Another strange symptom linked to COVID-19
Spanish researchers are suggesting there is another symptom of COVID-19 not previously considered.
Health experts believe rash-like mouth lesions are another side effect of having coronavirus, after 21 patient’s mouths with COVID-19 were examined at Ramon y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid.
They were investigating whether each patient who had rashes on their skin would determine if they might have enanthem - a rash inside the body on the mucous membrane.
The study's findings - published in JAMA Dermatology - found six of the patients with skin rash had some form of enanthem in their mouths.
The patients were aged between 40 and 69 and four of the six were female.
"This work describes preliminary observations and is limited by the small number of cases and the absence of a control group," researchers wrote in the study.
"Despite the increasing reports of skin rashes in patients with COVID-19, establishing an etiological diagnosis is challenging.
“However, the presence of enanthem is a strong clue that suggests a viral etiology rather than a drug reaction, especially when a petechial pattern is observed.”
Researchers noted many patients suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 have not had their mouths examined due to the worrying safety concerns around the infection.
The study noted enanthems were previously found in some Italian COVID-19 patients.
The mouth lesions join a growing list of strange coronavirus symptoms detected by health experts.
They follow the discovery of clumsiness disturbance in mental functioning, loss of taste and smell and migraine as odd COVID-19 side effects.