From “COVID toes” to loss of smell and taste, the new coronavirus is known for its strange variety of symptoms. But few are as strange as the “COVID language”, a collection of peculiar oral symptoms that, in rare cases, result from the virus. Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, recently accessed Twitter to highlight the subtle symptoms, which he says should be considered potential warning signs for COVID cases. Read on to learn more about Spector’s warning and for some more initial symptoms to watch for, check out These are the first most common signs that you have COVID, Study Finds.
As the epidemiologist explains, the signs of the COVID tongue can include swelling, ulcers, painful rash, “cut out” cutouts on the sides of the tongue, or a white or yellow “hairy fur” on the tongue that is not corrected by brushing.
“Seeing growing number of COVID languages and strange mouth ulcers, “advised Spector in a January 13 tweet.” If you have a strange symptom or just headache and fatigue, stay home! “
Although he estimates the COVID language to be relatively rare, affecting about one in 500 COVID patients, Spector says any foreign symptoms should be treated with caution. These rare presentations of the virus underscore how comprehensive COVID symptoms can be – a fact that can encourage people to stay home even in the absence of more typical COVID symptoms, such as a cough or fever.
Based on his work as a principal investigator in the ZOE COVID Symptom Study, an application that allows people to report their symptoms to a database, Spector shared with NBC News that he believes that at least a third of COVID-19 patients experience atypical symptoms for the first three days after infection.
“It is a good reminder that there are many different manifestations of this virus, instead of the classic ones,” he recently told the media.
Want to know what other rare symptoms should be on your radar? Read on for more amazing COVID symptoms and to learn more about the long COVID symptoms you need to know, see The terrible long COVID symptom that doctors are now warning about.
According to experts at the Mayo Clinic, men should be aware of testicular inflammation as a possible symptom of COVID. “As with previous coronaviruses, viral binding to the ACE2 receptor in the testis can lead to tissue inflammation and the development of orchi-epididymitis with testicular pain,” explains a study published in the journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online. This can cause “testicular damage and orchitis”, say the researchers. And for more information on how the virus affects that part of your body, see You may never be able to do that after surviving COVID, Study Warns.
In at least two documented cases of COVID, a prolonged episode of hiccups was the only visible symptom. Both patients had hiccups for more than 72 hours and four days, respectively, before seeking emergency medical care at the hospital. Each received a chest X-ray and determined that they had “ground-glass opacities” in their lungs, a sign of pneumonia. Subsequently, both patients tested positive for COVID. And for more subtle COVID symptoms to add to your list, make sure this part of your body hurts, you may have COVID.
Delirium is not typically associated with COVID-19, but researchers have increasingly found that many elderly patients (and some younger patients) have this neurological symptom. “Delirium is a state of confusion in which the person feels disconnected from reality, as if he were dreaming”, Javier Correa, PhD, a researcher in a recent study, said in a statement. “We need to be aware, especially in an epidemiological situation like this, because an individual who shows certain signs of confusion can be an indication of infection.” And for more regular COVID updates sent straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
There are many possible explanations for hair loss in addition to COVID, but experts say that this subtle symptom may mean that you have recently been infected. That’s because COVID can be very traumatic for our bodies, Sara Hogan, MD, a clinical instructor in health sciences at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, recently told WebMD.
“You can have this big event and then it could be about three to five months after you suddenly start to notice the drop,” explains Hogan. And for other ways to identify a COVID case in advance, check for the first signs that you have COVID, according to the Mayo Clinic.