What were the splotches on Donald Trump's hand? Speculation aside, you can't tell by just looking

A photo of Donald Trump leaving Trump Tower on the way to the courthouse for jury selection in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case has gotten social media attention after some apparent sores were visible on the hands of the former president as he waved.

The British tabloid The Daily Mail distributed the photo and soon after questions arose about what medical symptoms the marks on Trump's hands might foretell. After the Drudge Report picked up on it, Democratic strategist, author and former Clinton adviser James Carville speculated in a YouTube video that the 77-year-old former president's "hand cuts" were evidence that he was suffering from "secondary syphilis."

And while hand lesions can be a symptom of syphilis, doctors say the marks seen in the photo are not visual evidence of any one possible disease and could be from any number of sources.

Carville, who has been highly critical of Trump in the past, admitted he didn't know anything about the photo from the Daily Mail, which he said was "probably a Fleet Street rag," and said it could have been doctored.

Why are people saying Trump has syphilis?

A picture from the British tabloid The Daily Mail of the Republican presidential frontrunner leaving Trump Tower in New York City and waving to supporters quickly went viral when questions arose about the very visible red splotches on the fingers of his right hand.

There has to date been no evidence that Trump has ever had syphilis. Trump has not yet commented on the accusation, although one of the 27 posts his account made to Truth Social from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday morning shared a post from @realamericasvoice with a video of Trump bragging about his health.

"I actually feel better now than I did 30 years ago!" the post quoted Trump as saying.

Trump, who easily sailed to victory in the Iowa presidential caucuses with a domineering lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, will be in and out of courtrooms for at least the next few months. Along with the Carroll defamation case, for which he was already found liable, Trump faces four criminal trials and 91 criminal charges for attempts to overturn election results in 2020, election interference in Georgia, falsifying business records in New York and mishandling and refusal to return classified records after leaving the presidency.

Social media runs wild with Trump hand theories

People on the internet were quick to offer tongue-in-cheek suggestions about the marks.

Burns, shingles, blisters, damage from a fall, herpes, frostbite from his appearances during the bitterly cold Iowa caucuses over the weekend and more have all been brought up, along with ketchup, a curling iron, red ink from Top Secret documents and more.

Trump supporters scoffed at the accusations.

"I think it says more about Democrats and the kind of foolishness, nastiness they're involved in," Clay Edwards said in a TikTok video, "that the first thing they think of when they see a busted callus on a hard-working blue-collar billionaire's hand, on a man's hand that has spent the last eight years trying to save America, on a man's hand that has spent the last eight years trying to Make America Great Again, again, that the first thing they think of is an STD."

What are the mysterious red marks on Trump's hand?

Business Insider asked Dr. Joshua Zeichner, an associate professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. His unofficial diagnosis?

No way to tell.

"Rashes on the hands can be caused by a variety of factors, ranging from infections to inflammatory conditions to external exposures," Zeichner said.

The professor suggested the marks could have come from dryness and overwashing. Trump, an avowed germaphobe, has just spent several days in Arctic conditions traveling around Iowa and speaking in public for the presidential caucuses.

Zeichner also said the marks could have come from friction from activities (such as golf), a chemical reaction to something like lime juice, bug bites, or many other potential sources.

What is syphilis?

Syphilis is an infection caused by bacteria. It usually spreads through sexual contact but can also spread from person to person through direct contact with sores, according to the Mayo Clinic.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Donald Trump's hand, red marks, spark social media speculation