Idiopathic familial onychomadesis

Onychomadesis is defined as spontaneous separation of the nail plate from the nail bed, beginning at its proximal end and resulting in the shedding of the nail. It has been associated with a variety of clinical settings, including systemic illnesses, generalized skin diseases, and drug therapies. There have been a small number of reports in the older literature of idiopathic onychomadesis occurring in a familial pattern. We report the case of a healthy 12-year-old girl and her mother, both of whom have experienced recurrent onychomadesis affecting multiple digits, and in the absence of any causal disease or medication.