you might have the illness.
Dr Raj Karan said a dark streak in your nail could be caused by things such as infections, medication side effects, trauma and blood clots.
“And one particular cause is a rare type of skin cancer called a melanoma”, he said.
He explained that subungual melanoma is rare and happens in around one per cent of all melanoma cases.
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People may wrongly believe they just have bruising of the nail, or not even notice a change at all.
The nail may have a black or brown streak, separate from the nail bed, bleed, thin or crack, or have a bruise that doesn’t go away despite the nail growing.
The skin around the nail may also darken.
Dr Karan said these marks aren’t always a sign of cancer and that they are also present in people with darker skin.
Data shows that the marks have been seen in 75 per cent of African, 25 per cent of Chinese and 10 per cent of Japanese people who have previously been diagnoses with melanoma.
Typically, older people are more at risk, with women in their 60s and men in their 70s mainly being affected.
However, we previously reported how one woman in her 40s, had to have her finger amputated after she discovered a brown strip on her nail.
It’s important that if you are worried, you should always see your GP – as subungual melanoma may not always present with a streak on the nail.
So it’s important that you look out for other signs on the nails and toes that could indicate illness.
These include:
- changing colour
- thinning
- redness and swelling
- nails lifting from the nail bed
- pitting
- grooves or gaps
- curvature
- thick and overgrown
