COVID toes: New coronavirus symptom reported in some countries

Some doctors around the world have reported a new and unusual symptom in people with COVID-19: swollen, blue-black toes that resemble frostbite.

A pinkish-reddish rash develops on the toes which can turn blue or purple over time, and causes a burning sensation in some people, Dr Esther Freeman, a dermatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, told The Washington Post.

He added that the inflammation usually disappears without treatment in two to three weeks. The cases have mostly been reported in people in their 20s and 30s.

They are believed to be caused by either inflammation or small blood clots in the extremities. However, there have been no studies conducted so far definitively linking the symptom to COVID-19.

The earliest known mention of this symptom was by French doctors in a press release by the National Union of Dermatologists on April 6. They said the rash had an “appearance of pseudo-frostbite” and “persistent, sometimes painful redness, and transient hive lesions.”

Dermatologists in Canada have also observed similar lesions in children. They believe ‘covid toes’ occur during the first two weeks of infection by the novel coronavirus and have advised testing those patients for the virus.

Studies from Spain, Belgium and Italy have described a surge in complaints about painful lesions on patients’ toes, heels and soles of the feet, reported The New York Times. So far these lesions have only been seen in people with mild to moderate cases of the disease.

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