Abstract
Deformed nail from stress related to childbearing with a 36‐year‐old woman (a late phase of Beau's line).
Keywords: Beau's line, malformed, nail diseases, nails, pregnancy
A 36‐year‐old postdelivery woman presented at a community hospital with a chief complaint of nail deformities in bilateral feet, with a 9‐month‐old boy. There were no other symptoms. Physical examination was normal, except for nail deformities, known as Beau's line, in bilateral feet (Figure 1). This deformity involves transverse depressions in the nail that result from any episodic disease that is severe enough to disrupt the normal nail growth, such as diseases due to chemotherapeutic agents and abrupt onset of systemic diseases1. Based on her clinical course, the cause of Beau's line was suggested to be the stress of childbearing, which is a rare case. As the transverse depressions on the nails were not typical of Beau's line, this was thought to correspond to the late phase of the condition. The length of the normal part of her nails (growth rate of foot nails: approximately 0.05 mm/day) indicated that her childbearing approximately 160 days prior might have been the cause of the deformity2. She recalled the toughness of her childbearing caused by stress, which resulted in sleep interruption and appetite loss when her child was 0‐4 month old. Her clinical course was excellent, and all her nails were clear at the 3‐month follow‐up, with no treatments.
Figure 1.
Beau's line in bilateral feet
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
None declared.
PATIENT CONSENT
Patient consent was obtained before publishing this case report.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank the patient who approved this paper.
Ohta R. Deformed nail from stress related to childbearing. J Gen Fam Med. 2020;21:29 10.1002/jgf2.283
REFERENCES
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