What are covid toes?
There appears to be a certain subgroup of patients who, when they contract Covid-19, develop inflammation in the toes. Called “covid toes”, this symptom is located, as the name suggests, in the toes. It causes lesions resembling frostbite caused by cold. The toes swell and then turn red or even purplish.
As a reminder, the French union of dermatologists-venereologists (SNDV) had already alerted, in a press release last April, of the appearance of these skin symptoms that may be associated with Covid-19. Last July, it was researchers from King’s College London in the United Kingdom who estimated that dermatological manifestations were the fourth major symptom of the Sars-Cov-2 coronavirus.
A symptom that could last up to 130 days
According to a recent study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States, the symptom of covid toes could last up to 130 days in some patients. To achieve this, the scientists created, in collaboration with American dermatologists from the League of Dermatological Societies and the American Academy of Dermatology, an international registry of skin symptoms linked to Covid-19.
Designed in April 2020, the registry data has since been updated regularly. After several months, researchers have identified more than 1,000 dermatological manifestations of the Sars-Cov-2 coronavirus infection recorded across 39 countries around the world. While most skin symptoms lasted an average of 12 days, some patients reported longer durations. Indeed, a few patients with Coid-19 presented the symptom of covid toes for 60 days, two others for more than 130 days.
In a statement from Massachusetts General Hospital, Esther Freeman, senior registry investigator and director of global health dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston said: “ In some patients with Covid-19, inflammation develops in the toes, causing the skin to become red and swollen toes – they can then turn blue or purple. This symptom lasts 15 days on average; but in patients with persistent Covid-19, it can last for several months “.
