Black nails (subungual hematoma): drugs, causes, etc.

x

Definition

What is a subungual hematoma?

A subungual hematoma is a collection of blood under the nail, on both your fingers and toes. This nail problem usually occurs when an injury is damaged or damaged the open blood vessels under the nail.

As a result, blood collects and gets trapped at one point and produces black nails.

In addition, shoes that are too narrow can cause blood vessels to burst and cause blood to get trapped under the nails.

How common are black nails?

Black nails are a fairly common condition that affects anyone, regardless of age and gender. Even so, there are various factors that increase a person's risk of experiencing this one nail disease.

Please consult a doctor if you have one or more risk factors for subungual hematoma.

Signs and symptoms

What are the signs and symptoms of a subungual hematoma?

If you have an injury that causes blood to clot on your nail, you may experience some symptoms to watch out for, including the following.

• Nails turn black or there are black streaks on the nails.
• Nails are red or purplish due to a collection of blood clots.
• Nails hurt and throb.
• Nails feel soft and swollen.
• Painful to the touch.

Initially, the blackened nail may not feel painful. However, the pain can arise as a result of blood pressure building up in the confined space and resulting in damage to the surrounding tissue.

These injuries can later damage and break the nail plate and make the nails turn yellow to black. In fact, blackened nails will also appear thickened due to a blood clot between the plate and nail bed.

That is why, the black lines on the nails should not be underestimated and need to be treated immediately.

When to see a doctor?

If you experience some of the following symptoms, you should immediately consult a dermatologist.

• The bleeding doesn't stop.
• The pain in the nails is getting stronger.
• The base of the nail is injured again
• There is a deep cut or tear in the skin of the finger under the nail

Some of the symptoms above do need immediate medical attention. This is because blood clots on black nails can lead to further complications, such as infection, trauma, and a long healing process.

Cause

Normally, nails have a clear color, have a fine texture, and are free from itching. However, nails that are black, thickened, and experience other disturbing symptoms can actually be caused by the following conditions.

Trauma

Blackened and thickened nails can occur when the nails are injured or traumatized. For example, an injury while playing football, falling a heavy object on your fingernail or toes, or wearing narrow shoes.

Some of these cases can occur repeatedly or suddenly with great pressure. This can cause the blood vessels around the nail to break and bruise to blacken or what is commonly referred to as internal bleeding.

Trauma to the nails can also cause leg pain and swelling. For several days you may have difficulty walking properly due to the pain.

Yeast infection

Apart from trauma, another cause of black nail color is a fungal infection.

The human body is actually a home for various species of fungi, especially on the skin and toenails. However, there were only a few in number so it didn't cause a problem.

Unfortunately, feet that are consistently warm and damp can lead to fungal growth and lead to infection. This fungal infection of the nails can remove the nails by themselves and change the color of the nails to a dull color.

Not only that, but nail fungus can also cause nails to itch and smell bad. If not treated immediately, nail damage will get worse and it will be difficult to return to its original shape.

Melanoma

Subungual melanoma is a type of skin cancer that attacks the toenails and hands. The initial symptoms are usually marked by the appearance of bruising on the nails and the color of the nails turning darker, looking thick, but easily brittle.

This condition is generally caused by sun exposure. In some cases, subungual melanoma can occur in people who have frequent injuries to their nails.

If you find your nails are black, you should immediately consult a doctor to find out the cause.

Other conditions

Apart from the three health conditions above, there are other health problems that can cause black nails, including:

• diabetes,
• Kidney illness,
• heart disease, and
• anemia.

To determine exactly what is causing the black nail line, it's best to get checked out directly by a doctor.

Diagnosis and treatment

How to diagnose this condition?

Generally, the cause of black nails will be diagnosed based on their appearance. Nail color is easier to show at the start of the physical exam.

After that, the dermatologist will try to diagnose this nail disease supported by a dermoscopy.

Dermoscopic features of a subungual hematoma include the following.

• Nail color, which is reddish, purple, brown, or black.
• The clumps and lines of the nail.
• Round shape and edge of the nail.
• White streaks on the nail plate due to loss of transparency.
• Yellowed nail plate.

What are the ways to treat blood clots on the nails (black nails)?

Most cases of subungual hematoma do not require special treatment. In the case of repeated bleeding, it is only necessary to avoid the cause, such as tight shoes or maintaining clean nails.

Even so, there are several ways to treat black nails that you can try at home, depending on the severity of the injury.

Minor injury

If the blackened nails are caused by a minor injury, you can treat the damaged nails with over-the-counter pain relievers. It aims to help reduce throbbing pain and swelling.

Apart from that, you can also do the following home remedies to relieve the symptoms you are experiencing.

• Get more rest,
• Toes and hands are not used very much.
• Ice the blackened nails.
• Apply pressure to the injured area as you apply the compress.
• Elevate the affected area to reduce swelling.

Severe injury

If the injury is serious enough, these home remedies may not be of much help. Serious injury can damage the nail and break the bone under it.

A nail injury that is classified as serious usually causes intense pain that causes the base of the nail to be damaged. If you experience these symptoms, consult a doctor immediately.

The doctor will later remove the nails and stitch them up if the wound is severe enough. Doctors also sometimes will not remove the damaged nail and leave it so that the bottom of the nail is protected.

When the nails heal, the bleeding will stop and new nails will grow. In addition, the doctor will also recommend performing procedures nail trephination .

Nail trephination is a procedure to drain blood from under the nail. This procedure is done to relieve pain and pressure on the injured area.

If you have further questions, please consult with your doctor to find the right solution.