Coronavirus: With the new more transmissible XE variant on the loose, here are 10 unusual COVID symptoms to watch out for

Global health body, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed another variant, XE, which it says is a recombinant of the BA1 and BA2 strains of Omicron. While looking at the current situation, it is difficult to say if this will be catastrophic, but only a concrete knowledge about the symptoms and signs can help us evade the infection.

The XE strain is a recombinant of Omicron BA1 and BA2. A recombinant variant occurs when an individual gets infected with more than one variant which recombines among themselves by sharing genetic material.

The XE strain has so far infected 637 people in the UK. Reports of XE infection cases have not been found elsewhere.

COVID symptoms vary from person to person and it is very important to know what these symptoms are so that the severity of the infection can be evaded. While the coronavirus has a milder impact on many people, on many others it wreaks havoc. Therefore it is very important to understand the symptoms of the infection that do not seem like common symptoms.

Brain fog, mostly seen in COVID patients, is a condition where the individual experiences having sluggish thinking. The thinking capacity of the individual seems to have been reduced. "Brain fog is not a medical or scientific term; it is used by individuals to describe how they feel when their thinking is sluggish, fuzzy, and not sharp," says a report from Harvard Medical School.

Research studies have revealed the link between the risk of delirium with the COVID infection. As per a study 20-30% of the COVID patients who were hospitalized were likely to develop delirium. As per a report of a health journal delirium went unnoticed in early cases, partly because some coronavirus patients have been under the influence of sedatives. Experts say one of the main reasons why few people get delirium after COVID is maybe because the body’s immune system overreacted to the virus and could have blocked blood to a patient’s brain.

The US CDC lists this as a possible symptom of COVID. Mental confusion and disorientation may be early signs severe COVID experts have said. As per a study by the University of Florida, people who showed symptoms of disorientation were three times more likely to develop severe COVID than others.

Yet another sign of COVID which overlaps with the signs of many other health issues. While many people ignore palpitations and see it as something that will go away in due course of time, during COVID times one should be constantly taking medical suggestions if it regularly happens. This panic button for most of the heart ailments as well should never be ignored.

Rashes and hives have been seen in many COVID patients and various studies have confirmed that COVID has a detrimental effect on the skin for many individuals.

Government health agencies have also confirmed the impact of COVID on skin, lips and nails. The US CDC lists "pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone" as a possible symptom and emergency warning sign of COVID.

Studies have established a connection between vocal cord mobility and COVID infection. "Laryngeal nerve palsies may represent part of the neurologic spectrum of COVID-19. When voice changes occur in patients during COVID 19 infection, the possibility of vocal cord paralysis due to peripheral nerve damage caused by the SARS-CoV-2 should be considered," says a study.

An injury to the vagus nerve which controls voice, swallowing, breathing and coughing is a possibility during COVID. "If the vagus has been towel-snapped by a virus, it's going to not function normally, and one of the manifestations is shortness of breath with or without cough," Dr. Jonathan Aviv, an ear, nose and throat specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City told a health journal.

3 years into the pandemic, do not ignore fever and signs of fever. A rise in the body temperature should not be allowed to come down on its own; it should be treated.

As per ZOE COVID app, fever (a raised temperature) is a common symptom of COVID-19, affecting more than two thirds of people with the disease. If your body temperature is above 37.8 degree celsius you should immediately take medical assistance.

Hypoxia is a condition where oxygen is not available in sufficient amounts at the tissue level to maintain adequate homeostasis.

This condition has been found in many COVID patients. Since it has not been found to be severe, except clinically, experts have termed it as happy hypoxia. COVID patients show a typical symptom where the patient has low blood oxygen level which can lead to unconsciousness but is alert and is showing no such symptoms.

A slight disturbance in the body is likely to affect the gut health. Gastrointestinal issues and its related problems like loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhea have been commonly seen in people.

As per a study by Stanford Medicine on 116 COVID infected individuals, almost one-third had digestion related issues.

Read: 6 reasons why you feel like your heart skipped a beat

This is typical to COVID. Loss of taste and smell were highly reported during the second wave of COVID which was led by the Delta strain. This symptom was not seen during the Omicron led third COVID wave.

But, till date this symptom allures researchers. People experience loss of smell and taste for months altogether. Many people have got back the sense of smell and taste after almost an entire year.