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Some people infected with the coronavirus may have ‘COVID tongue’.
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The condition may include a painful rash, swelling or discoloration on the patient’s tongue.
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One British researcher says it is critical to draw attention to ‘non-classical’ coronavirus symptoms such as COVID tongue that do not appear on official public health lists.
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As the pandemic progresses, experts are identifying more and more symptoms that could indicate a coronavirus infection.
According to one researcher in the UK, ‘COVID tongue’ should be added to the growing list.
“See increasing number of COVID tongues and foreign mouth ulcers,” said Tim Spector, an epidemiologist at King’s College London tweeted earlier this month.
“COVID tongue” may include swelling, painful rash or indentations on the sides of their tongue.
Spector later told NBC News he had also heard of patients with a white or yellow “hairy layer” on their tongues.
More research is needed to confirm whether ‘COVID tongue’ may be a reliable litmus test for a coronavirus infection, Spector said, adding that very few people – less than one in every 500 cases – have this symptom.
Mouth ulcers are also one of the symptoms that are ‘regularly involved’ in COVID-19 cases
Several studies published last fall suggest that ‘COVID tongue’ symptoms also include stomach ulcers.
Researchers from the Czech Republic have documented 26 cases of people with mild or moderate COVID-19 who developed painful stomach ulcers on their tongues between April and June.
Gastric ulcers are open sores or breaks in the skin; the Czech scientists found up to seven ulcers half a centimeter long in each patient, usually on the sides of the tongue. Following a prescription of antimicrobial mouthwash, the patients’ stomach ulcers disappeared after one to two weeks.
Other findings from Spain suggested that mouth and tongue problems are ‘regularly’ involved in COVID-19 and that they should be investigated further.
This study, published in the British Journal of Dermatology, found that a quarter of 666 coronavirus patients who were ill with mild or moderate COVID-19 in a field hospital in Madrid between April 10 and April 25 had problems with their mouth or tongues. has.
Some of the patients developed rashes on top of their tongue, lost grooves on the sides of their tongue or some of their papillae – the small bumps that give our tongues a rough texture and help us taste.
Others developed mouth sores or swollen tongues.
An August study from Brazil documented eight cases of coronavirus involving mouth sores and yellow, white and red sores on the patient’s lips and gums.
‘Non-classic’ COVID-19 symptoms are usually ignored
Neither the UK’s national health system nor the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report ‘COVID tongue’ as a symptom of the coronavirus.
A sore throat and loss of taste are the only problems listed in the mouth, although the CDC says the list “does not contain all possible symptoms.”
But 20% of people have less common symptoms that do not appear on the official list, Spector said.
‘Non-classic symptoms’ of COVID-19 tend to be ignored, including COVID tongue, skin rash and ‘COVID tone’, he added.
Some coronavirus patients report scaly rashes on their feet and purple, swollen toes that appear to be frozen – a condition that doctors nicknamed “COVID toes”.
Other patients – especially those with long-term symptoms – reported other skin problems, including hives, lesions and itchy rashes all over their body.
Mouth ulcers are a common symptom of other viruses such as hand, foot and mouth disease and herpes, and dentists who regularly examine people’s mouths and tongues have been on the lookout for these symptoms during the pandemic.
The American Dental Association (ADA) told NBC News that the study, published in the British Journal of Dermatology, is consistent with what it has heard from colleagues and partners about the oral and tongue problems of coronavirus patients.
“Oral health is an important and vital part of overall health, and the ADA continues to investigate the relationship between the two regarding COVID-19,” the association said in a statement to NBC.
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