What began as a “little little brown line” of one woman’s nails led to a rare, potentially life-threatening medical condition that was trying to help others catch early.
Lauren Colttz said she noticed the mark on the left thumbnail last May and thought, “Well, that’s weird.”
While rare and easily overlooked, experts warn that lines like “sprinter” should not be ignored.
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“If you have a dark stained vertical streak that puts your nails down, you should check this,” Mississippi dermatologist Dr. Lindsey Zubritsky warned her 1.6 million Tiktok followers.
Koltcz mentioned it to her doctor. She introduced her to an expert.
What began as a small line in the Lauren Colts thumbnail was diagnosed as a case of melanoma. (Credit: Cleveland Clinic)
“She recommended I go to a dermatologist, but as I’m a mother and teacher, I put it on my backburner and just let it go,” Coltts told the Cleveland Clinic.
Almost a year later, the Colts say that Tiktok, famous for some of the ignored advice on the platform, helped her take action.
“I happened to come across a dermatologist and I was like, ‘If you see these signs on your nails, try to go see your doctor right away.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, well, this doesn’t sound very good.’
Koltcz saw a dermatologist at the Cleveland Clinic and confirmed that she had melanoma in her lab test.
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“Her biopsy showed what was called melanoma in situ, meaning that the melanoma cells are on the upper layer of the skin. It wasn’t invasive, so her results should be very good.”
Unlike other melanomas, Vidimos added that what Kotcz was not caused by exposure to the sun suggests that it can confuse symptoms about other medical issues.
With the entire left thumbnail removed, Coltotz said she is happy that she is now healthy and wants others to find herself.
“I thought about my kids a lot throughout this process, so I ask people to check everything out. Don’t postpone it. Prevention is important,” she said.
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