My hair has been falling out like crazy and it’s stressing me out. I have no idea what’s causing it, but I’m 47 and I’ve heard this happens around menopause. I also got alpha gal syndrome, which is a red meat allergy caused by a tick bite, about a year and a half ago. I’ve heard that hair loss is a side effect, so I’m trying to cut out dairy where possible too. I’m telling myself I can splurge on a cute wig if it gets too bad. In the meantime there may be another cause of my hair loss. I’m pretty sure I got covid early in March, when I had loss of smell and taste and trouble breathing. People who recover from even “mild” cases are noticing their hair and sometimes teeth falling out. This story came out a little while ago and I’m just discovering it now. I’m including excerpts from two articles from the NY Times, on hair loss (that’s from September) and tooth loss (late November). Adult tooth loss is happening to survivors without pain or blood, which doctors say is not typical.
Hair Loss
Mrs. Rowe, who was hospitalized for 12 days in April with symptoms of the coronavirus, soon found strikingly similar stories in online groups of Covid-19 survivors. Many said that several months after contracting the virus, they began shedding startling amounts of hair.Doctors say they too are seeing many more patients with hair loss, a phenomenon they believe is indeed related to the coronavirus pandemic, affecting both people who had the virus and those who never became sick.
In normal times, some people shed noticeable amounts of hair after a profoundly stressful experience such as an illness, major surgery or emotional trauma.
Now, doctors say, many patients recovering from Covid-19 are experiencing hair loss — not from the virus itself, but from the physiological stress of fighting it off. Many people who never contracted the virus are also losing hair, because of emotional stress from job loss, financial strain, deaths of family members or other devastating developments stemming from the pandemic.
“There’s many, many stresses in many ways surrounding this pandemic, and we’re still seeing hair loss because a lot of the stress hasn’t gone away,” said Dr. Shilpi Khetarpal, an associate professor of dermatology at the Cleveland Clinic.
Before the pandemic, there were weeks when Dr. Khetarpal didn’t see a single patient with hair loss of this type. Now, she said, about 20 such patients a week come in. One was a woman having difficulty home-schooling two young children while also working from home. Another was a second-grade teacher anxiously trying to ensure that all her students had computers and internet access for online instruction.
Dr. Emma Guttman-Yassky, the incoming chairwoman of the dermatology department at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine, said she has treated many frontline medical workers for hair loss, including her hospital’s employees.
“Some of them had Covid, but not all of them,” she said. “It’s the stress of the situation. They were apart from their families, they worked for many hours.”
Tooth Loss
“We are now beginning to examine some of the bewildering and sometimes disabling symptoms that patients are suffering months after they’ve recovered from Covid,” including these accounts of dental issues and teeth loss, said Dr. William W. Li, president and medical director of the Angiogenesis Foundation, a nonprofit that studies the health and disease of blood vessels.Teeth falling out without any blood is unusual, Dr. Li said, and provides a clue that there might be something going on with the blood vessels in the gums.
The new coronavirus wreaks havoc by binding to the ACE2 protein, which is ubiquitous in the human body. Not only is it found in the lungs, but also on nerve and endothelial cells. Therefore, Dr. Li says, it’s possible that the virus has damaged the blood vessels that keep the teeth alive in Covid-19 survivors; that also may explain why those who have lost their teeth feel no pain.
[From two articles in the NY Times]
In a survey of 1,500 recovered covid patients, almost a third said that they had unusual hair loss. The doctor’s assessment that hair loss could just be stress seems like the default explanation when the exact cause is unknown. Of course stress can cause hair loss. Many of us have never experienced stress like this in our lives before. However I’m used to doctors dismissing things they can’t figure out by saying “stress.” Health is complicated and often needs detective work. There’s so much that’s unknown around coronavirus and some of the long term effects are just being discovered now.
