An Iowa woman with a skull defect started leaking cerebrospinal fluid from her nose after getting a swab test for the coronavirus.
Shortly after the woman in her 40s went for the testing, her nose started leaking fluid. She immediately experienced headache, nausea, and vomiting.
When her neck and head got stiff, she went to a doctor where a hole at the base of her skull was discovered.
Doctors said that cerebrospinal fluid, a protective liquid surrounding the spinal cord and the brain, was dripping profusely from her nose.
This is the first time doctors have reported the potentially dangerous and alarming leak triggered by the Covid-19 test swabs.
But the doctors also noted that the swab alone did not cause the drip.
According to the doctors from the University of Iowa, the woman had an undiagnosed skull defect.
When the swab prodded a small opening, it became big enough for cerebrospinal fluid to come out.
Almost 104 million Americans have been tested for the virus but no one had ever reported a health problem due to the testing itself until now.
Coronavirus tests are performed using samples taken in 1 of the three ways: boy saliva, by lower naries (nostril) swab, or by the nasopharyngeal swab.
The woman with skull defect was given a nasopharyngeal swab and shortly after the test, liquid started dripping from her nose and she felt nauseous.
Her doctors took CT scans and photographs of her skull and nasopharyngeal passageway, and that’s when they discovered a hole at the base of her skull.
According to a 2017 scan, the defect was already there and the cerebrospinal fluid started sipping after the swab prodded the pre-existing problem.
She underwent surgery to repair her skull, the Business Insider reported.
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