Add this to the growing list of the\u00a0coronavirus\u2018 awful toll on victims: a symptom that produces a strange buzzing sensation throughout their body.<\/p>\n
The side effect, reported by patients sharing their symptoms on Twitter, is now being described as \u201cfizzing,\u201d and is one of the more mysterious marks of the illness. Doctors on the frontlines of treating the illness tell The Post it may be one of the last sensations patients feel as their bodies fight the disease.<\/p>\n
Other symptoms of the deadly disease\u00a0include\u00a0a loss of smell and taste, fever, aches, breathlessness, fatigue,\u00a0a dry cough,\u00a0diarrhea,\u00a0strokes and seizures, and for some, no symptoms at all.<\/p>\n[<\/p>\n
But as more and more patients share the effects of the illness online, many are finding they have the strange new symptom, too. One patient,\u00a0@miafia, who felt the sensation since the first day of her symptoms, described it as \u201can electric feeling on my skin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tarana Burke, known as the founder of the #MeToo movement, shared that her partner had the illness and had a burning feeling on his skin that was so severe, \u201chis skin felt like it was burning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven when he barely had a fever of 99+ we literally used aloe gel for sunburn to soothe it,\u201d she\u00a0wrote on Twitter. \u201cThe NP later told us she had heard others say that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even\u00a0infamous influencer Arielle Charnas\u00a0reported some \u201cskin sensitivity\u201d when she first came down with the virus.<\/p>\n
Doctors say the symptom is not terribly common, but may be part of an autoimmune response that effects patients\u2019 nervous system.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly it\u2019s been identified, but we\u2019re just not sure yet how widespread it is,\u201d Dr. Daniel Griffin, chief of infectious disease at ProHealth Care Associates, tells The Post.<\/p>\n
Griffin, who estimates that he\u2019s seen about 50 coronavirus a day since the outbreak took hold of New York, says he\u2019s heard mention of the reaction.<\/p>\n
There may be several reasons for it, he and others say. The feeling may be the result of disease-fighting \u201cantibodies interfering with the way nerves work,\u201d but adds that neurologists still aren\u2019t sure if it\u2019s our body\u2019s response to the virus or the virus itself causing the feeling.<\/p>\n
The sensation may also be tied to a fever, says Dr. Vipul Shah, Clinical Director at telehealth service\u00a0Pack Health.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf people aren\u2019t used to having fevers, maybe their skin really does feel like an electric sensation,\u201d he says. He advises using an aloe vera gel or mild lotion could help.<\/p>\n
Griffin also suspects the reaction, or other cognitive reactions like it, may be a symptom of post-traumatic stress after patients recover from being in the ICU or on ventilators.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are used to being sick and then in a few days being all good,\u201d he says. \u201cThis infection seems to have this tail to it \u2014 a lingering fatigue. There\u2019s kind of a foggy, zombie-like state, where their eyes get glassy and they\u2019re not quite as sharp.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the feeling alone may not be enough to go get tested, Shah says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a symptom that\u2019s been well described yet, so just make sure you\u2019re still following isolation procedures,\u201d such as covering your mouth when you cough and washing your hands frequently, Shah says.<\/p>\n
For patients experiencing the sensation, Griffin recommends letting the body recover on its own.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s bothersome but benign,\u201d he says. \u201c[Patients\u2019] cognition seems to be doing better with us just waiting. The human body is a pretty impressive construct and often will get better.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\n
Add this to the growing list of the\u00a0coronavirus\u2018 awful toll on victims: a symptom that produces a strange buzzing sensation throughout their body. The side effect, reported by patients sharing their symptoms on Twitter, is now being described as \u201cfizzing,\u201d and is one of the more mysterious marks of the illness. Doctors on the frontlines …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":63958,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[4083],"yoast_head":"\n