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There’s a new symptom for coronavirus called ‘COVID toes.’ Here’s what we know

What are COVID toes? Doctors identified a new symptom

By Herb Scribner Herb Scribnerhscribner@deseretnews.com
SHARE There’s a new symptom for coronavirus called ‘COVID toes.’ Here’s what we know
A doctor talks on her cell at a field hospital set up inside the Corferias convention center in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, April 20, 2020. Corferias is a space that normally hosts fairs and conferences that was rehabilitated as a field hospital for non-COVID19 patients, to create more space for COVID-19 patients at proper hospitals. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

A doctor talks on her cellphone at a field hospital set up inside the Corferias convention center in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, April 20, 2020. Corferias is a space that normally hosts fairs and conferences that was rehabilitated as a field hospital for non-COVID-19 patients, to create more space for COVID-19 patients at proper hospitals.

Fernando Vergara, Associated Press

Doctors have identified a new symptom for those who are infected with the coronavirus and have COVID-19 — “COVID toes.”

What are COVID toes?

  • “COVID toes” are identified when there is a “presence of purple or blue lesions on a patient’s feet and toes,” according to USA Today.
  • Dr. Ebbing Lautenbach, chief of infectious disease at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine, said the toes will be painful to touch and could leave someone with a hot burning sensation, too, according to USA Today.
  • “COVID toes” can disappear within a week to 10 days.
  • The symptom is often seen in children and young adults more than any other age group.
  • Experts have described the symptom as having frostbite-like areas on their feet.

Why it matters:

  • Experts find the symptom a little confusing and puzzling thus far since the symptom often appears on people who don’t have any other symptoms, too.
  • According to ABC News, “COVID toes” suggest “the skin could be a kind of window about what may be happening with COVID-19 inside the body.”

More symptoms:

  • “COVID toes” joins other odd symptoms for the coronavirus, including the loss of smell and taste, which I wrote about for the Deseret News.
  • Claire Hopkins, president of the British Rhinological Society, told The New York Times: “We really want to raise awareness that this is a sign of infection and that anyone who develops loss of sense of smell should self-isolate. It could contribute to slowing transmission and save lives.”