“COVID Toes” Could Be First Sign of COVID-19 Infection
A friend of ours was texting with my wife last night when she shared the picture above of her son's foot. She said her teenage son's feet started swelling and blistering about a month ago, and at the time, she thought it was just some funky athlete's foot. As time passed she started researching some more and discovered a symptom called "COVID Toes". By now, you know the symptoms of COVID-19 like the cough and fever but did you know about this? Thankfully, my friend's son's feet are recovering and there have been no other signs of COVID-19 in their house.
I dug a little deeper and found that this is something that doctors are just discovering as they continue to learn about the novel coronavirus. Dr. Ebbing Lautenbach, the chief of infectious disease at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine, told USA Today: "This is a manifestation that occurs early on in the disease, meaning you have this first, then you progress. Sometimes this might be your first clue that they have COVID when they don’t have any other symptoms.”
It looks like "COVID Toes" is only being seen in teens and young adults. Dr. Esther Freeman, a dermatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, told The Today Show: "The condition usually starts with red or purple discoloration, and the skin may become raised or develop ulcerations."