Yellow Nails: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment (2024)

Yellow nails can range from slightly discolored to a distinctly dark yellowish tint. Numerous things can cause yellow nails.

If you frequently wear nail polish, you may notice that your nails become stained yellow. However, more serious situations, like nail infections, yellow nail disease, lung syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis, can also cause yellow nails. In addition, smoking can sometimes stain nails yellow.

This article explains the symptoms, causes, and treatment of yellow nails.

Symptoms of Yellow Nails

Yellow nails range in appearance from a slight discoloration to a noticeable dark yellow color. If you have yellow nails, you may notice the following:

• Nail thickening
• Onycholysis (nails that separate from the nail bed)
• Nails that stop growing

Depending on the cause of the yellow nails, you may also notice additional symptoms. For example, with a rare disease called yellow nail syndrome, other symptoms include respiratory problems, chronic sinusitis, and lower limb swelling.

Causes of Yellow Nails

Many things can cause yellow nails. These include:

• Melanonychia
• Yellow nail syndrome
• Fungal nail infection
• Nail polish stain
• Smoking stain
• Medication side-effects

Melanonychia is a condition that results in discoloration of the nails. Often it presents as a dark stripe. It can be caused by fungal, bacterial, or viral infections, inflammatory disorders, tumors, systemic diseases like endocrine disorders and AIDS, trauma, and nutritional deficiencies.

Yellow nail syndrome is a rare disorder in which the cause is unknown. It is sometimes associated with autoimmune diseases (like rheumatoid arthritis), lymphatic diseases, and cancers.

Fungal infections commonly cause nail discoloration. Anyone can get nail fungus, but it is more common if you have a foot or nail injury, diabetes, a weakened immune system, poor circulation, or a fungal infection elsewhere on the body.

Nail staining can occur from wearing dark-colored nail polish and from smoking cigarettes.

Tobacco-stained fingers may be more than a cosmetic issue. One study noted an 84% frequency of tobacco-related diseases among people with tobacco-stained fingers. These conditions included:

• Smoking-related carcinoma (cancer)
• Ischemic heart disease (caused by narrowed heart arteries)
• Peripheral artery disease (PAD—arteries to the limbs, head, or abdomen are blocked)
• Stroke (blood supply is blocked to the brain or a blood vessel there breaks)
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD, a group of conditions affected the lungs)

What Medications Can Cause Yellow Nails?

Certain medications may also cause nails to turn yellow. These include:

• Tetracyclines (an antibiotic used to treat acne and other bacterial infections)
• Quinolones (a type of antibiotic)
• Clofazimine (an antibiotic used to treat leprosy)
• Combivir (a medication used to treat human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV)
• Psoralens (a drug used to treat skin conditions)
• Retinoids (an acne medication)
• Cytotoxic drugs (chemotherapy drugs that kill cells)

Most of the time, nail discoloration resolves after you stop taking the medication. However, sometimes the problem persists even after you discontinue it.

Never stop taking a medication without first talking with a healthcare provider. They may decide it's best to finish the course (if it's short-term), or they may find another treatment option.

How to Treat Yellow Nails

Treatment for yellow nails depends on the cause. If your nails are yellow from melanonychia, treatment may involve stopping medication or treating the underlying disease or trauma.

If yellow nail syndrome is the cause, treatment may include antibiotics, vitamin E supplements, and corticosteroids. Sometimes surgery is required for respiratory problems, like pleural effusions (fluid-filled membranes in the lungs).

Fungal nail infections are often treated with antifungal medications, laser therapy, or nail removal. Nails that are stained from nail polish may need a break from nail polish. Once the nails grow out, they often clear up on their own.

Your skin and nails stop yellowing when you stop smoking.

Are There Tests to Diagnose Yellow Nails?

To diagnose the cause of your yellow nails, a healthcare provider (usually a dermatologist, a doctor specializing in skin and nails) will examine your nails and take a detailed medical history, including symptoms and any medications or health conditions you have. This information can often direct the next steps, if any.

When to See a Healthcare Provider

Yellow nails are a condition that a healthcare provider should check out. While sometimes the cause of yellow nails can be cosmetic, it can also be caused by serious underlying health conditions.

If your yellow nails are accompanied by other body-wide symptoms (respiratory or circulatory symptoms), it is essential to get that checked out, as it could signal yellow nail syndrome.

In addition, fungal nail infections are notoriously stubborn to treat, so the sooner you receive a diagnosis and treatment plan, the more likely it will be that your infection will clear promptly.

Summary

Many things can cause yellow nails, including staining from substances like nail polish or a serious underlying health condition. In addition to discoloration, you may also notice nails that stop growing, separate from the nail bed or are brittle. Infections, trauma, nail polish stains, smoking, and medication side effects may be to blame for yellow nails. Treatment is geared toward the underlying cause.