Why ‘COVID Nails’ Will Make You Question Everything about COVID-19
As time goes on and we continue to navigate the dark, murky COVID-19 waters, new information has emerged about what COVID nails reveal in our understanding of the disease in those who have battled the potentially deadly infection and what could happen when re-exposed to the virulent spike protein.
According to the CDC, the hallmark signs of COVID-19 infection are:
- Fever
- Cough
- Fatigue
- Loss of sense of smell
- Loss of sense of taste
There have also been symptoms associated with skin or hair loss.
A recent study shows that 20% of COVID-19 patients have cutaneous (related to skin) manifestations. As new research develops, COVID-19 also appears to have an impact on fingernail appearance.
Before we tackle the strange phenomenon of COVID nails, it’s worth noting that I became aware of these nail changes as a result of my own nails suddenly looking weird weeks after I fought and recovered from COVID-19.
Here’s a brief bit about my COVID battle and how it affected the appearance of my nails for months after I recovered.
Personal Story: My Battle with COVID-19
In August 2021, my family contracted the COVID-19 virus while visiting my husband’s parents, who were unknowingly COVID positive despite being fully vaccinated.
In our family of 8, all but one came down with the illness and most recovered within 48–72 hours.
I was seemingly unfazed at the beginning and felt fine overall as I nursed everyone back to health. But as the days went on, I became sicker and sicker.
My severe COVID-19 infection symptoms included:
- High fever averaging 103°F for close to 1 week
- Fainting with a head injury and many subsequent near fainting episodes
- Diarrhea
- Absence of cough
- Absence of shortness of breath
- Marked fatigue and low activity tolerance
- Loss of sense of smell
- Loss of sense of taste
My husband had a relatively mild case and recovered faster, thankfully because as a mom, I was entirely out of commission — bed-bound for roughly three weeks.
Five out of six of my children contracted the coronavirus and appeared with:
- Sudden high fevers
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Loss of sense of smell
- The youngest child, who was 11 months old and still breastfeeding, had the mildest case lasting roughly 24 hours. Thankfully, his fever never got high enough to need medication.
Once the spike protein had me firmly in its grips, the sudden high fever led to me fainting, and I ended up falling and hitting my head on my beloved, thriving Monstera plant sitting on the floor, killing her in the process.
Yeah, I was pissed about that.
May she rest in peace.
It was a scary night as I had never passed out before. Luckily, I only ended up with a small knot on my forehead and escaped severe head injury.
For the remaining week, I lived in bed and on around-the-clock Tylenol, oregano oil, monolaurin, and cannabis to combat the distressing symptoms.
I binged on comforting oldie-but-goodie, made-for-tv movies from the 80s and 90s on TubiTV, and did not eat much food besides fresh fruit.
Susan Lucci and Judith Light unquestionably kept my nearly-broken spirit afloat during those dark moments of uncertainty.
It was a really challenging period in my life, but fortunately, I recovered on my own, having opted to stay home instead of going to a germ-filled COVID ward in a hospital.
I’m a rebel like that.
Consequently, I dealt with “weird-feeling” lingering effects for weeks following my recovery. “Long” COVID is what that’s referred to these days.
I was still very low on energy and didn’t do too much as I felt faint if standing for too long. I didn’t cook, clean, etc., for close to a month after the onset of infection.
Fast forward to now, where lately I noticed horizontal lines and grooves on my fingernails, in addition to horizontal moon-shaped red lines on my nail bed.
It struck me as most peculiar because, after all, I’ve never noticed coordinating lines on all ten fingernails that seem to indicate something strange happened in my body some months ago.
My curiosity piqued, leading me to wonder if these unusual lines and ridges were the result of my previous COVID infection, and as it turns out, I was right.
And after researching COVID nails, what I found shocked me.
What are COVID Nails?
COVID nails describe the changes observed in fingernails that begin to occur a few days or weeks after becoming infected with COVID-19.
