When Stacey Marwala’s hair began to fall out in the cottage two months after testing positive for the Covid-19, she wasn’t initially worried.
“One day I washed my hair and I pulled a handful. And I’m like, ‘Probably because he was in Scranchi,’ “said Maravola, 44, of Lettsdale, Pennsylvania.
But even after about two months the hair loss has not stopped. Every time the health and lifestyle coach, Maravola shampoos her hair, comes out in a fist, tangles around her fingers and sticks to her feet when it rains.
“I was limited to washing my hair because I was scared,” he said. “I’m not a big emotional person, but I can tell you, this has changed me. I cry every time I take a shower. “
Merovola is one of the many survivors of the coronavirus with dramatic hair loss, which experts say is not entirely unexpected after a serious illness – but can still be cut.
The University’s David Geffen School of Medicine is a dermatologist and clinical instructor of health sciences. “It’s very upsetting for people who have gone through a significant clinical course of covid,” said Sara Hogg. California, Los Angeles. “But often, patients, once they are diagnosed and they understand that in general this will get better, they feel better.”
Hogg said hair loss occurs suddenly after any stressful event, including major surgery or emotional stress. People are seeing their hair thinning because of the epidemic, she said: Hogan used to see an average of three to five hair loss patients a week and now he sees up to seven a day.
Why is there a severe invasion of the body or mind that stimulates hair loss? In most of these cases, the patient is diagnosed with having telogen effluvium, a temporary condition in which he or she loses more than the typical 100 hairs or so that people lose in a day. Telogen effluvium usually begins about three to six months after becoming a stressor, and in most patients, the problem will resolve within four to six months, according to Hogan. (In rare cases, constant stress can lead to prolonged flow.)
Researchers do not believe that covid-19 attacks the hair follicles, meaning that hair loss is a response to physical and emotional stress caused by the body, rather than a symptom of the disease. And coronavirus has never started in many patients who are currently seeing hair with a hair gun and other dermatologists.
Dure is an assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “These are all other toll of epidemics that lead to hair loss,” said Lennon Cole, “such as mourning over the loss of a family member over financial concerns.” School of Medicine.
Her hair loss following Covid-19 came to light in August when actress and activist Alyssa Milano shared a shocking video of the amount of strands she lost while brushing her hair.
He thought, “I thought I’d show you what # Covid 19 does for your hair,” he thought. “Please take this seriously.”
Meravola was diagnosed with coronavirus on July 5, and had a fever for a few days, plus headaches and loss of appetite. While the illness was fairly mild, it later became a constellation of her health problems, including debilitating fatigue, joint pain and rashes.
Seeing her thick, black hair coming out in a lie was one of the more disturbing events.
In September, Maravola shared a picture of her hair loss with the hairline support group – Coronavirus Defenders Struggling with Her Long Hair Symptoms – and was surprised to receive over 200 comments from others who said they were related.
“It was, for me, sure,” he said. “I thought, at first I was crazy.”
There are a variety of treatments for telogen effluvium, including supplements such as roginine and topical therapies, although some patients are reluctant to take roginine because it initially causes more hair to flow, Hogan said.
She and Cole both recommend that anyone with new or worsening hair loss go to a board-certified dermatologist to rule out other causes, such as thyroid problems or side effects from medications. The dermatologist may also suggest that the hair loss is caused by telogen effluvium or something else, such as alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder.
Marvola said connecting with other people going through the same thing has helped her cope with hair loss.
“It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “You have to find your support system, whether it’s on Facebook, or family and friends, because it’s scary.”
