It has recently come to light that COVID-19 symptoms may manifest on your feet too. You need to be alerts for any signs of bruises and lesions on your toes. @Shutterstock
Many COVID-19 survivors have reported recurrent symptoms, weeks or even months after they test negative for the virus. Available data as well as research suggest that older people and those with many serious medical conditions are the most likely to experience lingering COVID-19 symptoms. The most common COVID-19 symptoms that can persist for months include fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, headache and joint pain. But skin issues including long-lasting hives, scaly papule and plaques have also been seen in COVID-19 patients as well. Many patients have also reported experiencing COVID toes months after recovery.
According to a new study listed on the International COVID-19 Dermatology Registry, COVID toes, also known as chilblains, can last for up to six months. The infected people may see their toes getting red, sore, itchy, and ultimately turning purple.
Researchers from the International League of Dermatological Societies and the American Academy of Dermatology reviewed 1000 COVID-19 cases from 39 countries to observe dermatologic manifestations of the disease.
According to them, COVID toes typically develop within one to four weeks of contracting the infection. The symptom is mostly mild and it is self-resolved within weeks. On average COVID toes last about 15 days. However, about one in six people require hospital treatment for COVID toes, and it last for several months in some patients.
Nearly 50 percent of the patients in the study reported having COVID toes and about 16 percent of them needed treatment for the condition.
WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has described the vast spectrum of COVID-19 symptoms that fluctuate over time as "really concerning."
Coronavirus is not just a virus that kills people, it poses a range of serious long-term effects to a significant number of people, said Ghebreyesus while speaking in Geneva on Friday during the UN agency's latest virtual press conference.
The long-term effects of COVID-19 include fatigue, cough, shortness of breath to inflammation and injury of the lungs and heart, as well as neurological and psychologic effects.
He urged the governments to recognize the long-term effects of COVID-19 and ensure access to health services to all of these patients, including primary health care and when needed specialty care and rehabilitation.
Many of the recovered COVID-19 patients are left struggling with symptoms including lasting fatigue, shortness of breathing, and constant body ache for months. Called 'long-COVID' in medical terms, these after-effects of coronavirus infection are feared to leave a life-long impact on their body.
Researchers warned even those who have suffered from relatively mild impacts of COVID-19 can also experience lasting symptoms.
Scientists at King's College London say that old age and having a wide range of initial symptoms increase the risk of long-COVID.
Patients who were experiencing more than five symptoms of coronavirus during the first week of their illness are more likely to develop long COVID, Dr. Claire Steves from Kings College London told BBC News.
Their study also showed that being female, excess weight and asthma raised the risk.
They found no previous medical conditions associated with long-COVID except asthma and lung disease.
