What Conditions Can Trachyonychia Indicate?

Ichthyosis Vulgaris

Trachyonychia can manifest in individuals affected by any one of the numerous genetic skin disorders in the ichthyosis vulgaris family. Disorders within this family cause the protective barrier function of the skin to become impaired, abnormally rapid new skin cell production, and abnormally slow shedding of old skin cells. These malfunctions result in an accumulation of scaly, thick skin in affected individuals. The most common parts of a patient's body affected by these ichthyosis scales are the scalp, face, buttocks, legs, trunk, and stomach. The color of the scales can bet dark brown, white, or gray. This upregulated production of skin cells can cause the part of the nail called the nail fold to experience inflammation on a frequent basis. In addition, the skin cells that reside underneath the nail above the nail bed may experience excessive multiplication and accumulate underneath the nail. Furthermore, the nails of patients affected by any form of ichthyosis tend to grow at a rate two to three times faster than those of a healthy individual. It is a combination of the effects of one or more of these factors that contribute to the association between trachyonychia and ichthyosis vulgaris.

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