Has anyone else got ‘COVID toes’

[Twooter]

My DJ has had red swollen and ulcerated goes for the last week. Initially he thought it was athletes foot, albeit in the wrong part of the foot and not looking quite typical. Then he googled and found articles on Covid toes -mainly from the US, but the pictures are exactly the same as my DH’s toes.

This is really odd. About a month ago I developed absolutely awful itching and swelling on my feet and hands. For a couple of days I could hardly walk or use my right hand because it were so swollen and painful. My toes even turned purply-black in places for a short time.

I assumed it was just a really, really bad case of chilblains, which I do sometimes get on my feet during the winter. But it was the first time they've ever been this bad or have appeared on my fingers as well. I was actually starting to worry that it could be something else because it was so much worse than the chilblains I've had in the past.

They developed a few days after I stopped doing my daily commute into London, and only cleared up properly about a week or so ago. It is interesting to read that this can sometimes be the only symptom.

Guess I'll never know!

There’s a new theory that COVID toes isn’t actually related to COVID but instead to a sign that you’re likely to imminently next abducted by aliens. The red toes are something like a beacon

Oh my goodness, I had this last week too, one of toes was really purple/discoloured last week and incredibly itchy on top with small little red bumps about the size of nettle stings. Could be completely unrelated but very curious now as I it was driving me mad wondering what was causing it. No other symptoms.

@Vikingmama79 this is exactly how mine are. I think it was last Sunday it started on one of my toes and as the week has gone on most of my other toes have a red lump on them. My feet have been red and sore and itchy. I've said to DP a few times they feel like I've walked through nettles

Dh and I were talking earlier about how much better our feet are feeling that normal because we aren’t wearing shoes for most of the day.

Sounds like your dh has chilblains. Are they itchy as all fuck? That’s chilblains.

Two things come to mind. I have no idea about Covid toes, but some of the symptoms sound similar to hand, foot and mouth. Secondly, I wonder how it could be chilblains when it has been warm weather for ages-hottest April for years!
Covid is producing weird symptoms, and it is only by people talking about symptoms that we are beginning to understand that it can be a lot more varied than temperature and cough.
Can I remind everyone to go on the Covid App to help with the research project run by Kings University? They want to hear from the sick and the well, it's really quick to complete the daily questionnaire.

My ds had this at the start of April and we thought it was chillblains. Was very painful at night and swollen ends of toes around the nail with blistered lesions. He first showed me as he thought he'd broken a toe. He has also had a very slight occasional cough.

I had this appear yesterday. Thought I'd missed a bit of my toes with suncream as I'd been barefoot in the garden. On Monday I was in school on rota and did the shopping so could well have been exposed.

Weirdly I just spoke to my manager last week and he’d mentioned randomly getting chill blains on his feet since working from home, and then his daughter got the same. His wife is a GP so still going to work. She found out there is some reporting of chill blains in coronavirus cases.

Oh how odd
I’ve had sore red/purple raised lumps on my toes and fingers Sort of on the side at the top
Initially I thought it was to do with a toe nail rubbing but still the same after I cut the nails

Not had corona tho. As far as I know

just clicked on it cause I have odd things going on with my toes. Red, swollen (mainly near the nailbed), incredibly itchy. I was walking in a wood near home in sandals and thought little bugs in the bushes might have bitten me.

So itchy yesterday that I had to sit in the garden with my feet in a bucket with ice cold water. I also keep putting ice packs on to cool the fire/itching down.

I initially thought it's an infection but Fucidine (so) did nothing to it.

I don't have Covid though (knowingly) and I have been at home for the last 4 weeks (though going for walks and DH goes to the shops). so who knows. I can say that I never had these toe issue before though - whatever they are.

That’s so strange, we think we had it here about 5 weeks ago. DH and I got ill but teenagers didn’t. DD has been complaining about her toes on and off for this whole time. They are red and burning. We got some athletes foot cream and antihistamines but nothing has helped. Looking at the images, we are pretty sure it’s that. I wonder if that makes her contagious still or if it’s residual from virus (not that we are going out much anyway) It says is common in teens and young adults the most which fits.

Mine are like this atm.

I had never had chilblains before but got them around October/November so unless I was Covid patient zero it's nothing to do with it for me. Also mine weren't itchy at all. They were very tingly and definitely painful when bumped. I do think I have bad circulation. My toes in particular are often cold unless I wear really warm socks.

This is so bizarre! I had exactly the same about three weeks ago - raised, red and incredibly itchy inflammation on my toes, around my nailbed. Assumed it was chilblains - what else could it be? - despite not having been exposed to cold. In hindsight, it coincided with me and DP both feeling completely wiped out. It all cleared up in a week or so. Who knows?!

It sounds like hand, foot & mouth disease. We had that when DS was a baby and it was horrific. DH couldn't walk and had 3 weeks off sick. His feet were covered in red sore spots. And the fevers were awful. I think it's worse than chicken pox.

@Booseysmom I also had Hand Foot and Mouth at the end of last year (courtesy of my toddler) - this definitely isn't it! But HFM is hideous, I completely agree, I was so poorly with it.

My DS started getting an itchy rash on his toes about 2 weeks ago, didn’t look like athlete’s foot. Then his toes turned blue/purple colour and were swollen and sore, looked a bit like frostbite but the weather wasn’t cold. He now just has a few spots on his toes, the colour has gone back to normal but he’s never had anything like that before. He did have hand foot and mouth when he was young but this was not like that.

I have had cilblains which surprised me as not that cold

My toes have been like this for a few weeks. Never known anything like it before.

My son has had this for a couple of weeks. My partner took him to the pharmacist, as it came up when he stabbed his toe. The pharmacist thought perhaps it had got cut during the bang and then maybe dirty and infection. Referred to GP.

GP did a telephone consultation with photos also while on the phone and agreed with the pharmacist. Gave a week of antibiotics. The original mark on his big toe is a lot smaller now but new ones have appeared. The big one on his big toe was purple with almost a grey centre to it.

Wondering now if it could've been this covid toe?? He has had NO other symptoms at all

I think I have Covid bum.
Oh no wait, it’s only my piles, phew!

I also suffer from Raynauds. After sitting out in the sun last week, I've had similar painful swelling near the nailbed on a few toes, on one foot, feels like being stabbed by tiny needles. Also had a line of small red itchy bumps on the same foot under the "v" of my flipflop. In my case it definitely seems to be some kind of reaction to either the sun, or pollen in the garden. If I stay out of the sun, it goes down and then comes back after more sun exposure.

I've found that calamine lotion really helps to soothe the pain of the swelling and also the other red itchy bumps.

I had the same thing last year for a few days at the beginning of the summer. I've googled and it does look like chillblains but mine seems to be caused by heat rather than cold? I did see the reports about Covid toes and the pictures look the same, but as it also happened last summer, I'm certain in my case it isn't that and is more likely something to do with Raynauds or some strange allergy to certain pollen. I'd love to know what it is and why it has only started happening in the last few years !