Signs on the skin that may indicate that a person has coronavirus

16 relatives in Colombia infected by covid-19 3:07

(CNN Spanish) - Dr. Elmer Huerta explains the different types of skin lesions caused by the new coronavirus. In this episode, Dr. Huerta refers to a study published in the British Journal of Dermatology by Spanish researchers, in which they describe skin lesions in 375 patients with covid-19 studied in Spain during the month of April, in full peak of the pandemic.

You can listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform, or read the transcript below.

Hello, I am Dr. Elmer Huerta and this is your daily dose of information about the new coronavirus, information that we hope will be useful to take care of your health and that of your family. Today we will see what signs on the skin can indicate that the person has covid-19.

Much has been learned about covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, during the months of the pandemic. At first considered a form of pneumonia, scientists have been learning that COVID-19 is a multisystemic disease that affects many organs in the body.

As we saw in the episode of May 4, the symptoms of a disease - which by definition are subjective - may or may not attract the attention of the affected person.

For example, mild degrees of coughing or shortness of breath can be symptoms of COVID-19, but being mistaken for allergies or other respiratory diseases, the affected person may not identify them as symptoms of the disease.

On the contrary, the signs or visible manifestations of a disease - such as those that occur on the skin for example - no matter how mild they may be, it is possible that they cause greater concern and cause an immediate consultation.

In this context, we think that in addition to doctors learning to recognize the different types of injuries caused by covid-19, it is important for the public to know that the new coronavirus is capable of causing skin lesions, in such a way that it can seek an earlier consultation.

A study published on April 29 in the British Journal of Dermatology by Spanish researchers describes the skin lesions in 375 patients with covid-19 studied in Spain during the month of April, at the height of the pandemic. This is the first detailed medical description of covid-19 associated skin lesions.

The first type, which occurred in 9% of the cases studied by Spanish researchers and generally at the beginning of the disease, appears as vesicles or blisters filled with transparent and isolated fluid, without any other type of lesion on the skin.

The second type, which occurred in 19% of the cases investigated, occurs on the hands and feet and appears as red spots, very similar to chilblains that occur when the person is exposed for a long time to cold and have small blisters or vesicles. filled with clear fluid, although sometimes these blisters may have yellowish fluid of pus. This injury usually occurs at the end of the illness, when the person is recovering.

The third type, which occurred in 19% of the cases in the series, presents as urticaria, that is, as those reddish elevations of the skin very similar to those that occur when one has an allergy to eating pork or shellfish.

The fourth type, which occurred in only 6% of the cases studied, is a lesion whose presence indicates a greater severity of the case and is seen as purple spots and can cause ulcers or wounds on the extremities. These are seen in hospitalized patients and their presence indicates that an internal coagulation phenomenon may be occurring.

For their part, the Spanish researchers report that the most frequent lesion in the series studied, with 47% of the cases, was that of welts of highly variable shape and extension, some similar to those that appear when mosquitoes bite us or fleas, others like multiple scattered red spots.

Because respiratory symptoms do not always appear, my recommendation is that if someone lives in areas where covid-19 is very common and has skin lesions associated or not with other symptoms, they should immediately consult their doctor.

Send me your questions on Twitter, we will try to answer them in our next episodes. You can find me at @Drhuerta.

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And for the most up-to-date information, you can always head to CNNEspanol.com. Thanks for your attention.

If you have any questions you can send them to Dr. Elmer Huerta through Twitter. You can also head over to CNNE.com/coronaviruspodcast for all episodes of our “Coronavirus: Reality vs. Reality” podcast. fiction".

covid-19 Skin