Man's legs turn purple in rare Covid complication

The effects of long Covid are still being uncovered by experts, and now doctors have been studying a rare complication that saw a man’s legs turn purple.

A new research paper has been released which looks into the case of a 33-year-old man who had been infected with Covid 18 months earlier and experienced difficulties when standing up.

His legs would turn purple when he did so, as well as tingling and itching, but things would return to normal when he lay down.

The odd condition was diagnosed as POTS dysautonomia. This was determined after his pulse was found to rise to 127 beats per minute when standing, as well as feeling shaky and unsteady on his feet.

The paper leads on from previous studies, which detected POTS in 20 people after they developed a Covid-19 infection.

Flickr/Pots Syndrome

According to the new study published in The Lancet, there is "evidence is growing of a link between long Covid and POTS dysautonomia”.

The paper’s co-author Dr Manoj Sivan said in a statement: "This was a striking case of acrocyanosis in a patient who had not experienced it before his Covid-19 infection.

"Patients experiencing this may not be aware that it can be a symptom of long Covid and dysautonomia and may feel concerned about what they are seeing. Similarly, clinicians may not be aware of the link between acrocyanosis and long Covid."

Dr Sivan added: "We need to ensure that there is more awareness of dysautonomia in long Covid so that clinicians have the tools they need to manage patients appropriately."

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