Mysterious wave of COVID toes still has scientists stumped
Puffy, red-purple, and sometimes painful toes were one of the odder symptoms seen early in the pandemic. But experts are debating their cause—and whether COVID-19 is even to blame.
Arkin, a pediatric dermatologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, treated just a couple of patients with temporary skin lesions called pernio, or chilblains, each year. But in April 2020, when COVID-19 cases first surged, she saw 30 chilblain patients. “My urgent clinics—either telemedicine or in-person—were suddenly filled with patients with purple toes, complaining about swelling, blistering, discomfort, and pain,” Arkin says. “I was completely shocked.”
Dermatologists in other parts of the U.S., and around the world where COVID-19 cases were rising, were also reporting cases of people with red-purple lesions often on their toes. So-called chilblains typically started out with a burning itching sensation on the toes followed by the discoloration, which often resolves without treatment within a few
