7 warning signs COVID-19 has impacted your blood, according to studies
Warning signs COVID-19 is impacting your blood-flow
While novel coronavirus may remain a respiratory virus at the base of it, its impact on the vital organs can be quite profound.
From the heart to the brain, the SARS-COV-2 virus can also unleash damage to the blood flowing through our body, leading to consequential damage and complications even in the otherwise young and healthy.
Bloodstream complications can also show up much later as post-COVID signs and lead to threatening complications, in the lack of proper knowledge.
Therefore, a lot of doctors are warning patients to be careful in their study and go for preventive checks, even after recovery to see their health.
COVID and blood clotting: What makes it so threatening?
COVID-19 is a complex infection that, much like the lungs or the heart can cause damage to the blood flowing through your veins, which is vital to healthy functioning.
Blood clotting, which can disrupt blood flow can cause symptoms that can be mild or even threatening. To put it simply, if a blood clot blocks the passage of blood flowing through an artery or vein, it causes tissue damage and oxygen deprivation, which can make the cells in that tissue die.
While some blood clotting is considered normal, what makes it scary in COVID-19 cases is abnormal clotting.
Since the virus also activates cytokines and inflammatory response in the body, patients with COVID-19 can expect a rise in clotting incidents in the body, which can be damaging.
We tell you about some warning signs of trouble that can act as signs that COVID-19 has entered your blood.
1) Severe blood clotting
Doctors are now seeing a shockingly high rate of blood clotting problems in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, young or old.
Not only can the problem of blood clotting be widespread, but it also carries the most risk for the people who have consequential pre-existing problems which can impact healthy blood flow, including diabetes, high blood pressure levels or cardiac ailments.
2) Thrombosis
Another increasingly seen side-effect of COVID-19 infection in the body can be deep-vein thrombosis. For some, it could also act as an unusual, yet early sign of the infection.
Deep vein thrombosis can occur when the virus attacks veins and linings of the limbs in the legs, causing blood clots. The clots can disrupt blood flow and even lead to painful embolism in many cases. While deep vein clots usually form in the thigh or lower leg, in some cases, it can also impact other parts of the body, and turn into a serious condition if timely assistance is not procured.
3) Unusual swelling or skin inflammation
One of the most consequential damages caused by the virus is widespread inflammation along the body.
When the virus attacks the skin and causes inflammation, it can result in multiple blood clots, which then go on to cause swelling, lesions and bumps which can often also be painful.
Right now, many experts also feel that swellings, skin inflammation can go unnoticed, or be less noticed as a serious sign of COVID-19, leading to a bad diagnosis and later problems.
Many COVID-19 patients also report suffering from numbness, pains in the limbs or fingers, all classified as thrombotic symptoms. Therefore, do not take these signs lightly at any cost.
4) Discolouration in the skin and rashes
Skin rashes, discolouration, an unusual phenomenon also likened to be COVID toes is also a likely implication of the virus causing damage to the bloodstream and impacting the skin.
While the phenomenon of COVID toes in itself are right now classified as a bizarre and strange COVID symptom that could impact kids and adults, a lot of preliminary research has pointed out that the skin manifestations are a likely cause of the virus compromising healthy blood flow.
Damage to the peripheral blood vessels can also cause blue-purple-red rashes close to the skin in those who have tested positive for the virus.
5) Increased risk of stroke
COVID-19 has strangely, also been linked to increased precedence of strokes amongst patients (asymptomatic, mild or severe). Even the ones with no case history of cardiac problems can experience sudden strokes, which can further complicate the prognosis. Again, heightened stroke risk is a likely complication that results from abnormal blood flow or clotting primarily.
6) Damages to the lungs and the heart
The damage COVID-19 does for the two vital organs, the heart and the lungs, and the many symptoms it can unleash has been detailed before.
According to many doctors, a strong reason why even healthy patients end up suffering from problems like these is acute blood clotting. Increased pressure, clotting can lead to disturbances and severe signs weeks, or even months after fighting the virus.
A study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine observed that blood clots can clog up the lungs and cause problems, including shortness of breath.
In the same way, another American journal also reports that multiple blood clots can weaken heart walls, cause arrhythmias, and even in some cases, serious problems like heart attacks. As with other conditions, the ones with comorbidities and ailments have a heightened risk of developing problems like these.
7) Kidney damage
According to a study referenced by John Hopkins Medicine, the clogging of blood vessels in the kidney with blood clots can increase a patient's risk of kidney failure and even complicate dialysis. The most risk exists for the ones suffering from a severe form of the disease.