Doctors says . An Italian study that said one in five of Covid-19 patients had a skin issue– most commonly a red rash or a hives-like eruption — infectious. diseases experts are now asking dermatologists to think of Covid-19 when they see such rashes.

Dr Subramaniam Swaminathan says(infectious diseases expert of Gleneagles Global Hospital) It’s called a ‘Covid’ feet”. “At least 20% of the patients in Italy had it. Doctors in in Finland, Spain, the US and Canada also reported red patch and itchy boils in patients. We should start looking for the here too,” he said.

The painful red bumps tend to occur at the tips of the toes or on the top of the feet, sometimes even on the hands – something similar to frostbite. Doctors explain the disease causes microscopic clots in small blood vessels. But they admit more studies are required to substantiate the theory.

Many cases have been reported in India. Two weeks ago, a dermatologist discussed a bizarre situation when a couple came to her clinic with rashes on the feet. “Rashes looked similar. And both of them had a mild fever. The doctor initially thought it was measles, but wondered how they both picked up the infection at the same time. They have recovered, but now looking back we both think it could have been Covid 19,” Swaminathan said.

Senior dermatologist says there is growing evidence that skin could be a sensor about what may be happening with Covid-19 inside the body. “People with such symptoms should test for the viral infection even without symptoms such as fever, cough or body ache,” said senior dermatologist Dr Maya Vedamurthy.
“The virus is nasty and tricky. It shows itself different in different people,” said another senior infectious disease expert Dr A Ramasubramanian of Apollo Hospitals.

Take the case of a 24-year old patient who had nothing other than fever for 10 days and an 80-year-old who had breathless; both tested positive for Covid-19. “They did not present themselves as textbook cases. I wouldn’t be surprised if rashes are a symptom. It goes back to the theory of how little we know of this virus,” said Ramasubramanian. The prescription from doctors is more tests and isolation.