They are a sign that your body has recently been under tremendous stress or a sign of a recent infection with a high fever.
This newly observed phenomenon manifests itself in 5 ways:
- Beau’s Lines
- Red Half-Moon Shape
- Mees’ Lines
- Transverse Orange Discoloration
- Red-White Nail Bed Discoloration
A troubling and potentially severe 6th COVID nail complication has been observed post-vaccination with the Pfizer BioNTech BNT162b2 COVID messenger RNA vaccine.
We’ll cover that later in the article, but for now, let’s take a look at the 5 most common nail abnormalities noticed after a COVID-19 infection.
What are Beau’s Lines?
Beau’s lines refer to horizontal ridges or dents in nails and signify an interruption of the nail matrix growth.
Traditionally, Beau’s lines can occur from an injury such as slamming your finger in a door or if you’ve been emotionally stressed or physically ill from a death in the family or divorce.
COVID-19 associated Beau’s lines typically reveal themselves about 4–5 weeks after disease onset. On average, nails grow roughly 2 mm — 5 mm per month.
After COVID-19 infection, they are a tell-tale sign that your body was so sick that it temporarily shut down nail production and diverted attention to more critical physiological needs like preserving vital organ function!
Seriously, how amazing is the ability of our body to re-route its attention to focus on healing itself?
As the nail grows, the horizontal indentation becomes more noticeable.
As a result, the time the stressful event occurred can be estimated by observing the distance between Beau’s lines and the base of the nail.
Scientists have noted that Beau’s lines are not a completely reliable indicator of previous COVID-19 infection because they are also associated with other stressful health conditions.
What’s with the Red Half-Moon Shape on COVID Nails?
With the exception of Beau’s lines, the red half-moon shape was the most pronounced and noticeable symptom for me.
The appearance of a red half-moon shape on the nail bed is a novel manifestation of coronavirus infection.
Never before has it been observed in a clinical setting, nor is it associated with any other illness and is exclusive to previously recent COVID-19 diagnosis.
Because of this, research shows that this nail abnormality can be a pretty reliable sign of COVID-19 recovery and possibly the presence of robust natural antibodies.
The red half-moon shape appears approximately two weeks after the onset of COVID-19 infection and appears as a curved red band above the lunula, the white crescent moon-shaped portion located at the base of the nail.
Experts have not yet determined why COVID-19 causes the red half-moon shape. However, the changes are thought to occur due to microscopic blood vessel damage or an increased clotting risk connected to systemic inflammation.
What are Mees’ Lines?
Mees’ lines are characterized by horizontal white lines or stripes on the nail.
Unlike Beau’s lines, there are no ridges or dents formed in the fingernail, and it will look and feel smooth despite the white discolorations.
Mees’ lines that appear after COVID-19 infection signify interrupted nail growth and present in other illnesses such as arsenic poisoning or kidney failure.
In those cases, nails will have a series of Mees’ lines on each nail.
However, only one line will be present on each fingernail after a successful bout with the notorious COVID-19 spike protein.
What are Transverse Orange Lesions?
Notably affecting the tip segment of the fingernails, transverse orange lesions have been noted months after COVID-19 diagnosis.
It appears as an orange tint involving the end portion of the nail and results from severe coronavirus infection.
Scientists say that while there is no clear explanation of the exact cause of the orange coloring, it still indicates recent systemic illness.
What is a Red-White Nail Bed Discoloration?
Although lesser-known, the red-white nail bed discoloration has been noted to occur after coronavirus infection and affects the entire nail surface.
Changes related to capillary edema create a “folding” in portions of the nail.
As a result, redness occurs on the nail bed. The resulting discoloration is believed to be indicative of recent systemic inflammation and edema.
A Notably Strange Post-Jab COVID Nail Scenario
In the spirit of a “complete guide” for all things related to COVID nail changes, it’s worth mentioning a newly published study that details the emergence of de novo nail psoriasis triggered by the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 COVID-19 messenger RNA vaccine.
