“Covid fingers” are similar to the effects of frostbite. According to Spanish doctors, five types of skin rashes are observed in some patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of Covid-19.
According to clinical observations by Spanish doctors, these symptoms, including the so-called “COVID fingers”, appear most often in children or adolescents and remain on the skin for several days. A rash is often one of the symptoms of a viral disease, the most obvious example being chickenpox, which is accompanied by the appearance of vesicles (blisters) on the body.
However, Spanish doctors were surprised by the variety of rashes observed in Covid-19. Currently, rash is not included in the list of symptoms of coronavirus infection. Recently, however, there have been many reports of “covid fingers” – red rashes between the toes that occur in some patients even in the absence of other symptoms.
However, as the head of the research team, Doctor Ignacio Garcia-Doval, says, the most common type of rash is maculopapular eruptions (usually associated with measles) in the form of small red bumps, flat or raised, which most often appear on the torso. “It is very strange to observe several types of rash, some of which are quite distinctive,” Dr. Garcia-Doval said in an interview with the BBC. “The rashes usually appear later, after the respiratory symptoms of this disease, so this is not a very good way of diagnosing patients.” All patients mentioned in the study were hospitalized and had respiratory symptoms.
The expert review of this research was published this week in the British Journal of Dermatology. In this study, all Spanish dermatologists described skin rashes they observed in patients with coronavirus infection during the previous two weeks. In total, 375 cases were reported. At the same time, specialists note that a rash can have various origins and is difficult to classify without proper experience and knowledge. “The importance of this research is not to help people diagnose themselves with [Covid-19], but to help us better understand how this virus can affect people’s health,” says Dr. Ruth Murphy, President of the British Association of Dermatologists.
A rash resembling urticaria is present in half of patients with coronavirus infection. As Dr. Michael Head of the University of Southampton notes, a rash is often associated with many viral infections, including pneumonia. “In the case of Covid-19, a rash and skin ulcers have been observed in a certain percentage of hospitalized patients. We still don’t know how one is related to the other or why, for example, these skin inflammations occur in some patients and not in others,” says the doctor. The American Academy of Dermatology also has its own list of skin symptoms seen in patients with coronavirus infection.
