I see a light brownish band across the tips of my toenails. What can it mean?

Hello Anonymous,

I would like to welcome you to the EmpowHER community and thank you for reaching out to us with your health concern.

Without seeing your toenails, I am limited in giving you a definitive answer.

Are you taking any medications? Are these bands on every nail?
Are you dark skinned?

Anonymous, longitudinal pigmented bands are normal findings in the nails of dark skinned person, occurring in more than 77% of blacks older than 20 years.

A physician must differentiate this benign condition from a more serious condition called subungual melanoma. This is a type of skin cancer that develops under the nail. Subungual melanomas develop in older individuals and constitute 50% of melanomas in dark skinned persons.

Regards,
Maryann