A monkeypox case that resulted in the patient’s nose starting to rot has prompted doctors to warn of the virus’s possible serious effects in some patients.
Doctors in Germany revealed the case after a 40-year-old man went to visit his doctor with a red spot just on edge of his nose that was orginally misdiagnosed as sunburn.
Regrettably, the man’s situation worsened over the following few days, with necrosis generating in his nose.
A condition in which body tissue dies is known as necrosis. This can happen for a variety of reasons, including injury, infection, radiation, or chemical exposure. Necrotic tissue symptoms vary depending on the type and location but may include severe pain.
A photograph of the German patient clearly demonstrates his nose to be coated in dry, flaky skin that has turned black towards the tip.
Monkeypox patient’s nose is rotting after being dismissed as sunburn https://t.co/vz1bXxauVW pic.twitter.com/tAWjfWke3l
— New York Post (@nypost) August 17, 2022
While the patient’s nose was deteriorating, doctors noticed that he had developed skin lesions all over his body that were consistent with a monkeypox infection, including on his penis and mouth. Doctors performed PCR tests on the skin lesions and discovered that the man had monkeypox.
Further testing revealed that the man had long-term syphilis, a bacterial infection, as well as an enhanced HIV infection, both of which had gone unchecked.
Doctors stated in their report about the patient who formed necrosis that most situations of monkeypox so far have been minor and that a managed HIV infection “does not appear to be a risk factor” for severe cases.
They did, however, add that this case “illustrates the potential severity of MPXV infection in the context of severe immunosuppression and untreated HIV infection.”
The patient was administered oral doses of tecovirimat, an antiviral drug accepted for use against smallpox that can also be used to treat monkeypox in patients who have severe symptoms of the disease. He was also provided antiretroviral therapy for his HIV infection in addition to syphilis medication.
According to the report, the patient’s monkeypox lesions dried out over time, and his nose “partially improved” with far less swelling. While necrosis cannot be reversed, it can be treated by trying to remove the affected tissue.
