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COVID-19 Trastornos de las uñas

Vitaly Solomonoff

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¿CoVID-19 provoca trastornos en las uñas?
The short answer is yes, it does. But let’s see what the latest scientific findings report about it.

La nueva infección vírica surgió en 2019 y se extendió rápidamente por todo el planeta.
The initial scientific studies of the new viral nature have led to clear conclusions that the virus causes acute respiratory distress syndrome with a severe impact on cardiovascular and pulmonary systems. Further studies have shown that the virus attacks all systems, including the brain, inner organs, immune system, nerves, blood vessels, and the reproductive system in men. Thus, COVID is currently seen as a systemic infection. Later, the consequences of the active infection were determined in the form of the so-called post-COVID syndrome, which can last from several weeks to several months and even longer. The skin and its appendages, including nails, are clearly involved in many cases. 

The major outcome caused by COVID is microvascular disturbances when the virus affects the wall of microscopic blood vessels in the skin and in the living parts of the fingernails. In turn, the affected blood vessels don’t perform their physiological function – the quality of blood supply to the organs. The impaired function appears in a form of many well-known symptoms that also can be the symptoms of many other diseases – onycholysis, onychomadesis, leukonychia, etc. So, if your client who has recovered from the recent COVID infection has some unusual or massive symptoms – be prepared, it can be the symptoms of the post-COVID syndrome. 

One of the common conditions caused by COVID even has its own name – Covid Toe or Covid Finger. It looks like swollen red nail folds around the nail bed. It is often accompanied by onycholysis or leukonychia. Interestingly, these adverse symptoms are followed by a mild or even asymptomatic course of COVID. Sometimes hematoma-like lesions and hyperkeratosis of the nail bed are also signs of COVID toe or finger. Severe cases look very similar to frostbites of the fingers if the thrombosis and inflammation of the blood vessels are present. 
Surprisingly, the latest studies reveal the fact that some vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna) can cause the COVID toe or Finger in some people too several days after vaccination. The good news is that the condition spontaneously disappears after a couple of weeks. 

Another condition is Periungual desquamation. The symptom looks very similar to acute onicólisis when nail plates detach from the nail bed. This is also a sign of very severe COVID among adults recovering from the COVID multisystemic inflammatory syndrome.


All sorts of discoloration are also often reported in the studies. They can manifest in the form of red-white discoloration with onycholysis. Sometimes, discolorations of lunula occur during severe COVID. This symptom has been described as a red-violet band surrounding the distal margin of the nail lunula and has its own name. It is known as a “red half-moon sign”. In many cases, the COVID discolorations are observed in adult patients or seniors. So-called “distal orange discolorations” have been described in the studies as a delayed response several weeks after COVID disease. This sign is a flag for a nail tech’s attention since the client with an orange discoloration should be referred to the doctor, because the orange discoloration can be a symptom of post-COVID anemia. However, you can perform the regular manicure or pedicure and apply the nail polish to camouflage the discolorations. Unfortunately, there is no specific treatment for the post covid nail conditions. 

Healthcare professionals often reported the type of occupational nail changes, which occur due to the protective measures (gloves) in clinics during the COVID pandemic. The condition is well known to nail techs too – it is a bacterial disease caused by Pseudomonas Aeruginosa and called the “green nail syndrome”.  It appears on healthy natural nails. The nail folds can be involved in the pathological process, too, and loss of the cutícula de la uña es el principal signo de esta inflamación.  

Unfortunately, COVID as any systemic disease attacks many organs in humans. Now we can see that skin and its appendages are not an exclusion. Regretfully, medical science merely didn’t have enough time to elaborate on the specific treatment for all the nail and skin lesions associated with COVID. At least the recent studies show us the path and hope for the specific cure soon.

Clavos COVID

La bibliografía que se ha utilizado para esta revisión:

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