Published in September 2021, researchers describe how the vaccine-associated adverse reaction caused a sudden deformity of nails surrounded by red, scaly skin leading to a progressive separation of the nail from the nail bed.
This condition consequently interferes with the ability to care for oneself.
In addition, the study notes the de novo nail psoriasis occurred within days of vaccination.
After ruling out all other potential causes, scientists concluded this was a “likely triggering effect of the Pfizer-BioNTech” injection.
This observation is worth noting as yet another potentially unusual nail manifestation in the fight against COVID-19.
Thankfully, the severe condition has been deemed treatable in the long term.
Are COVID Nails permanent?
COVID nails most certainly spell bad news for French manicures, which rely on a blemish-free nail bed to look the best.
Experts say there’s no need to worry about the appearance of COVID nails in the long term. Luckily, for those who come down with these unsightly nail conditions, the changes are not permanent.
However, be patient! It could take a minimum of six months to resolve because the nails have to grow out fully.
Red moon-shaped nail oddities may fade over time.
To disguise the ugly appearance of COVID nails, polish fingernails to conceal unsightly color changes.
Beau’s lines can become camouflaged using a coarse nail file or nail buffer to smooth the nail surface.
You can also use a nail ridge filler to disguise nail indentations.
It’s helpful to keep in mind that it is a good idea to take a break from using nail-concealing products like artificial nails and nail polish too frequently.
We can observe the quality of our health through the clear window of the nail bed. Changes in nail appearance are a significant indicator of the presence of disease.
It’s important to note that not all COVID-19 patients will experience these nail changes, although the changes are increasingly linked to the severity of coronavirus infection.
Why are COVID Nails Not Included in the Conversation?
At the time of publishing, the world has been embroiled in the battle against COVID-19 for nearly two years.
Nail changes offer a unique insight into the pathological basis of many diseases, including SARS-COV-2 infection, and enough evidence now supports their presence may provide proof of antibodies.
Unfortunately, the reported COVID nail changes have been largely ignored in the conversation about “long” COVID-19 symptoms.
One of the reasons these nail changes remain overlooked is because they typically occur months after an acute coronavirus infection.
Despite taking a while to become noticeable, adequate time has elapsed during this pandemic to gather preliminary data about what these nail changes could tell us about the long-term effects of COVID-19 and use that as an opportunity to identify recovered patients to analyze their antibody patterns post-infection.
In addition, because the red moon-shaped lines specifically confirm a previous COVID-19 diagnosis, researchers could use them to direct future investigations that study the effect of antibodies and robust fighter T-cell function over time.
What COVID Nails Could Reveal in Long Term Studies on the Reliability of Natural Immunity
People who exhibit these remarkable nail changes had a high enough SARS-COV-2 viral load to halt new nail production and alter nail appearance temporarily.
Current research supports that naturally-acquired immunity has been shown to offer lasting protection against COVID-19 re-infection.
Researchers found durable immune responses in 98% of participants one month after the onset of their COVID-19 symptoms.
Over time, the antibody levels remained relatively stable, increasing monthly before declining only modestly and plateauing at 6–8 months and upwards of one year after infection.
While researchers were hopeful that the COVID-19 vaccines would offer such protection, current research suggests otherwise as more global reports emerge of waning vaccine effectiveness over time.
Despite some researchers stating that these nail changes are useless in diagnosing an acute COVID infection, it appears that they may be beneficial in the long-term understanding of how natural immunity holds up to the threat of COVID-19 re-infection.
Health Disclaimer
All information, including but not limited to text, graphics, images, and other material provided, is intended for your general knowledge and is for informational purposes only. While I have extensive medical knowledge and experience as a registered nurse, the information herein is not intended to replace medical advice offered by physicians. Always consult your physician regarding personal medical concerns. Never delay seeking professional medical advice because of something you have read on this website.
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