--- title: "The Coronavirus May Be Doing Something Strange to Your Toes" description: "\"COVID toes,\" mysterious blue or red discoloration in toes and sometimes fingers, could be another early symptom of the coronavirus." date: "2020-04-23" modified: "2020-04-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/covid-toes" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Pathogens" - "Viruses" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" --- # The Coronavirus May Be Doing Something Strange to Your Toes !["COVID toes," mysterious blue or red discoloration in toes and sometimes fingers, could be another early symptom of the coronavirus.]() Health practitioners are noticing a strange new sign that patients could be carrying the coronavirus without symptoms such as a dry cough or fever. The media and even some health experts are [now referring]() to the condition as "COVID toes" — mysterious blue or red discoloration in toes and sometimes fingers. It seems to only affect young people. "We don’t know for sure if it’s related to COVID-19, but when it's so common right now during a pandemic and is occurring in otherwise asymptomatic or mildly affected patients, it seems too much of a coincidence not to be a manifestation of the virus for patients in their teens and 20s," Amy Paller, the chair of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in [a statement](). Luckily, the toes seem to turn back to normal quickly. "I think it’s much more rampant than we even realize," Paller added in the statement. "The good news is it resolves spontaneously." "Sometime itchy, often times painful," Paller [told Chicago's *WGN9 News*](), "these are individuals who are often without any other sign of viral infection. We are seeing this in unprecedented numbers." "They’re typically painful to touch and could have a hot burning sensation," Ebbing Lautenbach, chief of infectious disease at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine, [told *USA Today*](). "Sometimes this might be your first clue that they have COVID when they don’t have any other symptoms." The news comes after doctors found that a [loss of smell and taste]() could be a first symptom of COVID-19. Luckily, COVID toes are seemingly not a sign of impending doom. "None of these teens or young adults have gone on to have any serious issues," Paller told *WGN9*. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()