Beau's lines are grooves or dents that run across your fingernails or toenails horizontally. They can affect all your nails or just a few, such as on your thumbs and big toes.
They appear as noticeable horizontal lines, at times with a slight yellow discolouration like in fungal nail infections. Beau's lines also trigger soreness and pain in certain instances at the fingertips, from discomfort due to the abnormally-shaped nails. Beau's lines can also arise in the toenails.
However, Beau's lines are non-specific deep transverse linear depressions or trenches across the nails which occur in situations such as: Illnesses such as serious forms of fever, stress or myocardial infarction. Nail injury. Eczema of the periungual skin. Malnutrition.
Causes of Beau's lines include high fevers caused by infection, severe cutaneous inflammatory diseases such as Stevens–Johnson syndrome or Kawasaki disease, a reaction to medications, and acrodermatitis enteropathica. Beau's lines may occur in infants, 4–10 weeks of age, as a result of the stress of delivery.
Beau's lines
They can appear when nail growth temporarily stops due to injury or illness. Beau's lines may be caused by: Infections. Diabetes that is not well controlled.
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. Work with your healthcare provider to find out the underlying cause so you can address any possible health problems.
Beau lines can result from Raynaud phenomenon, which can be a paraneoplastic manifestation of lymphoma and an early sign of recurrent lymphoma.
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.
Zinc deficiency can cause Beau's lines and white spots on your nails. Iron deficiency can cause vertical nail ridges and koilonychia (spoon nails). Spoon nails have a depression in the middle, like the center of your nail was scooped out.
Many medications have been associated with the development of Beau's lines, including systemic chemotherapeutic agents, retinoids, dapsone, metoprolol, itraconazole, octreotide, and azathioprine.
People with acute kidney disease often develop Beau's lines.
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.
Though many seniors develop vertical ridges on their nails due to aging, horizontal ridges, also known as Beau's lines, can be the result of a health problem.
Koilonychia is indented nails. Instead of growing straight, your nails look concave, like spoons. In many people, koilonychia is a sign of iron deficiency. Usually, you can get rid of spoon nails by treating the underlying cause.
Mees', Beau's and Muehrcke's lines are all transverse lines seen on finger or toe nails. Only Beau's lines are grooved. Mees' and Beau's lines move distally with nail growth. Mees', Beau's and Muehrcke's lines are associated with systemic illness, trauma, poisoning, medications and high-altitude mountaineering.
Very pale nails
Healthy nails are generally pink. Very pale nails may indicate illnesses, such as anemia, congestive heart failure or liver disease.
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.
Some medical conditions that have been associated with the development of Beau's Lines include: coronary thrombosis, myocarditis, hypopituitarism, hyperthyroidism, gout, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, epilepsy, renal failure, and glomerulonephritis.
Cancer treatments that can cause nail changes
If you are getting treatment in cycles, the nails may begin to grow a little in between the cycles, but may produce white horizontal lines in the nail plate, called Beau's lines. These are harmless and will usually grow out once treatment is over.
Beau's lines are among the most common of nail signs of nutritional deficiencies, including protein defi- ciency and the general malnourished state associated with chronic alcohol- ism.
Beau's lines are horizontal indentations or ridges across the nail. They can develop on the fingernails and toenails and are caused by illness, injury, or infection. This article discusses the symptoms, causes, and treatment options for Beau's lines.
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.
The dents in the nails can be shallow or deep. It's typically a symptom of another condition, such as psoriasis, an autoimmune disease that causes skin cell overgrowth and buildup. Read on to learn more about what causes nail pitting, and how these dents in the nail can be treated and prevented.