![]() These are known as Mees’ lines or transverse leukonychia. The underlying mechanism behind this is unknown.Īnd in a third case, a patient had horizontal white lines appear on their nails that don’t disappear with pressure. No treatment was given and the discoloration had still not resolved after a month. This patient didn’t receive treatment for these changes as new healthy nails could be seen growing underneath those that detached, indicating that the issue was beginning to resolve itself.Īnother patient, 112 days after testing positive, witnessed orange discoloration to their nail tips. This phenomenon is known as onychomadesis and is thought to happen for similar reasons to Beau’s lines appearing. One female patient’s nails loosened from the nail base and eventually fell out, three months after her infection. The above are the two more common Covid-related nail complaints, but researchers have recorded some other unusual occurrences as well. There’s no specific treatment for Beau’s lines, as they tend to eventually grow out if the underlying condition has resolved.Ĭurrently, the available evidence suggests that there’s no association between the severity of Covid-19 infection and the type or extent of nail changes. The timing of the stressful event can be therefore estimated by looking at how far the Beau’s lines are from the nail base. While it’s plausible that they’re caused by Covid-19, they’re definitely not an exclusive symptom of the disease.Īs nails grow between 2mm and 5mm a month on average, Beau’s lines tend to become noticeable four to five weeks after the physical stress happens – as the nail grows, the indentation is revealed. These tend to appear four weeks or more after a Covid-19 infection.īeau’s lines occur when there is a temporary interruption in nail growth due to a physical stress on the body, such as an infection, malnutrition or side-effects of medications such as chemotherapy drugs. Importantly, these marks don’t appear to be anything to worry about, as patients are otherwise asymptomatic – although it is unclear how long they stay for, having lasted from between one week to over four weeks in the cases reported.Ī few patients have also found new horizontal indentations in the bases of the nails of their fingers and toes, which are known as Beau’s lines. Alternatively, it may be due to the immune response mounted against the virus causing mini blood clots and discolouration. A possible cause could be blood vessel damage associated with the virus itself. ![]() The mechanism underlying this half-moon patterning remains unclear. So having this pattern appear like this could exclusively be an indication of a Covid-19 infection. Red half-moon nail patterns like this are generally rare, and previously haven’t been seen so close to the nail base. Multiple cases have been reported – but not many. ![]() This seems to present earlier than other Covid-related nail complaints, with patients noticing it less than two weeks after being diagnosed. One symptom is a red half-moon pattern that forms a convex band over the white area at the base of fingernails. But there’s another part of the body where the virus appears to have an impact: the fingernails.įollowing a Covid-19 infection, for a small number of patients the fingernails appear discoloured or misshapen a number of weeks later – a phenomenon that’s been dubbed “Covid nails”. However, signs of the virus in the skin have been noted too. The main signs of Covid-19 are fever, a cough, fatigue and a loss of your sense of taste and smell.
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