DIAGNOSTIC IMAGES

COVID Nails

Signs of COVID-19 in the skin have been noted.

But there’s another part of the body where the virus appears to have an impact: the fingernails.

Following 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”.

One symptom is a red half-moon pattern that forms a convex band over the white area at the base of fingernails.

This seems to present earlier than other COVID-related nail complaints, with patients noticing it less than two weeks after being diagnosed.

Red half-moon nail patterns like this are generally rare, and previously haven’t been seen so close to the nail base.

So having this pattern appear like this could exclusively be an indication of a COVID-19 infection.

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