[imagesource: Science Source]

Nausea, fever, a cough, overwhelming tiredness, a loss of taste or smell – these are all reasonably common symptoms of COVID-19.

Less common symptoms include diarrhoea, a rash on the skin, red or irritated eyes, and the discolouration of fingers or toes.

As you can see from the image above, in some cases the discolouration of the toes can be very pronounced.

The skin condition is known colloquially as ‘COVID toe’, or chilblain lesions if you want to get technical. In most cases, symptoms develop within a week to a month of being infected, with toes and fingers swelling, changing colour, or both.

Some of those affected haven’t been able to put on shoes for months, or are forced to rely on wheelchair use for longer walks.

Scientists and researchers have been hard at work trying to figure out what causes the body’s reaction, with the results of their study recently published in the British Journal of Dermatology.

The study was carried out on 50 participants with the condition and 13 with similar chilblain lesions that arose before the pandemic.

More from The Guardian:

They found one mechanism behind both types of the condition involved the body generating an immune response with high levels of certain autoantibodies, which mistakenly target and react with a person’s own cells and tissues as well as the invading virus. They also found an overlap with type I interferon, a key protein in the antiviral response.

Image: Chris Curry/Getty Images/iStockphoto

In addition to the immune system, cells lining blood vessels that supply the affected areas also appeared to play a critical role in the development of Covid toes and chilblains.

Essentially, the body switches to attack mode to fight off COVID-19, with two parts of the immune system in play.

The BBC attempts to explain things in a slightly simpler way:

One is an antiviral protein called type 1 interferon, and the other is a type of antibody that mistakenly attacks the person’s own cells and tissues, not just the invading virus.

Cells lining small blood vessels supplying the affected areas are also involved…

The study will help develop new treatments to manage the reaction more effectively, especially in cases where the swelling or redness doesn’t naturally go away over time.

It was also noticeable that cases of ‘COVID toe’ dropped dramatically in numbers during the Delta variant surge. According to Dr. Veronique Bataille, a consultant dermatologist and spokesperson for the British Skin Foundation, this could be due to past infections or more people being vaccinated.

Yet another reason for foot and hand models to make sure they’re double jabbed as soon as possible.

A serious bout of ‘COVID toe’ could be a career-ender.

[sources:guardian&bbc]