To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Covid-19 Patient Diagnosed With Restless Anal Syndrome

Covid-19 Patient Diagnosed With Restless Anal Syndrome

Medics in Japan have undergone a study into an elderly man who developed symptoms after contracting coronavirus

Anish Vij

Anish Vij

An elderly man who had a mild case of Covid-19 has now been diagnosed with restless anal syndrome, which has been linked to coronavirus for the first time.

The report was conducted from doctors in Japan who diagnosed a 77-year-old man with 'restless anal syndrome'.

This causes a person to feel like they need to keep moving about due to discomfort in their anus.

The unnamed individual was being treated for mild coronavirus at Tokyo Medical University Hospital.

He began suffering from insomnia and anxiety once his illness had gone, which prompted medics to take a closer look.

The doctors said that he 'began to experience restless' and 'deep anal discomfort'.

Doctors added: "Before affecting Covid-19, he had never experienced anal restless and discomfort."

Stock image of positive Covid-19 lateral flow test.
David Forster / Alamy Stock Photo

The report was detailed by Dr Itaru Nakamura in BMC Infectious Diseases.

The case presentation read: "Several weeks after discharge, he gradually began to experience restless, deep anal discomfort, approximately 10 cm from the perineal region.

"The following features were observed in the anal region; urge to move is essential, with worsening with rest, improvement with exercise, and worsening at evening.

"Neurological findings including deep tendon reflex, perineum loss of sensory and spinal cord injury, revealed no abnormalities.

"Exercise such as walking or running... made the symptoms relief [sic], while taking a rest made the symptom worsen."

Alamy

They diagnosed the man with resting anal syndrome as a variant of the condition restless legs syndrome.

Restless legs syndrome can cause someone to feel an overwhelming urge to move their legs due to a fault in the nervous system.

The conclusion read: "We reported a case presenting with restless anal syndrome following affection of Covid-19 as restless legs syndrome variant.

"This case fulfilled 4 essential features of RLS: urge to move, worsening with rest, improvement with exercise, and worsening at evening.

"To date, no case of restless anal syndrome associated with Covid-19 has been previously published.

"This case report may reflect the associative impacts of Covid-19 on the neuropsychiatric state.

"The long-term outcomes of neuropsychiatric conditions should continue to be monitored."

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: coronavirurs, Japan