People with MS may occasionally experience Beau's lines after a flare-up, though they should get checked for these other conditions, as well.
Beau's lines aren't a disease and aren't harmful by themselves. They're usually a sign that you had an illness or nail damage a few weeks or months ago. Chronic conditions that need treatment can cause them, so don't ignore them.
Infections, severe medical illnesses, major surgery/anesthesia, medication side effects, and autoimmune disease can produce Beau lines and onychomadesis.
Conditions associated with Beau's lines include uncontrolled diabetes and peripheral vascular disease, as well as illnesses associated with a high fever, such as scarlet fever, measles, mumps and pneumonia. Beau's lines can also be a sign of zinc deficiency.
Fungal infections in toenails, known as onychomycosis, are relatively common among the general population — and they're even more common among people diagnosed with MS. These infections may cause nail discoloration, lead to cracking and breaking, or cause other nail changes or deformities to develop.
White spots
White marks on the nails are known as leukonychia. The markings can present as spots or stripes. There are many causes of white spots on the nails, including trauma, some diseases, or a zinc or iron deficiency.
Systemic sclerosis (SSc): Capillary loops in proximal nailfold, splinter hemorrhages, longitudinal and transverse curvature in fingernails digital pitted scars are frequent. Rheumatoid arthritis: Splinter hemorrhages, red lunula and white dull colour in fingernails are common.
Beau's lines are fairly common nail changes in patients on chemotherapy. Beau's lines harbingers variety of medical disorders (benign and malignant). A cause should be searched and once removed it resolves completely.
The main symptom of Beau's lines is the ridge that appears in the nail. The nail may also become discolored and appear yellow, like the color changes that occur in fungal infections.
“Doctors need to see the lines to determine how long ago the matrix was affected and whether the lines could be because of an injury, for example,” says McCormick, who once developed Beau's lines herself due to a thyroid condition. There's no specific treatment for Beau's lines; most often, they grow out on their own.
Nail changes
These are most common in people who have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Some people develop a nail infection, which can cause splitting or crumbling nails and discoloration (A), or swollen skin and discoloration around the nails (B). Sometimes, visible blood vessels appear around the nails.
Beau lines can result from Raynaud phenomenon, which can be a paraneoplastic manifestation of lymphoma and an early sign of recurrent lymphoma.
Nail psoriasis is an autoimmune condition. It causes discoloration, pitting and changes in your fingernails and toenails. There isn't a cure, but treatments can alleviate related symptoms.
Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma, SSc) is an autoimmune disease that targets small and medium-sized arteries and arterioles in the involved tissues, resulting in a fibrotic vasculopathy and tissue fibrosis. Several prominent nail and periungual changes are apparent in scleroderma.
What are Beau's lines? Beau's lines (sometimes referred to as Beau lines) are deep horizontal lines or grooves in the nails. They can develop after a period of illness (usually a virus) or an injury and are caused by a temporary disruption of nail growth.
Red or brown stripes: Lupus may cause red or brown stripes to appear below the nail bed. Also known as splinter hemorrhages, these stripes occur due to damage to the blood vessels. Grooves across the nails: Grooves across the nails, known as Beau's lines, can occur due to lupus or Raynaud's phenomenon.
Many medications have been associated with the development of Beau's lines, including systemic chemotherapeutic agents, retinoids, dapsone, metoprolol, itraconazole, octreotide, and azathioprine.
Horizontal ridges or dents in your nails are usually due to a condition called Beau's lines. These dents may happen when something interrupts your nail growth.
With age, vertical nail ridges may become more numerous or prominent because of changes in cell turnover within the nail. If your fingernails change color or you develop horizontal nail ridges, consult your health care provider. These changes could indicate an underlying health condition.
Beau's Lines
Nails tend to grow out straight. But if something disturbs the smooth process, it could sustain a linear groove amidst the plat. People with acute kidney disease often develop Beau's lines.
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic autoimmune disease which still poses a great challenge to clinicians. The most prominent feature of SSc is the process of progressive fibrosis resulting from the excessive deposition of extracellular matrix components in different tissues and organs.
Characteristics of systemic sclerosis include essential vasomotor disturbances; fibrosis; subsequent atrophy of the skin (see the image below), subcutaneous tissue, muscles, and internal organs (eg, alimentary tract, lungs, heart, kidney, CNS); and immunologic disturbances accompany these findings.
Systemic scleroderma can affect almost any organ in the body, and there is a large variability of symptoms among affected individuals. One of the most common and earliest manifestations of the disease is Raynaud phenomenon, which involves blood vessel spasms (vasospasms) induced by cold temperature or stress.