A 10-year-old boy consulted for three longitudinal brown lines on the nail of one of the fingers on his right hand that appeared one month prior to consultation (Fig. 1). No history of atopy was reported and his past medical history was free of diseases. No ingestion of drugs has been reported. On clinical examination longitudinal brownish lines were observed on his nails and post inflammatory pigmentation on the surrounding the nail skin.

Figure 1: Three longitudinal brown lines on the nail of one finger.

It is probably factitial longitudinal melanonychia [1].

Factitial longitudinal melanonychia is an exclusion diagnosis. It is the commonest clinical sign of lichen planus of the nails [2]. In the absence of past medical history and no ingestion of drugs we may conclude that the child has himself made the brownish lines on his nails by using henna or other colorizing agent to impress his family or his classmates it may also be associated with its ethnicity, people of iv phototype may see appear brownish lines on their nails without it being a sign of underlying disease.

REFERENCES

Notes