In our podcast coming out this Sunday I talk about this as Kaiser brought up the topic of hair. I figured I may as well write about it. I’m trying not to freak out because apart from getting my thyroid and hormone levels checked there’s not much I can do. Plus it’s just hair and I feel fine overall. I’m grateful for my health and am making it a priority to eat better. (OK yesterday I had a chocolate bar, several spoonfuls of peanut butter, cheerios and some microwave popcorn but today is a new day.)
Alyssa Milano bugs but this video rings true for me. I didn’t see it when it came out in August.
Photos credit: Tim Mossholder/Unsplash and Bennie Luka/Pexels. Image on the frontpage is a screenshot from this Instagram video by Alyssa Milano.
I lost a crazy amount of hair after I had the flu a couple of years ago. I legit thought I was balding, until my dermatologist told me it was common after virus infections.
I lost a scary amount of hair in the months after major surgery. It eventually (mostly?) grew back.
I haven’t had the virus but I have been experiencing hair loss for the first time in the past several months due to extreme stress. My heart goes out to all of you experiencing the same. We shall get through this! <3
My hair started thinning with menopause, but since this started, LARGE amounts come out each time I shower/wash my hair (less when I brush). Doctor checked and adjusted my thyroid, check vit. levels (all ok), and said “Stress”. Sigh… When this is over, and I can “relax” again, I will have a mullet: no hair on top/crown, and thin, limp shoulder length on the bottom 😜 It KILLS me as when I was younger, my “ponytail” was as thick as my wrist. Now, it’s about 2 FINGERS wide. UGH…
Oh well… like CB said, maybe I’ll invest in a cute wig 💁🏻♀️
I feel you. Same here. My hair is so damn thin at the crown it’s frightening. I have to use the Joan Rivers powder to cover it up.
I hope your extreme stress goes away fast and now. I’m in the the same boat. Hang tough.
Hair loss can occur after trauma to the body such as childbirth or illness or extreme emotional stress like the loss of a loved one or job.
It’s really common post Weight Loss Surgery too. Like after childbirth it does eventually come back but it’s still super unsettling. I take biotin and use biotin shampoo and conditioner to help. I’m getting some regrowth so fingers crossed.
While I was living in India for a short time a few years ago I caught something and was sick for a couple months and lost a LOT of hair. I’ve been eating well and it has grown back full again. I’m not a spring chicken either so there is hope still for some of us. Wigs are awesome and fun, there is a really nice store of them in my area and I got one very different than my normal look and loved wearing it as a fashion statement. I would like to get more, the really nice ones are pricey though. That tooth loss business is not good, awful and scary actually, makes you wonder what other things it does internally.
@clomo, a colleague of mine contracted a mild case of Covid. About 3 months after she went for a normal checkup at her Dr after a referral to a cardiologist, they discovered cardiological damage to her heart, which is attributed to Covid. Her cardiologist said he is seeing a TON more young people, who all recovered from Covid, who now have lifelong cardiac damage. She also developed a serious eye disease, which resulted in blisters in her eyes, rendering her blind for two months. Her eye doctor said this was likely also leftover from the virus. It’s terrifying to me that there are long-lasting, potentially life-altering effects of this virus that we are just discovering. Also, it’s coming at a time when people are losing health insurance, premiums are increasing, and we might lose the “prior condition” protections. When all is said and done, how will we care for the millions of people with devastating heart and lung (and eye!) damage??!!
My friends brother over in London had a mild case and now has arrhythmia. He has to get his restarted three times. He’s in his early 40s.
So far they’re seeing heart, lung, brain, and vascular problems, incl. throwing clots causing stroke in otherwise YOUNG, HEALTHY people.
This is NO JOKE…scary schizz!!
Super scary.
Not to be flippant, I know how rough hair loss can be on many women (my friend and sister both lost a ton on Yaz birth control) but as someone with THICK curly hair this seemed like a normal amount of hair for a brushing? I shed a ton of hair daily and my shower and bathroom looks like a mammoth lives there. I always thought 100 hairs a day was normal.
