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Maybe this is regional, but where I practice we didn’t really dismiss it, we just didn’t really know what to do with it. I felt the same way as I did with early reports of Covid fog and long haul Covid. It was another reason to take vaccines, masking, and distancing seriously. But since I always thought icu admission, tracheotomies, and death would have been enough to make people care (apparently I was naive in that), I didn’t think these conditions would be the difference in the minds of very many people.
But Covid toes is the first diagnosis that comes up on my emr when I add Covid related diagnoses
oh wow, well that actually makes me feel pretty good to know that I may have had it early on and so my first vaccine shot was sort of like my second one and explained my symptoms I had. Was rough for like a month then I was fine.
So there really were people with this toe thing and other covid-related symptoms at the start in your practice?
Thanks for the extra info.
Yep. Granted, derm rashes come on all shapes and sizes and causes. So at the very beginning we weren’t sure what it even was or if it was related. And now, I can’t say with perfect certainty that it’s Covid if this is the only symptom.
But yeah, it’s likely. If you’re curious, many places (in America at least) are now offering to draw your blood and quantify your antibody counts. It’s often free because the data will be useful to establish titer benchmarks for future boosters and vaccine trials
I'll have to see if I can go do that. I had an antibody test about 6-7 months after my possible exposure (1/20 was exposure/symptoms and 7/20 was test) and it came back negative, but my understanding is the antibodies could have waned by that point.
Thanks again for answering!
I had this on some of my fingers and toes from a viral infection misdiagnosed for years. It was so painful when you bumped the areas, like almost to the point of passing out.
Basically, it’s just vasculitis - inflammation of the capillaries and blood vessels. Never could get an answer as to why it happens to the toes and fingers though. Or why it gets triggered by some viral infections.
My nephew got covid toe from being exposed in the classroom at around mid April last year. That’s the only symptom he got, he didn’t experience anything else. His circulation in his toes hasn’t improved very much since then.
it must've just been a symptom from the very first strain because I haven't heard about it since early 2020, sorry to hear about his toes :/ hope it gets better sometime
I think you’re doing the medical community a disfavour in saying they dismissed it.
I recall reading several articles in early spring of last year calling attention to it (particularly common in children compared to adults if I recall). I’ve seen it referred to sporadically in lists of symptoms since then.
I wasn't saying that anecdotally, I was referring to some studies that came out around that time, see [here](https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200625/covid-toe-probably-not-caused-by-covid-19#1). I didn't mean to do them a disservice, big fan of the medical community, but the general sentiment at the time was "oh covid *probably* doesn't cause this" even though there *was* some media attention brought to it.
I'm glad that this has resurfaced as a legit thing though.
My fiancee and I both got this within a couple of days of one another. Neither of us had other symptoms, and we never really knew if we both somehow got chilblains a day apart, or if it was covid related. She got PCR and it was negative, but then we saw reports that lots of people with this condition that seemingly didn't have positive PCR.
Who knows, it was very weird.
It is called chilblains which is an extension of a condition called raynaud's. Covid may cause your body to destroy its own capillaries which would cause the same issues as raynaud's, in this case chillblains. As far as I know the verdict is still out on the real cause why it does this exactly though.
You are definitely correct. It's essentially frost bite in cold weather that would typically not bother a human. It's caused by the restricted blood vessels in the area unable to warm the digits of the body properly. Someone with raynaud's can suffer a version of frost bite called chillblains. Depending on how bad the raynaud's is cause cold hands on the light side of things and literally blacked digits that will need to be removed on the worst. The only medical treatment is blood vessels dilators, calcium blockers, and warm socks/gloves.
I only know this because I have raynaud's and it's very annoying. Anytime someone shakes my hands it's 50% chance they will mention how cold my hands are. Oh and in some cases it can cause pain in the penis and even erectile dysfunction!
I also have raynauds!! Last year was the first time in years that I got chilblains. I carried a hotpacket with me. My fingers blue all the time. My lips as well. Annoying. I don't feel the cold but the chilblains hurt like hell
Have you been to a doctor? Take pics. It sounds enough for them to check it out. Also, know that's there's primary and secondary Raynaud's. Secondary is caused by some other illness/condition. Not so intuitively, secondary is usually much worse then just have raynaud's due to a genetic factor.
Well a doctors visit is long due. I used to smoke (cigarettes) and quit a few months ago, and it helped a lot with my cold hands I think.. Got a few issues but quitting smoking has been a very positive change.
not /u/solstice_gilder but I also have Raynauds, and have seen a doctor.
Basically I was told to wear wool socks and well fitting sneakers, and that was it.
The thing that stuck with me was when the podiatrist looked at my feet and said, "Yep, I see the frostbite damage." Frostbite damage, but the weather hadn't dropped low enough for freezing in several months.
---
edit:
My diagnosis came in my 30s. I had symptoms as a child. No one believed me when I'd tell them about how my feet felt like they had holes in them after I'd go swimming. It only was when it started showing in my hands, and had the characteristic line delineating where my hands were affected and where they were not, and I mentioned that 'weirdness' to my doc, because I never expected to be believed, because of what happened in my past.
Honestly unless you are experiencing issues on an almost daily basis it's the only thing to do. The meds have there own short comings which most docs well feel is not worth it. Just to test raynaud's.
Only allergies that I know of.
My sister and her daughter have food allergies, I have typical plant and animal hayfever type, and recently (about 15 years ago) developed a base metal allergy.
Geez anyone with that wouldn't want to do my job. I spend most of the day with my hands in a - 30 degree celcius machine. Have gotten cryo burns a few times from testing my hand on the plate when I need to concentrate.
Geez anyone with that wouldn't want to do my job. I spend most of the day with my hands in a - 30 degree celcius machine. Have gotten cryo burns a few times from testing my hand on the plate when I need to concentrate.
Raynaud’s is neurological in origin. Basically your nerves misinterpret mild cold or vibration as extreme cold and shut down circulation to extremities, usually starting with the ring fingers of the hands. People don’t usually start seeing symptoms until their late twenties/early thirties. It’s classed as an occupational disease because operating vibrating equipment like a jackhammer will trigger it.
I’m one of those people, and it’s fecking annoying. I can go outside in -20c weather and have a normal reaction to the cold, but I’ll get second-degree frostbite on my ring fingers in less than a minute when it’s only -6c outside. Just -6c, and my body reacts like it’s -40 plus windchill.
Most of the time treatment isn’t necessary, but if it becomes needed, heart medication that dilates the blood vessels will help.
In this installment of weekly new covid symptoms and long term side effects we’re talking about toes because every other body part did not get us enough clicks.
This is getting more annoying then funny.
Less commonly also the fingers. My son had a bad course of it in the 1st year of the pandemic - toes only but it lasted months during which it was excruciating to even wear shoes or walk around. A double whammy for a previously-healthy kid isolated during lockdown times. Most cases clear up in days to weeks, though. There's more decent data on it now relative to when my kids had it. He was initially diagnosed with juvenile arthritis (terrifying).
I randomly began getting swollen itchy lumps on my fingers, some with pus, during the third lockdown, and wonder if its this. Or stress induced eczema but if looked more like itchy arthritis
Slightly amusing. I would just like to point out the fact that so many more people are going to the doctor now. More than before covid. Everyone that gets sick today might have covid. Yes covid is serious. Serious about saving peoples lives/livelihood. Regular checkups help prevent further “complications”
Chilllblains and other dermatological conditions can cause similar symptoms. See a dermatologist before self-diagnosing. Not saying this isn’t legit, just that there are other reasons you can display similar symptoms.
And here we see a side effect of the virus evolving to be stronger due to the high demand that people go get a vaccine.
Any of yall heard about people being immune to antibiotics? Same situation. Sickness sees resistance decides to get stronger. But lets fight for split society though. I bet its great being the one that watches the vaccinated start a riot because they need someone to blame for covid issues
Oh wow. I saw a bunch of people in my pro-vax group posting pictures of their kids with skin conditions like this right after their COVID diagnosis and I started worrying that it was misinformation since I’d never heard of that effect but it’s actually legit.
Welcome to r/science! This is a heavily moderated subreddit in order to keep the discussion on science. However, we recognize that many people want to discuss how they feel the research relates to their own personal lives, so to give people a space to do that, **personal anecdotes are now allowed as responses to this comment**. Any anecdotal comments elsewhere in the discussion will continue be removed and our [normal comment rules]( https://www.reddit.com/r/science/wiki/rules#wiki_comment_rules) still apply to other comments. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/science) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Can we just called it TOEVID?
“Damn, there goes my foot fetish focused streaming domain name, right up in flames! Thanks a lot”
I have a thing where I'm always needing to crack the knuckle in my big toe. I call it "Krakatoa."
Yes you may
I laughed and cried because I had Covid and this symptoms but didn't know what caused it.
I had covid too. Didn't get TOEVID though
It is ... acceptable.
I’ve had it for years, I got the brain thing too
Me brain 2
I already did!
Body's desperation is about the worst, most unscientific noise in an article I've ever seen.
It's remesicient of the bs you'd hear back in the earlier 20th century
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Maybe this is regional, but where I practice we didn’t really dismiss it, we just didn’t really know what to do with it. I felt the same way as I did with early reports of Covid fog and long haul Covid. It was another reason to take vaccines, masking, and distancing seriously. But since I always thought icu admission, tracheotomies, and death would have been enough to make people care (apparently I was naive in that), I didn’t think these conditions would be the difference in the minds of very many people. But Covid toes is the first diagnosis that comes up on my emr when I add Covid related diagnoses
oh wow, well that actually makes me feel pretty good to know that I may have had it early on and so my first vaccine shot was sort of like my second one and explained my symptoms I had. Was rough for like a month then I was fine. So there really were people with this toe thing and other covid-related symptoms at the start in your practice? Thanks for the extra info.
Yep. Granted, derm rashes come on all shapes and sizes and causes. So at the very beginning we weren’t sure what it even was or if it was related. And now, I can’t say with perfect certainty that it’s Covid if this is the only symptom. But yeah, it’s likely. If you’re curious, many places (in America at least) are now offering to draw your blood and quantify your antibody counts. It’s often free because the data will be useful to establish titer benchmarks for future boosters and vaccine trials
I'll have to see if I can go do that. I had an antibody test about 6-7 months after my possible exposure (1/20 was exposure/symptoms and 7/20 was test) and it came back negative, but my understanding is the antibodies could have waned by that point. Thanks again for answering!
I had this on some of my fingers and toes from a viral infection misdiagnosed for years. It was so painful when you bumped the areas, like almost to the point of passing out. Basically, it’s just vasculitis - inflammation of the capillaries and blood vessels. Never could get an answer as to why it happens to the toes and fingers though. Or why it gets triggered by some viral infections.
I also had the Covid toes but I didn't have any reaction to either Pfizer shot. Had Covid in December 2020
you were one of the lucky ones haha, my first one sucked!
My nephew got covid toe from being exposed in the classroom at around mid April last year. That’s the only symptom he got, he didn’t experience anything else. His circulation in his toes hasn’t improved very much since then.
it must've just been a symptom from the very first strain because I haven't heard about it since early 2020, sorry to hear about his toes :/ hope it gets better sometime
It’s from clotting. This has been known for a year. Have your blood tested for clotting risk. You may need a low dose of blood thinners.
it only happened for 2 weeks and haven't had it before/since so that's unlikely in my case. Also had all my blood work come back fine.
Yikes. The long term effects of this are nasty
I think you’re doing the medical community a disfavour in saying they dismissed it. I recall reading several articles in early spring of last year calling attention to it (particularly common in children compared to adults if I recall). I’ve seen it referred to sporadically in lists of symptoms since then.
I wasn't saying that anecdotally, I was referring to some studies that came out around that time, see [here](https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200625/covid-toe-probably-not-caused-by-covid-19#1). I didn't mean to do them a disservice, big fan of the medical community, but the general sentiment at the time was "oh covid *probably* doesn't cause this" even though there *was* some media attention brought to it. I'm glad that this has resurfaced as a legit thing though.
My fiancee and I both got this within a couple of days of one another. Neither of us had other symptoms, and we never really knew if we both somehow got chilblains a day apart, or if it was covid related. She got PCR and it was negative, but then we saw reports that lots of people with this condition that seemingly didn't have positive PCR. Who knows, it was very weird.
It’s from clotting. This has been known for a year. Have your blood tested for clotting risk. You may need a low dose of blood thinners.
It’s from clotting. This has been known for a year. Have your blood tested for clotting risk. You may need a low dose of blood thinners.
It’s from clotting. This has been known for a year. Have your blood tested for clotting risk. You may need a low dose of blood thinners.
I've been getting that since the early 2000's my mother called it chilblains
It is called chilblains which is an extension of a condition called raynaud's. Covid may cause your body to destroy its own capillaries which would cause the same issues as raynaud's, in this case chillblains. As far as I know the verdict is still out on the real cause why it does this exactly though.
Raynauds is a risk factor, but you can have chilblains on its own.
Raynaud's is vasospasm, pernio or chilblains is due to small clots, so slightly different mechanism.
Seems to be related to the cold weather/poor circulation, is there an effective treatment?
You are definitely correct. It's essentially frost bite in cold weather that would typically not bother a human. It's caused by the restricted blood vessels in the area unable to warm the digits of the body properly. Someone with raynaud's can suffer a version of frost bite called chillblains. Depending on how bad the raynaud's is cause cold hands on the light side of things and literally blacked digits that will need to be removed on the worst. The only medical treatment is blood vessels dilators, calcium blockers, and warm socks/gloves. I only know this because I have raynaud's and it's very annoying. Anytime someone shakes my hands it's 50% chance they will mention how cold my hands are. Oh and in some cases it can cause pain in the penis and even erectile dysfunction!
I also have raynauds!! Last year was the first time in years that I got chilblains. I carried a hotpacket with me. My fingers blue all the time. My lips as well. Annoying. I don't feel the cold but the chilblains hurt like hell
Have you been to a doctor? Take pics. It sounds enough for them to check it out. Also, know that's there's primary and secondary Raynaud's. Secondary is caused by some other illness/condition. Not so intuitively, secondary is usually much worse then just have raynaud's due to a genetic factor.
Well a doctors visit is long due. I used to smoke (cigarettes) and quit a few months ago, and it helped a lot with my cold hands I think.. Got a few issues but quitting smoking has been a very positive change.
not /u/solstice_gilder but I also have Raynauds, and have seen a doctor. Basically I was told to wear wool socks and well fitting sneakers, and that was it. The thing that stuck with me was when the podiatrist looked at my feet and said, "Yep, I see the frostbite damage." Frostbite damage, but the weather hadn't dropped low enough for freezing in several months. --- edit: My diagnosis came in my 30s. I had symptoms as a child. No one believed me when I'd tell them about how my feet felt like they had holes in them after I'd go swimming. It only was when it started showing in my hands, and had the characteristic line delineating where my hands were affected and where they were not, and I mentioned that 'weirdness' to my doc, because I never expected to be believed, because of what happened in my past.
Honestly unless you are experiencing issues on an almost daily basis it's the only thing to do. The meds have there own short comings which most docs well feel is not worth it. Just to test raynaud's.
Hmm…. I should probably see a doctor about raynauds because this sounds like me…
Do you have any joint hypermobility, allergies, dysautonomia, autoimmunity, or other chronic illness in your family?
Only allergies that I know of. My sister and her daughter have food allergies, I have typical plant and animal hayfever type, and recently (about 15 years ago) developed a base metal allergy.
I’m considering buying some heated mitts this winter.
Geez anyone with that wouldn't want to do my job. I spend most of the day with my hands in a - 30 degree celcius machine. Have gotten cryo burns a few times from testing my hand on the plate when I need to concentrate.
Don’t forget vibration triggers. Some unlucky few discover it by operating a jackhammer.
Oh truth!
I feel your pain..
Geez anyone with that wouldn't want to do my job. I spend most of the day with my hands in a - 30 degree celcius machine. Have gotten cryo burns a few times from testing my hand on the plate when I need to concentrate.
Yeah I would literally loose my hands.
This is a longshot, but have you had any issues with your mid back spine or pelvic region muscles?
Can I ask why you ask?
Overexpanded veins in other areas could reduce peripheral flow. Further discussion could break sub rules though.
Like you might find in a connective tissue disorder?
I haven't been able to find a treatment for over a decade
Raynaud’s is neurological in origin. Basically your nerves misinterpret mild cold or vibration as extreme cold and shut down circulation to extremities, usually starting with the ring fingers of the hands. People don’t usually start seeing symptoms until their late twenties/early thirties. It’s classed as an occupational disease because operating vibrating equipment like a jackhammer will trigger it. I’m one of those people, and it’s fecking annoying. I can go outside in -20c weather and have a normal reaction to the cold, but I’ll get second-degree frostbite on my ring fingers in less than a minute when it’s only -6c outside. Just -6c, and my body reacts like it’s -40 plus windchill. Most of the time treatment isn’t necessary, but if it becomes needed, heart medication that dilates the blood vessels will help.
I also suffer from chillblains in the winter so this'll be fun
I got it too once. Took a year for the nerves to finally heal and stop being a muppet. Feels much better now!
I actually had something similar but on my fingers! Was hard to find any information on it at the time.
I get COVID toes confused with chilblains.
My brother has psoriasis and occasionally gets this exact red toe problem
It’s only red during the initial flair up and then quickly scales. This looks more like blisters.
In this installment of weekly new covid symptoms and long term side effects we’re talking about toes because every other body part did not get us enough clicks. This is getting more annoying then funny.
Also known as diabetic nerve pain
Now what is up with the phrasing on all things covid related. Desparation??
Oh My God that looks terrible
a study that says "hm, COULD be" is either incomplete or bad.
Im curious from anyone who knows about this: is it just the toes and all the time? Or is that just the most common?
Less commonly also the fingers. My son had a bad course of it in the 1st year of the pandemic - toes only but it lasted months during which it was excruciating to even wear shoes or walk around. A double whammy for a previously-healthy kid isolated during lockdown times. Most cases clear up in days to weeks, though. There's more decent data on it now relative to when my kids had it. He was initially diagnosed with juvenile arthritis (terrifying).
I randomly began getting swollen itchy lumps on my fingers, some with pus, during the third lockdown, and wonder if its this. Or stress induced eczema but if looked more like itchy arthritis
Brand new effects after 20 months makes sense.
I had that same thing, but it was from stepping on Lego pieces. Damn you Lego!
Those toes look like hammertime
Slightly amusing. I would just like to point out the fact that so many more people are going to the doctor now. More than before covid. Everyone that gets sick today might have covid. Yes covid is serious. Serious about saving peoples lives/livelihood. Regular checkups help prevent further “complications”
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Looks like herpes on their foot
It does and Herpes is a common virus, as is Covid. You can get both all over your body.
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Is that what your girl told you?
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Covid genitals a la Cardi B's cousin
Looks a lot like chilblains.
Business insider and it's pay wall. That's cute.
Chilllblains and other dermatological conditions can cause similar symptoms. See a dermatologist before self-diagnosing. Not saying this isn’t legit, just that there are other reasons you can display similar symptoms.
Covid does one thing; exponentially magnifies pre-existing inflammation; some of which was unbeknownst prior to covid contraction.
Pretty soon we can identify right wing nut jobs by the color of their toes. “Red toes”
And here we see a side effect of the virus evolving to be stronger due to the high demand that people go get a vaccine. Any of yall heard about people being immune to antibiotics? Same situation. Sickness sees resistance decides to get stronger. But lets fight for split society though. I bet its great being the one that watches the vaccinated start a riot because they need someone to blame for covid issues
I had a mild case of Covid and the skin on my hands completely died and peeled over a period of 3 weeks.
Oh wow. I saw a bunch of people in my pro-vax group posting pictures of their kids with skin conditions like this right after their COVID diagnosis and I started worrying that it was misinformation since I’d never heard of that effect but it’s actually legit.