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'covid toes' an odd sign of coronavirus infection
painful purple or blue lesions on toes are a suspected symptom of covid-19.
apr 23 2020
2 minute read
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there’s a new symptom of covid-19 that shows up in an unusual place: your feet. health experts are warning the public of a bizarre new symptom dubbed ‘covid toes.” the phenomena presents as purple or blue lesions on a patient’s feet or toes.
“they’re typically painful to touch and could have a hot burning sensation,” dr. ebbing lautenbach, chief of infectious disease at the university of pennsylvania’s school of medicine told usa today.
the condition was first noticed by italian dermatologists back in march, and seems to occur most often in pediatric and young adult patients, according to usa today . what’s interesting about patients with “covid toes” is that they appear to not show any other symptoms that are usually associated with the virus, like a cough, fever or shortness of breath. they also tend to test negative early on.
“this is a manifestation that occurs early on in the disease, meaning you have this first, then you progress,” said lautenbach. “sometimes this might be your first clue that they have covid-19 when they don’t have any other symptoms.”
the lesions on the toes seem to disappear after seven to 10 days for most patients, while others will experience other symptoms of the virus. but it’s still not entirely known why “covid toes” are a symptom of covid-19. lautenbach says that it’s possible that it could be an inflammatory response or blood clotting, but no one knows for sure.
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however, some experts say they have seen these skin lesions in other patients who are dealing with severe cases of influenza and pneumonia. susan wilcox, m.d., chief of critical care for the emergency department at massachusetts general hospital told usa today that it wasn’t shocking to see these symptoms arise in covid-19 patients.
in her experience dealing with the most severe cases of covid-19, she suspected that the purple lesions was purpura fulminans — a condition where the inflammation from a severe infection causes the body to make micro-clots in blood vessels located in the fingers, toes, and in some cases, the nose.
wilcox added that this condition is common in patients who develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ards), where many people die of intense inflammation.
“you get the infection, and then your body will release a cascade of inflammation,” she said. “in many ways, it’s beneficial, but then sometimes it can either be too much, so the inflammation can lead to its own damage.”
while experts are still trying to determine what causes this symptom, those who develop these purple lesions again can test negative for covid-19 early on. so if you do find you have these lesions on your feet, experts recommend that you self isolate at home, and monitor yourself for other symptoms of the virus.
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