From Cosmopolitan
By now, we’re pretty hot on what the key coronavirus symptoms are. If you’ve got a persistent cough and/or a fever, as well as shortness of breath, government advice is to isolate along with your whole household for 14 days in case you have the virus, to prevent any possible spread. There have also been suggestions in the medical world that loss of smell and taste, diarrhoea and even vomiting may be signs of the virus.
But experts have now stumbled upon a new symptom that could be linked to COVID-19: rashes. A small study carried out by Spanish doctors has identified five types of rashes they believe to be a sign in some cases of coronavirus, the BBC reports.
While a rash is yet to be listed as an official symptom by the World Health Organisation, the study’s findings suggest they may occasionally appear – and last for several days – in some patients. The study’s lead author, Dr Garcia-Doval, told the BBC it’s more common for rashes to appear “later on, after the respiratory manifestation of the disease” (which would make it hard to use as a diagnosis tool). However, this is not always the case across the board because different rash types were found to have different characteristics.
The research, which was published in the British Journal of Dermatology, asked all dermatologists across Spain to share details of any coronavirus patients they had seen who had developed rashes in the previous fortnight. There were 375 cases that came back in total, leading the experts to assess commonalities between them.
It’s widely understood in the medical world that a rash can be a sign of a virus; chicken pox, for example, is a virus and that manifests as an itchy, red, spotty rash. But what was novel to the researchers working on this Spanish study was how many different types of rashes it emerged may be associated with COVID-19.
What do the coronavirus-related rashes look like?
“It is strange to see several different rashes – and some of them are quite specific,” said Dr Garcia-Dova. The five rashes that repeatedly cropped up across the 375 cases were categorised as follows:
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Lesions that look like chilblains around the hands and feet, which could be itchy or painful.
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Small blister outbreaks on limbs and the main trunk of the body, which tend to be itchy.
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Raised skin (pink or white), not dissimilar in appearance to a nettle sting. Generally on the body but sometimes on the palms of the hands, these are often itchy.
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Maculopapules, which are small, flat and raised red bumps. The most common rash found in the study, but usually seen in patients with more severe infections.
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Livedo (also known as necrosis), which makes the skin look blotchy red or blue, with a net-like pattern. As it’s a sign of poor blood circulation, this rash is also more commonly seen in patients with more severe infections.
While the findings of this small study are interesting, the researchers were keen to remind that rashes can have many causes, so you can’t just assume you have coronavirus on a rash, and a rash alone.
“The relevance of this study is not so much in helping people self-diagnose, but rather to help build our wider understanding of how the infection can affect people,” Dr Ruth Murphy, president of the British Association of Dermatologists, told the BBC.
If you notice a rash on your body that sounds like any of the above descriptions, the best thing to do is phone your GP for advice.
The information in this story is accurate as of the publication date. While we are attempting to keep our content as up-to-date as possible, the situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic continues to develop rapidly, so it’s possible that some information and recommendations may have changed since publishing. For any concerns and latest advice, visit the World Health Organisation. If you’re in the UK, the National Health Service can also provide useful information and support, while US users can contact the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
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