Purple-red bumps on fingers, toes might be signs of coronavirus infection in young people, say doctors
Some young people — who do not show symptoms and yet test positive for COVID-19 — are developing bumps on the skin, according to doctors.
Several doctors are observing purple-red bumps appear on the fingers and toes of some young people diagnosed with COVID-19, according to Dr Dawn M Wahezi, pediatric rheumatologist at New York's Children's Hospital at Montefiore. Other atypical symptoms include loss of smell and taste and conjunctivitis.
"Please be aware there are skin signs of covid. Purple-red papules [bumps] on the fingers and toes," she tweeted.
Doctors are reporting these cases on the American Academy of Dermatology's registry. "From what I have seen dermatology reporting, it’s in kids and younger adults. Maybe the only manifestation and otherwise asymptomatic. Of course, there may be a spectrum of disease. They are capturing it in a dermatology covid registry," she added.
This sign could help doctors identify patients who do not appear sick but may test positive. More evidence is suggesting that new coronavirus is escaping detection as it tends to infect a few people without making them sick.
Experts are trying to gather more evidence to learn more about the link between bumps and the infection. For now, they suspect that the immune system is the culprit.
Besides, it is not uncommon for viruses to trigger skin abnormalities. For instance, measles, chickenpox, Zika, West Nile, and dengue are known to cause skin rashes. The rashes are the result of damage caused by the immune system or the virus.
Reports from France
More recently, French doctors have also been making a note of skin rashes on COVID-19 patients. According to Express, more than 400 dermatologists have made the observation. Describing the red spots, they said, they can be very persistent and may look similar to the painful welts of frostbite.
French National Union of Dermatologists-Venereologists (SNDV) organization connected 400 professionals who work either in the private sector or for the public health care system in France, on WhatsApp. In the discussion group, the doctor discussed the possible skin signs of COVID-19.
"Analysis of the many cases reported to SNDV shows that these manifestations can be associated [with the new coronavirus]. We are alerting the public and the medical profession to detect these potentially contagious patients as quickly as possible,” the press release said.
The group advised those with skin symptoms to seek medical attention immediately. They, however, warned the public from visiting their GP if they think they have COVID-19 symptoms.
“We are alerting the public and the medical establishment so that we can identify potentially-contagious patients — who may not have signs of respiratory distress — as quickly as possible," the doctors said in the release.
Earlier, reporters asked France's director-general of health, Jerome Salomon, on whether skin abnormalities were the new symptoms of the coronavirus. He responded by saying: "not to my knowledge," according to Le Figaro. He added, however, that scientists are in the process of trying to understand the virus, "but on this dermatological aspect I have not seen any publication."