Nail loss with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

I have previously posted entries about Hand, Foot and Mouth disease.  Sometimes, after a case of Hand, Foot and Mouth, children can lose their nails (both fingernails and toenails) in a process called Onychomadesis.  Here are pictures of what this typically looks like:






Onychomadesis is a separation of the growing nail from the nail bed at the nail matrix.  This is caused by a temporary arrest in nail matrix activity, and it may at first look like a dark linear line across the nail, known medically as a "Beau's line".

Nail matrix arrest has been described with a range of medical conditions and was first described in the literature associated with a case of Hand, Foot and Mouth disease in 2000.  The association between the Hand, Foot and mouth virus (a coxsackie virus) and onychomadesis is not very well understood.
The nail changes are temporary and the nails that are affected will regrow spontaneously.  This shedding of the nail is self-limiting, isn't painful and may not bother the child.  It can take up to 6 months to see regrowth of that nail.