The latest weird side effect of COVID-19: “Restless anal syndrome”

The latest symptom of COVID-19 is in the buttocks – but that’s no joke.

A recently released medical report by Japanese doctors revealed a mysterious illness associated with the condition called “restless anal syndrome”. Its name is equated with the more commonly discussed Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) and accurately describes the afflictions of a 77 year old patient.

The man had just left Tokyo University Medical Hospital after a 21-day stay while sick with COVID-19. But despite having fully recovered from the virus, he returned to report new uncomfortable symptoms.

He told doctors he started to suffer from “deep anal discomfort” in the area between his anus and his genitals, which made him feel the “essential urge to move” his bowels. – which gave him no relief, according to their article, available to read via “BMC Infectious Diseases.

Over the days, the patient observed that physical activity seemed to relieve his stressed anus, while lying low only increased his discomfort, which also increased during the evening hours.

A colonoscopy showed the man to have internal hemorrhoids, but that did not explain his spasms. His nervous system also seemed to be functioning properly.

COVID-19 is known to cause shock wave side effects, some of which are neurological, including loss of taste and smell, brain fog, and numbness.

It was at this point that doctors judged his uncomfortable condition to be neurological, noting that his symptoms manifested in a manner similar to RLS, which was detected in at least two other recovered COVID-19 patients.

The link between the disease and RLS is not yet understood, said report author Dr Itaru Nakamura. Nakamura’s patient, however, could be the first documented case of restless anal syndrome associated with COVID-19, he wrote.

Restless leg syndrome is said to occur in at least 3 million Americans, and its symptoms can appear elsewhere on the body, such as the arms or even the face. Some experts believe the disease is vastly underreported, as the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation estimates that 7-8% in the United States are living with some form of RLS.

Nakamura prescribed the man a daily regimen of the sedative clonazepam (Klonopin) to help relax his anal muscles, and he continued to improve after 10 months of treatment, according to the report.