Sarah Churchill, 36, suffered with painful skin lesions on her hands and feet back in February. The mother-of-one noticed these mysterious rashes and feared the worst with doctors telling her she was going to die from blood cancer or HIV.
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Sarah told Mail Online: “It was pretty scary being told I might have HIV or blood cancer.
“I really thought I would die.
“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster, but the silver lining is that I haven’t got a life-threatening condition like blood cancer or hepatitis.
“But I still don’t know what damage has been done to my body.”
The College of Podiatry said: “News reports continue to highlight some of the suspected skin-related symptoms associated with COVID-19 infections.
“As a new infection, healthcare professionals are still learning more about the effects of the disease but further reports from dermatologists and journals are noticing that the skin can be affected with various rashes across the body and limbs.
“These include chickenpox like spots, red itchy areas and wheals.
In a study with the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, how COVID-19 the affects the skin was investigated.
The study noted: “Several skin conditions have emerged, mainly as a result of prolonged contact with personal protective equipment and excessive personal hygiene.
“Pressure injury, contact dermatitis, itch, pressure urticaria, and exacerbation of pre-existing skin diseases, including seborrheic dermatitis and acne, have been described.
“The atopic diathesis, low humidity, frequency of hand washing, wet work, glove use, and duration of employment are important risk factors for the development and/or aggravation of hand dermatitis.
“The skin and COVID-19 interactions, as well as the consequences to the skin and mucous membranes of increased personal hygiene measures, should be recognized by dermatologists and their co-workers.
“The use of precautionary measures, including emollients, barrier creams, and moisturizers, is essential in preventing skin complications aggravated by preventive steps taken during the pandemic.”
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Sarah, of Bournemouth, Dorset first noticed her skin symptoms and began to feel ill at the end of February, just before Britain went into lockdown.
Sarah experienced night sweats, a racing heartbeat and severe shortness of breath which she put down to a bad case of flu.
However, a week later her skin symptoms began to develop which flared up on her hands, feet and nose.
“It’s an incredibly painful condition, it’s not pleasant at all,” Sarah explained.
“Not even resting my hands or feet helped, it just got worse over time.”
Sarah underwent several blood tests until eventually discovering that her painful skin lesions was due to a COVID-19 infection.
A dermatologist informed her that her lesions were consistent with symptoms experienced by many other COVID-19 patients.
“At least my symptoms finally made sense,” Sarah said, who after the correct precautions were made was able to make a full recovery.
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