Five patterns of skin diseases
Blue toes and rash like measles or hives: Spanish doctors have researched 375 patients and their corona symptoms. They discovered five patterns of skin diseases – some of which have also been observed by other doctors in Europe and the USA in COVID-19 patients. Our expert Dr. explains which irritations can occur and whether the skin can suffer permanent damage. Georg-Christian Zinn, director of the Bioscientia hygiene center, in the video.
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Study: 20 percent of 148 corona patients had rashes
A study from a hospital in northern Italy also shows that this could be another symptom of a coronavirus infection: Of around 148 patients, 20 percent had a rash before they showed the typical corona symptoms such as fever and joint pain.
“We see viremia in corona virus infections. This means that the whole body is affected. And that we then see skin symptoms is relatively normal,” explains Dr. Tin.
Four doctors from Spain, to which the dermatologists Dr. Cristina Galván Casas of the Universitario de Móstoles Hospital in Madrid and Alba Català of the Plató Hospital in Barcelona included analyzed photos and skin lesions findings from a total of 375 Spanish patients infected or likely to be infected with Covid-19. They published these results in the journal “British Journal of Dermatology”.
They discovered the following five patterns of skin diseases:
Pseudo frostbite
The doctors in Spain observed swollen skin areas in the patients that showed blisters or pustules. According to Spanish analysis, 19 percent of those examined showed these symptoms on the hands or feet. A third of them suffered from pain and itching. Dermatologists have also referred to these signs as pseudo chilblain. They were found especially in younger patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms. These skin reactions occurred later in many patients after other signs of their Covid 19 disease had subsided. The apparitions remained for about ten days.
“As a pediatrician, I can say that we often know so-called vasculitides in connection with infectious diseases in children, where we see bruises. In this respect, this is very conceivable,” said Dr. Tin.
Blisters on the skin
The Spanish doctors found vesicular eruptions in the form of vesicular eruptions. The blisters, which are often filled with blood and resemble chickenpox, mostly spread to the trunk, but also to the limbs. They often got bigger and caused itching. They mostly occurred in middle-aged people, often in the early stages of COVID-19 disease. In 15 percent of these cases, skin irritation appeared before other symptoms. They disappeared after about ten days.
Urticarial lesions or wheals
Wheals occurred in 19 percent of the test subjects, often in connection with itching. The so-called urticarial lesions were seen on the trunk of the person, in some cases also on the inside of the hand. They went back after an average of six days.
Scaling and redness
The doctors found flaking and redness in 47 percent of the test subjects. In some of the patients, they were punctiform or extensive. Patients with severe COVID-19 disease showed these symptoms. However, the Spanish researchers pointed out that COVID-19 patients with severe disease courses received more medication than those with weak courses and the flaking skin could even be a side effect of the medication.
Necrosis – tissue death
Necrosis is caused by inflammation – caused by a local circulatory disorder that leads to the death of tissue cells on the extremities and internal organs. They were discovered in six percent of the patients examined – on the trunk or face, nose, ear, chin, fingers and toes. Older Covid 19 patients with a severe course of the disease developed necrosis. Dr. Tin in the video his assessment.
You can see photos of the entire analysis here.
RTL.de documentary “Zero Hour – Race with the Virus: What do we learn from the crisis?”
What lessons can we learn from the greatest post-war crisis so far? We spoke to experts. Was the state too inconsistent? Did the schools close too quickly? What to do about the hamster chaos? And what’s the real reason thousands of vacationers are stranded around the world? You can see that here in the third part of the RTL.de series “Zero Hour – Race with the Virus”.
Playlist: All current videos about the Corona crisis
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