Covid is horrifying and I wear a mask everywhere. But honestly this looks like a normal amount of hair loss for a brushing after a wash.
I have long thick hair too and this doesn’t seem like much loss at all for brushing? But maybe it’s an unusual amount of her.
True for some, but you can literally see her scalp when she turns sideways. Her hair loss is bad.
2 more things :
– She shouldn’t be brushing it like that while it’s wet. Get a super wide tooth comb if you must use something, but it should be finger combing only.
– How long since the previous time she washed her hair? When I wait extra days because of illness or super busy schedule, I end up having a lot more hair come out because some hair is coming loose everyday and more days between washed means more loose hair building up until I wash.
Everyone’s hair is different and everyone knows the amount of hair they lose in a normal brushing. It must be significant for her to post about it so lets not make this a situation where because I lose more hair than that, she must be exaggerating. That seems excessive to me, but it might not be to someone else. Give her leave to know her own hair, she has been dealing with it her whole life.
I used to work for a dermatologist and he would always tell women to gather the hair they lose like shower, brush and pillow and count them. Average is 100 hairs a day.
I have thick straight hair, and it didn’t look that unusual to me either, especially since I wear my hair up almost all the time, and it can’t shed as naturally as when it’s loose. Plus I’ve been washing it less than normal since I don’t go anywhere!
But if that’s not usual for someone, it has to be pretty scary. Alyssa’s hair looks fairly thin, so that was a lot for her, I’m sure. Hopefully some of these major stressors ease up on people soon, it’s been a really rough year for everyone.
Teresa,
That was my exact reaction and I was starting to worry. I also have thick curly hair and I clean hair out of the drain after a shower. Always have my whole life.
I have really thick, curly hair and this seems like a normal amount for me. But for my friends who have similar hair types or Alyssa, this seems like more than their version of normal.
Yeah, this might be different for her. I’ve never been one with “thick” hair but it’s wavy/curly and my hair stylist cousin said I have a lot of fine hair. Anyway, my bathroom always has tons of hair in it and after a shower I have a lot on the wall. There is also hair all over my house and constantly hanging off my shirts and even in my husbands clothes and I vacuum all the time because of it.
Also, the loss of taste and smell may be a common symptom of covid but a few years ago I had a really bad cold and lost my sense of smell and taste. Usually you will loose your sense of taste because of a loss of smell because taste is like 80% smell anyway. At the time I was freaking out and did research on it and there are a lot of people who had the same thing and never got it back because the cells in the nose that send the signals to the brain were permanently damaged. I was so depressed for days and thought I would never smell my babies or enjoy food again. Thankfully I’ve fully recovered but I do think this is a virus thing and not just covid.
Maybe because you have thick, curly hair? My partner’s hair is like that and I always joke that we can make a toupee or two from the hair in the drain after a shower. I have thick straight to wavy hair, and lots of it, and I’ve never lost hair like that from brushing my hair, wet or dry.
Well look at her temples. She barely has any hair there. It’s almost like she’s bald on both sides. I never brush my hair. I have thick straight hair and would never brush it while it’s wet anyway as that causes a breakage, BUT in general I brush my hair like once a week and that seemed like a lot of hair lose to me. I get that in one brushing because I don’t brush my hair but once a week. I lose a bit in the shower too, but I take collagen (6,000mg) and biotin and a ton of other supplements so to me that was a lot of hair lose for someone who has thin hair (thinner than mine). I just cut my hair to my shoulders (it’s usually past my waist) in a stressful moment and even now I maybe have 6 strands come out in the shower (wash hair every there day). Her hair is thin, and short, she shouldn’t be losing that much. But the side of her head are really alarming. I was noticing my temples thinning too and I wonder if that’s now in my future. So scary as no ponytail can hide that. I sleep on silk pillowcases, use silk scruchies and try to put my hair in a ponytail less because I was afraid of the lose on my temples.
