The CDC recently added new known symptoms of COVID-19. Getty Images
1.Experts are still learning the symptoms of the infection.
2.Loss of smell, dizziness, and rash are among the symptoms of COVID-19 that people may miss.
3.Cardiovascular and blood clotting issues are also now becoming a problem for some people with the disease.
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COVID-19 has gained international notoriety as a respiratory infection that may cause fever, coughing, and difficulty breathing.
But those aren’t the only symptoms that have been linked to the new coronavirus disease.
Some people with COVID-19 have presented with less typical symptoms, including nausea, diarrhea, delirium, chickenpox-like lesions, and more.
“Respiratory symptoms tend to be the most common, obviously, but we’ve also seen symptoms that involve other organ systems,” Dr. Eric Cioe-Pena, an emergency physician and director of global health at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York, told Healthline.
People with atypical symptoms of the infection may develop more classic symptoms as well, such as fever, muscle aches, sore throat, and trouble breathing. A full list of symptoms from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is available hereTrusted Source.
However, others may develop only atypical symptoms — and a portion of people who contract the virus don’t develop any noticeable symptoms at all.
“The expression of viral infection has been very, very wide,” Cioe-Pena said.
“There are people that are asymptomatic carriers, and their bodies are doing a really good job containing it. And then there are other people who obviously have very systemic and bad symptoms. And then everyone in between,” he explained.
Learning about some less common symptoms may help you recognize COVID-19 if you or someone close to you develops it.
Loss of taste or smellEarlier this month, the CDCTrusted Source added “new loss of taste or smell” to its list of COVID-19 symptoms.
When scientists at the University of California, San Diego studied responses from 59 people with COVID-19, they found that more than two-thirds of them reported loss of taste or smell.
Your sense of taste or smell may also be disrupted by other conditions, such as the flu or seasonal allergies. But in some cases, such sensory changes may be a warning sign of COVID-19.
Nausea, vomiting, or diarrheaSo far, the CDC hasn’t added nausea or other digestive complaints to its list of COVID-19 symptoms. However, early research suggests gastrointestinal distress is relatively common in people with COVID-19.
Recently, the authors of a new study from Stanford Medicine reviewed the medical records of 116 people who had tested positive for COVID-19.
They found that nearly one-third had digestive symptoms, including loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.
Rash, hives, or chickenpox-like lesionsWhen dermatologists in Lombardy, Italy, assessed 88 people who had tested positive for COVID-19, they found roughly 20 percent had skin symptoms.
Those skin symptoms consisted of a red rash, widespread hives, or chickenpox-like lesions.
“Patients may present with skin lesions on their feet or toes or red rashes that may resemble a skin infection at first glance,” Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, told Healthline.
“Many of these rashes may represent superficial clotting or even bleeding in the skin or extremities,” Glatter said.
Stopping the spread of infectionGiven the wide range of effects that the new coronavirus can have, many people may have contracted it without realizing it.
To effectively identify and quarantine cases of confirmed infection, Dexter told Healthline that increased testing for the virus is essential.
“People will need to be routinely screened and then isolated when they or someone in their household are diagnosed with the infection,” she said.
“Until we can test broadly, we won’t be able to get people back to work safely,” she added.
For now, Cioe-Pena emphasizes the importance of continued physical, or social, distancing.
“We can’t relax social distancing yet. We’re getting encouraging news [in New York], like new infections are down, but it’s a direct cause and effect from social distancing,” he said.
“We don’t get a medal for trying really hard in March and April and then slacking off in May,” he added.
