What are Covid toes and how are they caused? Everything you need to know
Premium‘Covid toes’ resemble chilblains, which is a rash that is usually associated with exposure to cold temperatures.
In the initial days of the pandemic, several people with discoloured and itchy toes started thronging the doctor's office in the US. The phenomenon, which typically appears in cold weather, coincided with the emergence of coronavirus with no other explanation and hence got the name “Covid toes".
However, even upon detailed examination, researchers and doctors haven't yet been able to find a clear reason for them or their relation to Covid-19. But they accept that there is not enough evidence to rubbish the claims too.
What do Covid toes look like?
They are usually reddish/purplish in colour, with some people also noticing swelling. The toes may become itchy, and blisters or pus can form under the skin.
Are they really caused by Covid?
An article in Nature, citing recent studies, has said that of the 21 people who developed Covid toes during the early months of the pandemic in Connecticut, any immunological evidence of past SARS-CoV-2 infection was not found in 19.
Most of the people in the latest study developed Covid toes’ between April and May 2020, when Covid-19 cases surged in Connecticut.
About one-third reported having some symptoms of Covid-19 before developing the condition, and one-third reported that they had been in contact with a person confirmed or suspected to have been infected with SARS-CoV-2.
A variety of methods were used to look for antibodies and T-cells specific to the coronavirus months past the onset of Covid toes in them. But the researchers picked up signs of a past infection only in two people, one of whom had initially tested positive.
In view of this, they are also taking into consideration the fact that people exposed to the virus could have fought it off using an innate immune response — a first-line defence that would not prompt the body to produce detectable antibodies and T-cells against SARS-CoV-2.
Some researchers have taken a completely different route and are saying that the phenomenon could have been caused by something unrelated to the virus.
For instance, it might have arisen from people in lockdown “being at home, not wearing shoes and socks", getting cold feet, says Jeff Gehlhausen, a dermatologist and immunologist at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, and first author of the study.
In the end, the mystery continues.
How to treat Covid toes?
Usually, the symptoms resolve within a week, but applying some hydrocortisone cream if the toes are itchy may help. Patients should contact a dermatologist for further advice if the problem persists.
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