White Spots on the Nail

They look harmless. Small, milky-white dots or streaks that appear in the nail at some point, grow forward a little, and eventually disappear at the edge. Sometimes there are only one or two spots, sometimes a whole landscape of bright islands. Children have them often, adults sometimes. Nobody gets worked up about them. In the medical literature they are called leukonychia — punctata, striata, partialis, or totalis, depending on the extent. The most common explanations: a small injury to the nail matrix from trimming or a knock, a temporary air inclusion, sometimes a sign of zinc or calcium deficiency. In the vast majority of cases they are medically insignificant.