Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Apr;21(4):1339-1346.
doi: 10.1111/jocd.14774. Epub 2022 Feb 2.

Hair and nail manifestations of COVID-19

Antonella Tammaro  1 , Ganiyat Adenike Ralitsa Adebanjo  1 , Francesca Romana Parisella  2 , Fabiola Luzi  1 , Alessandra Scarabello  3
Affiliations
Review

Hair and nail manifestations of COVID-19

Antonella Tammaro et al. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2022 Apr.

Abstract

Emerging literature evidence shows that the manifestations of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, encompass alterations of the pulmonary, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and neurological system. Moreover, hematologic and dermatologic manifestations have been documented. The aim of this review is to summarize the dermatologic manifestations of COVID-19 involving the hair and nails in a narrative way. A total of 1136 patients have been reported to have de novo hair loss following COVID-19. Notably, 958 patients experienced telogen effluvium (TE) (female/male ratio = 3,86:1), two female patients experienced anagen effluvium, and 176 people had alopecia areata (female/male ratio of 19:3). Ten patients were reported to have ungual changes following the infection with the novel coronavirus: The individuals affected were 6 women and 4 men. COVID-19 can be associated with hair and ungual manifestations. This review summarizes the evidence regarding the hair and ungual manifestations of COVID-19, which could be harnessed to better understand the clinical implications and pathophysiology of this disease that has been burdening society globally since December 2019.

Keywords: hair; hair disease; hair disorders; hairloss; infection; nail disorders.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

REFERENCES

    1. Wang C, Wang Z, Wang G, Lau JYN, Zhang K, Li W. COVID-19 in early 2021: current status and looking forward. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2021;6(1):1-14. doi:10.1038/s41392-021-00527-1.
    1. Abdool Karim SS, de Oliveira T. New SARS-CoV-2 Variants - Clinical, Public Health, and Vaccine Implications. N Engl J Med. Published online March 24, 2021;384(19):1866-1868. doi:10.1056/NEJMc2100362
    1. Gupta A, Madhavan MV, Sehgal K, et al. Extrapulmonary manifestations of COVID-19. Nat Med. 2020;26(7):1017-1032. doi:10.1038/s41591-020-0968-3.
    1. Tammaro A, Adebanjo GAR, Parisella FR, Pezzuto A, Rello J. Cutaneous manifestations in COVID-19: the experiences of Barcelona and Rome. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol JEADV. Published online April 24, 2020;34(7). doi:10.1111/jdv.16530
    1. Tammaro A, Adebanjo GAR, Chello C, et al. Severe palmar hyperkeratosis and hematochezia in COVID-19. Dermatol Ther. Published online October 18, 2020:e14423. doi:10.1111/dth.14423

LinkOut - more resources