Covid nails: the strange symptom that some infected with the coronavirus could suffer | the Chronicle

the coronavirus (Covid), according to numerous reports, could generate a strange effect on the nails. Apparently, just as it affects the loss of taste and smell, it could discolor and distort them for up to several weeks after contracting the disease, a symptom already known as “Covid Nails”.

This symptom appears within about two weeks of being diagnosed with covid-19 infection and consists of a kind of reddish crescent on the white area of ​​the nail.

The rare occurrence of this type of nail stain could be linked to an indication of a coronavirus infection. However, the evidence available to date suggests that there is no association between the severity of the infection and the type or extent of nail changes.

According to science outlet The Conversation, one of the symptoms is a red crescent pattern that forms a convex band over the white area at the base of the nails. It appears to occur earlier than other nail conditions linked to COVID-19, with patients noticing it within two weeks of being diagnosed. Several cases have been described, but not many.

Red crescent shaped nail patterns like this are generally rare and have never been seen so close to the base of the nail before. Thus, the appearance of this pattern could be exclusively an indication of a COVID-19 infection.

As for the documented cases, the underlying mechanism for this crescent pattern is not yet clear, although a possible explanation could be the damage to blood vessels derived from the contraction of the virus. Another possibility is that it is related to the immune response, which can cause very small blood clots and discoloration.

However, these marks, according to ScienceAlert, usually appear in asymptomatic patients.