Skin problems like COVID toes can last up to 130 days...

At the beginning of this year, COVID-19 was only viewed as a respiratory disease. Over time and after further research, we found that this can damage many other vital organs in the body as well. It has also been found that the novel coronavirus can cause breathing problems and fatigue over the long term.

A study recently presented at the 29th Congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, which was conducted online October 29-31, 2020, found that long-distance COVID-19 drivers can have persistent skin problems long after they are infected.

Long distance drivers from COVID-19

Many recovering COVID-19 patients complained of persistent disease symptoms even after receiving a negative result for the presence of the virus in their bodies. While some people may experience similar symptoms as they would have experienced during the illness period, others may experience different symptoms after testing negative. These patients are known as long distance COVID drivers.

Skin-related symptoms of COVID-19 in long distance drivers

In this study, scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital, together with the International League of Dermatological Societies and the American Academy of Dermatology, set up an international registry in April 2020 to record the skin symptoms of COVID-19.

In this registry, the scientists documented around 1,000 cases of patients with skin symptoms of COVID-19.

For all patients, the median duration of symptoms on long-haul COVID-19 was 12 days. The duration of various skin symptoms in patients with laboratory confirmed and suspected COVID-19 infection was:

1. Rash-like Morbilliform lasted an average of seven days

2. Urticaria eruptions lasted an average of four days

3. Papulosquamous eruptions lasted an average of 20 days in laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19. However, one of these patients showed the symptom for up to 70 days.

4. Pernio (chilblains), also known as COVID toes, lasted an average of 10 days in laboratory-confirmed cases and 15 days in suspected cases. However, in some cases, the COVID toes lasted 130 days after the infection was confirmed in the laboratory.

With this study, scientists confirmed that patients who survive coronavirus infection may have long-lasting skin symptoms, especially COVID toes. The scientists went on to say that this study confirms that COVID-19 infection can affect various organs and systems of the body and the skin to assess the inflammation remaining after the viral load is cleared.

The scientists advise health professionals to look for and evaluate skin-related symptoms of COVID-19 after the patient has recovered.

For more information, see our article on COVID-19.

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