A swollen, bumpy, or patchy ‘COVID tongue’ may be a sign of viral infection

• Research on Spanish patients has found that COVID-19 can cause symptoms in the mouth and tongue.

• About one in four patients in the study experienced swelling, sores, lumps, or discolored patches.

• Researchers also found evidence of rashes and bumps on the hands and feet.

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A swollen or patchy tongue can be a sign of coronavirus infection, new research shows.

Researchers found that one in four coronavirus patients noticed changes on their tongue, including swelling, sores, raised bumps on the surface of the tongue, indentations and / or discolored plaques. A small percentage of patients also reported a burning sensation in the mouth.

These results were based on observations from 666 patients with COVID-19 and mild or moderate pneumonia in a field hospital in Spain.

Symptoms were often associated with a loss of sense of taste in patients, which has become an increasingly common sign of the virus.

It is not yet clear whether these symptoms can be widespread. Since the patients included in the study had moderate cases of infection, researchers are unsure whether these symptoms, called ‘COVID tongue’, could also affect people with severe coronavirus, or those with milder cases. .

Although viral infections are known to cause symptoms in the mouth and tongue, there is not much data on this phenomenon in COVID-19 patients. This may be in part because medical experts avoid spending too much time in patients’ mouths due to safety concerns with the highly infectious virus.

The new findings were presented on January 26, but first published in September in the British Journal of Dermatology.

Rashes are also linked to COVID-19, but there’s a lot we don’t know

This study also found that about 40% of patients had skin problems on the palms of their hands or the soles of their feet. These included a burning sensation, redness, peeling of the skin, and small bumps.

The story continues

About one in ten patients has also had a rash.

Previous research has also found that coronavirus infection can affect the hands, feet, and skin. In May, dermatologists reported patients with red, swollen toes and rashes associated with COVID-19. And “long haul” or people with prolonged symptoms have also reported skin conditions, which can be a sign of inflammation caused by the virus.

Research is mixed on how often the coronavirus causes rashes and other skin symptoms.

This most recent study found more examples of skin symptoms than many previous studies, so there may have been other factors involved.

Scientists also don’t fully understand when these types of symptoms tend to appear, so it’s unclear at this point if they could help predict more severe or long-term cases of COVID-19.

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