Skin rash can be a coronavirus symptom
Although it is not listed as a coronavirus symptom by the WHO, skin irritation is being put forward by medical experts as a sign of Covid-19.
A skin rash could be a symptom of the coronavirus, doctors say.
So far, it is not among the symptoms listed by the World Health Organization, who note that the most common signs of the virus are “fever, tiredness, and dry cough”.
“Some patients may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea […],” the WHO also say on their website. “Around 1 out of every 6 people who gets Covid-19 becomes seriously ill and develops difficulty breathing.”
"A Covid-19 patient might initially present with a skin rash"
However, Beuy Joob of the Sanitation1 Medical Academic Center in Bangkok, Thailand, has told a Health.com investigation into dermatological problems among coronavirus sufferers: “There is a possibility that a Covid-19 patient might initially present with a skin rash that can be misdiagnosed as another common disease.”
Meanwhile, ABC7 has revealed that a Covid-19 patient in Los Angeles suffered “painful irritation on her feet”, quoting her dermatologist, Dr Shirly Chi, as saying: "When I first saw this mysterious rash, I just didn't know what to make of it."
Chi continued: “In northern Italy there was a study that showed that out of 148 patients at this hospital - none of which had gotten prior medication - one in five had a rash associated with their condition, Covid-19."
According to experts consulted by Health.com as part of its probe, the appearance of a rash could be caused by things such as the sufferer’s immune system responding to Covid-19, or the disease’s negative effects on blood circulation.
Coronavirus-related rash registry created in US
In the US, the American Academy of Dermatology has created a registry in which doctors across the country can track skin irritation linked to the coronavirus, explaining: “Our hope is that information you and others provide will help us understand dermatologic manifestations of the COVID-19 virus.”
Over 165,000 dead as a result of the coronavirus
At the time of writing, the coronavirus had registered just under 2.4 million cases worldwide, leading to 165,000 deaths.
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