Serious Symptoms Of Subungual Melanoma

Dark Skin Next To The Nail

An individual who notices they have dark skin next to their nail may be affected by subungual melanoma. This symptom is less common than other symptoms and typically does not manifest until the melanoma has grown past the visible area of the nail. A healthy human nail extends past the visible nail plate underneath the cuticle. When the individual's subungual melanoma spreads down into this portion of the nail that sits underneath the skin closest to the surface of the nail plate, it can make the skin appear a different color. This discoloration may be as mild as a slightly darker shade of the normal skin tone, or it may take on a black, dark brown, blue, dark gray, or purple tone. The skin discoloration around the nail plate in a subungual melanoma is usually a lighter tone, as the skin is less translucent than the nail plate. Individuals often mistake this discoloration as a bruise of some sort, but it never actually heals the way a bruise would.

Learn more about the key symptoms of subungual melanoma now.