A doctor has revealed that a change in your fingernails could be lesser-known sign that you've had coronavirus.
Dr Karan Raj (@dr.karanr) regularly posts TikTok videos breaking down information about health and science, including a recent upload about how we can look at our fingernails for an indicator of a previous infection.
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Dr Raj explained that sometimes people might find a horizontal line on the body of the nail, which is something known as Beau's lines.
This, he said, could be a sign that your body has had an infection - such as, of course, coronavirus.
Raj said: "If you have something like this on your nails, it could be a sign you've had Covid.
"Scientists have noted that when patients recover from Covid, they are left with a clear or white horizontal line that leaves a prominent ridge on the nails.
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"It's known as Beau's lines and it happens where there is a temporary interruption in nail growth when the body has an infection."
Raj continued to say that the lines are usually 'harmless', adding that they're also not necessarily confirmation that someone has has coronavirus.
Some fellow TikTok users commented on the video - which has been viewed more than 1.6 million times - to say they'd always thought the lines related to some sort of iron or zinc deficiency.
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But Raj said they could be caused by a number of factors, reitering that coronavirus is just one of many.
He said: "It's actually pretty harmless and can be caused by any illness or trauma to the body, not just Covid.
"Although we're seeing it in more Covid patients, it's not diagnostic of Covid and the best way to know if you've had Covid is an antibody test."
Raj added: "The lines might stay for several weeks/months after infection but will then disappear as the nail grows."
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The link is one that has been backed up by various medical professionals since the outbreak of coronavirus.
Dr. Tanya Bleiker, president of the British Association of Dermatologists, recently told Huffington Post that dermatologists have also seen coronavirus patients with horizontal lines - and that sometimes they affect toenails as well.
She explained: "These changes have long been recognized as 'Beau's lines' and are transverse indents in the nail of many, or all, fingernails and sometimes toenails."
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Bleiker also agreed that they are 'harmless' and 'grow out with time'.
Featured Image Credit: TikTok/@dr.karanrTopics: World News, News, Coronavirus, TikTok