RELATED: Scientists Fast-Track Research for Coronavirus Treatment and Vaccine “We are interested in how patients on biologic medications or other treatments for skin disease fare with the virus,” says Piliang. Patients’ medication lists are also being collected in the registry, in case those may be playing a role in the skin symptom. For now, it’s unclear how many people with COVID-19 have COVID toes. “As the number of reported patients grows, researchers can go back to this data and try to determine how frequently different skin rashes such as COVID toes occur in patients with COVID-19,” says Piliang. The American Academy of Dermatology has since started a registry for doctors to log COVID-19 patients with skin symptoms, and is currently running a study on the data, says Fox.ĭoctors seeing patients with COVID-19 can upload information such as the patient’s age, ethnicity, location, COVID-19 test results, and any skin rashes to this registry, says Piliang. Plus, contact dermatitis is generally very itchy and may have stinging sensation but is generally not tender or painful like COVID toes, notes Piliang. “There may be blisters and often the surface weeps fluid, and there is scale crust on top,” she says. In contrast, says Piliang, allergic contact dermatitis has changes to skin surface. The lesions of COVID toes may feel hot or tingly and are often sore or tender, and the lesions come up very suddenly.” “The overlying skin may be discolored, but at least initially, is not affected, and later, as the lesions heal, the skin may peel. “COVID toes are red-purple nodules,” she says. “To a dermatologist, they look quite different,” says Dr. Not to mention that skin rashes could be caused by several other factors, such as contact dermatitis, from exposure to irritants including laundry detergent and cleaning chemicals, or allergens like cosmetics or fragrances, notes the Cleveland Clinic.ĬOVID toes differ in that they occur in the absence of these triggers, and are located primarily on the toes and fingers (contact dermatitis could, for example, show up anywhere, notes the Mayo Clinic). “We see skin rashes, including similar lesions on the hands and feet, with other viruses, so it is not surprising that patients infected with COVID-19 would have skin rashes, too,” says Melissa Piliang, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. It’s worth noting that skin reactions often come along with viral infections. “If they're seeing it in Europe because of COVID-19, then we are likely here, too.” “We are seeing an astonishing number of pernio cases, and also not during the right time of year, which makes this unusual," says Fox. The fact that the spontaneous spike in occurrences paralleled the coronavirus pandemic also raised alarms. While pernio isn’t unusual, Fox says what’s surprising is that the patients got these pernio-like lesions after the colder months had already passed in Spain and Italy. “Podiatrists in Spain reported that mainly children and adolescents had some dermatological lesions on their feet and toes, sometimes in the absence of other COVID-19 symptoms,” says Dr. RELATED: Why You Shouldn’t Skip Your Dermatology Appointment During COVID-19Įuropean podiatrists picked up on the trend. “Most of the evidence is anecdotal, although there is growing consensus in the medical community that the lesions that are occurring can’t be just a coincidence,” says Velimir Petkov, DPM, a doctor of podiatric medicine at Premier Podiatry in Clifton, New Jersey. When it began to appear that the surprising, strange-sounding symptom might be a sign of COVID-19, dermatologists at the AAD formed the task force to compile and analyze cases of the condition. “We feel strongly these symptoms are connected to the virus,” says Lindy Fox, MD, a dermatologist and a professor of clinical dermatology at the University of California in San Francisco and a member of the COVID-19 task force at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). But scientists and healthcare professionals are exploring another potential symptom of the disease: itchy red bumps on the toes and sometimes fingers, now commonly referred to as “COVID toes.” By now, you’re likely familiar with the common symptoms of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 - dry cough, fever, and shortness of breath.
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