The so-called Beau lines, horizontal lines or real grooves on the nail, would be one of the effects of the coronavirus on the body. Here’s what the experts say.
The streaked nails could suggest that you have passed Covid-19 , perhaps even without your knowledge. It is a relief that comes from Great Britain – in fact it has entered a post-Covid phase, and where studies on the effects of the disease are multiplying. Through the Zoe Covid Sympton Study app, British researchers are now able to obtain information from a large number of people and “map” all symptoms related to Covid , including vaccine reactions. Professor Tim Spector, researcher of the Zoe app by posting a photo on Twitter has suggested that nails may be an important source for recognizing if there has been a Covid infection. The nails in fact “resume growing after the infection leaving a clear line.”
Also known as Beau’s lines, horizontal grooves or indentations appear on the nail plate – the outer surface of the nail that rests underneath the nail bed – and can be caused by stopping nail growth due to injury or illnesses, as happens for example with a certain frequency to athletes who, due to various bruises, have effusions under the nail, which becomes black as a bruise before falling. There the growth stops and when it resumes it will be very evident the concretion of the new nail along a horizontal line, precisely the line of Beau. In the case of Covid, without obviously falling of the nail, there would be a halt in growth and a signature when it resumes: prof. Spector noted that, in Covid patients, they can occur without the presence of rashes or other discomfort . This phenomenon has been commonly noted by various scientific observations.
Beau’s lines, transverse indentations in the nail of many, or all, fingernails and sometimes toenails tend to appear, according to doctors and dermatologists, between two and three weeks after the disease in the case of the fingers. and a little later in the toenails , but they are completely harmless. They simply signal the sudden interruption of growth, but they are not an exclusive signal of Covid. According to the scientific literature, they can also appear for a wide range of other causes: as mentioned, for injuries and trauma to the nail, but also for eczema, severe malnutrition, Raynaud’s disease, hypertension, epilepsy, renal failure, Kawasaki disease and chemotherapy. They have also been associated with high fever, which is one of the key symptoms of the coronavirus in some, but also with many other ailments including scarlet fever, pneumonia and malaria.
Researchers note that nails tend to return to normal if the underlying condition is resolved, as is the case with the regrowth of a lost nail due to friction or bruising. The regrowth is however rather slow and it will take no less than six months for the nails to grow and the scratches to completely disappear as the nail is brought forward. If, on the other hand, it does not grow or more lines appear it may be worth consulting a dermatologist or family doctor to find out what other underlying condition – which you do not know – could be the cause. Another nail change that appears to be linked to coronavirus is the presence of red crescent marks on the nails near the cuticles., although the researchers aren’t sure what to attribute them to: it is speculated that this symptom may have something to do with vascular inflammation caused by the virus.
Read More:
