Skin rashes are a symptom of Covid-19 infection: Study

According to a recent study published in the British Journal of Dermatology, skin rashes are a symptom of coronavirus infection as they could be caused by "immunological reactions to the virus."

The research to better understand the skin manifestations associated with Covid-19 was conducted by a group of researchers who teamed up with the British Associations of Dermatologists.

The data of patients were collected from the COVID Symptom Study app. Out of the 2,021 people who used the app and tested positive for Covid, 8.8 per cent reported skin-related changes, 6.8 per cent reported body rashes, and 3.1 per cent reported rashes on their hands or feet, called acral rashes.

The most common types of rashes found were papular rashes (41.2 per cent) which are small, raised bumps, urticaria (30 per cent) or red, itchy welts and acral rashes (23.1 per cent), which are lesions on the hands or feet. Acral lesions and papular rashes lasted for about 13 or 14 days, respectively, but urticaria lasted for just five days.

The researchers also looked into an online survey of 11,544 respondents and analysed the skin-specific symptoms. About 2,328 among the respondents provided photos of their rash and permitted its sharing for study purposes.

Among the respondents, 17 per cent of the Covid-19 positive individuals reported skin rashes as the first symptom, and 21 per cent reported it as their only symptom of Covid‐19.

The senior study author Mario Falchi said, "Cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 are sometimes the first or even the only sign of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Recognition of such early signs and symptoms of COVID-19 may enable identification of cases missed when relying only on the core symptoms, allowing preventive measures to be put in place to minimise further spreading of the infection."