It is now known that you can probably expect minor side effects after receiving a COVID vaccine. It is usually similar to other vaccines and contains fatigue, muscle aches, nausea and chills that usually subside with a day or two. But a new study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that there is one reaction to the vaccine that you may not have expected: COVID toes and fingers. Read on to learn more about this strange side effect, and for more information on what to avoid once you get doses, go to Do it after your vaccine may worsen side effects, doctors say.
The finding comes from an analysis of 414 delayed skin reactions reported by patients who received the COVID-19 vaccine, which is described in the study as starting a day or so after dosing for up to seven to eight days received later. Because researchers collected the data between December and February before the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was approved for use in the U.S., the study included only Pfizer and Moderna recipients, representing 17 percent and 83 percent of patients, respectively.
While the analysis found that several rare but not life-threatening side effects were possible on the skin, researchers noted that sores or lumps known as pernio or chilblains – also described by some patients as “COVID tones”, USA Today reports. The condition, which is also reported to affect the fingers in ten percent of the patients who have seen the symptom, is most likely caused by inflammation of the blood vessel walls and can cause the figures to swell and turn deep red or purple.
Fortunately, researchers say that responding to discolored figures on your shots is not a sign that something is seriously wrong. “Getting your toes pressed is uncomfortable, but that’s not a reason not to get the second dose,” Esther Freeman, MD, PhD, director of global health dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital and senior study author, tells USA Today.
What other types of skin reactions can the COVID-19 vaccine cause? Read on to find out what the analysis discovered, and for more information on why your reaction to your shots can be so severe, go to CDs. This is why half of the people have stronger side effects against vaccines.
One of the most common side effects of the vaccine was a red, itchy rash at the injection site known as ‘COVID arm’ or ‘Modern arm’, as 95 percent of cases are reported in patients receiving the company’s vaccine. Although previously reported as a side effect, the study found that only 43 percent of patients who had a rash on their arm after their first dose saw it again. The patients who saw the rash with both doses reported that it was less pronounced and usually faded faster than the first in about three to four days.
Skin reactions to the COVID vaccine are not just limited to where you get a jab. The study found that some patients reported a whole-body rash – medically known as a morbilliform rash – was often described as ‘measles-like’, although it was not measles. But again, the seemingly excessive response to the vaccine is not a sign of anything serious.
“People can get skin rashes, and it can be surprising and a little scary, but these patients performed excellently, recovered and were able to go back and get their second dose,” Freeman said. “For people whose rash started four or more hours after the vaccination, 0 percent of them had anaphylaxis or any other serious reaction. Zero is a good number.” And for more information on odd ways your body may react to the shots, check out The odd new COVID vaccine side effect that even doctors confuse.
Chickenpox is a one-time illness for most people, but for some it can come back as shingles. This was the case for some of the patients who reported an outbreak after receiving their shot.
The analysis found that patients who received lip injections in rare cases experienced swelling after receiving their dose. According to Shilpi KhetarpalMD, a dermatologist, not only relates the reaction to recent procedures, but told Clevland Clinic in February: “I have seen patients who have had reactions to the vaccine, and their fillers placed from weeks to years before. “In that case, one person had a filler in 2018 and experienced swelling after receiving the vaccine. So it seems that this could happen at any stage, as these fillers can take much longer than we think.”
However, the reaction is also a known side effect of other vaccines, and that does not mean you should stop getting shots. “If you had a filler in your face, that does not mean you should not get the vaccine,” Freeman said. And for more information on what to expect after you have been fully vaccinated, check out Doctors warn you to be “prepared” for this after your second dose.