What Is COVID Tongue? Leading Epidemiologist Shares Pic Of Symptom Caused By Virus
Just another symptom to look out for.
Andrey_Popov / Shutterstock Since the emergence of COVID-19, and the start of the pandemic, health officials have been transparent with the public about all of the possible symptoms for the virus.
The most common symptoms found in people with COVID are usually a high fever, a dry cough, and losing your sense of the taste and/or smell.
Cases have continued to rise across the country, with many new variants being discovered that have been dubbed as being more contagious than the original strain of COVID that we’ve been experiencing since early March.
But, there seems to be a new development in a particularly less common symptom of COVID-19, and it is called “COVID tongue.”
What is COVID tongue?
Read on for the "gruesome" details about the latest little-known symptom.
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An epidemiologist took to Twitter to warn people about COVID tongue.
Professor Tim Spector, an epidemiologist at King's College London (KCL) who heads the Covid Symptom Study App, has taken to social media to warn his followers of the strange new symptom.
He wrote on Twitter: “One in five people with Covid still present with less common symptoms that don't get on the official PHE list - such as skin rashes.”
Sharing a picture of what exactly to look out for, Professor Spector also stated, “Seeing increasing numbers of Covid tongues and strange mouth ulcers.”
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Public health physician and president of epidemiology and public health at Royal Society of Medicine, Gabriel Scally, elaborated on how COVID affects the mouth, saying, "Symptoms in the mouth have been described for some time in association with Covid-19. It is such a problematic virus to treat as it produces effects in such a wide range of body systems."
The Covid Symptom Study App is a phone app used by millions of people in the UK.
Users can report if they have symptoms of the coronavirus and if they have been tested for the disease.
It helps the researchers identify symptoms that are common in people who have a positive Covid test result, as well as track the size of the outbreak.
But, around 20 percent of all patients exhibit signs that aren't on the Government's official list of coronavirus symptoms, Professor Spector tweeted out recently.
He finished off his tweet by urging his followers to stay home if you have a strange symptom, or even just a headache or fatigue.
There are of course other listed uncommon symptoms of COVID-19.
The World Health Organization (WHO) lists aches and pains, sore throat, diarrhea, conjunctivitis, headache, loss of taste or smell, a rash on skin, or discolouration of fingers or toes as some other symptoms to look out for, indicating that you might be infected.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Chicago. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.