I am going through this too, Celebitchy. I’ve always had very thick hair. I’ve been losing hair like crazy for the past few months and my hair is now thin; my “part” is so much wider now. I’m so stressed out about this. I wondered if it had to do with menopause? (I’m 44 and period is still just as regular & heavy as always.) Or a malnutrition issue. (I’m extremely skinny—5’8” and a size 0. NOT by choice. I can’t gain weight no matter what i do and it’s awful.)
BUT, i & my whole family got extremely sick with what appeared to be Covid (but not sure), back in late March. I just found it hard to believe that WE of all people, up in NH where there were very few cases of Covid, would catch it. But it was a week after my daughter had been selling Girl Scout Cookies to the public outside of Walmart, so it’s possible.
The hair loss has me terrified and very upset; it’s worsening my already existing depression & anxiety.
COVID has been reported in all 50 states so you may have had it. Only one way to know for sure is to get tested for the antibodies.
Amelie, antibody testing isn’t foolproof. I had it in early March and by the time antibody tests were available to me in late July, I no longer had antibodies. They just don’t stick around long, depending on the strain.
Evidence show antibodies last only 2 months. After this period, you can get re-infected.
I would bet you had COVID, I think early on with the limited testing, it was very underreported.
Sounds like a combination of things, including the stress and anxiety. I hope things improve for you.
@K-Peace I’m with you on the inability to gain weight. I’ve been very thin for a while, and then lost a few pounds at the start of this pandemic. My nails got these weird ridges in them, which is a sign of stress & malnutrition. Some people overeat when stressed and some under eat, with me in the later. I started taking a regiment of vitamins plus minerals to help me get needed nutrients, lower my anxiety to up my appetite & increase my overall mood. I’ve now gained that lost weight back, plus more, and feel better. I eat foods high in healthy fat, drink lots of protein shakes & also take a multivitamin, amino acids, liquid trace minerals, fish oil, vitamin B & vitamin D (cuz I’m not getting enough sun cooped up in my house). Hang in there & sending you good juju.
My sense of taste is still hovering at 70% and I had it in early April. I’ve had hair loss too. Grateful not to have lasting lung capacity issues. That is why when people say “the death rate isn’t that bad compared to the number of cases” they are idiots. We don’t fully understand the lasting effects of this virus on your neuro health and motor skills.
I had Covid in August/September, and my senses of smell and taste are still warped. I guess the bright side is that I don’t really like candy anymore as a result, but so many things just taste off to me. When I was sick with the virus, my gums bled pretty badly. Once I recovered, I went to the dentist, and my teeth seem to be ok. But it was definitely scary spitting so much blood into the sink for a few weeks there.
Cooking dinner Saturday and realized the onions I was cutting weren’t smelling up the room like they normally do. The meat I was preparing smelled like sickly-sweet motor oil, something was wrong. Rapid tested on Sunday, still awaiting results. 1% taste and smell. I think I licked dishwasher detergent off of my coffee cup this morning thinking it was the honey I’d poured it, couldn’t tell, no idea what it was, hoping it was the honey…..Headaches a few weeks ago, thought it was my regular winter sinus infection. Hoping the fatigue goes away, but am resting when I can, and trying to keep my mind from freaking out. The hair loss= my heart goes out to anyone with that no matter what reason. We are in this together, better or worse. I was the mask-wearing, bleach -down all- my- groceries gal – and still *potentially* caught this. Big hugs.
When I lost a lot of weight I’d bald patch on the side of my head (luckily it was mostly easy to cover and I started out with thicker hair). Over those first 18 months when I was losing the weight (post weight loss surgery) it was constant. I never got it back as thick until post fertility treatments, pregnancy, and weight gain. Now it’s as thick or thicker (lost some when I stopped nursing 9 months ago, but it’s getting thicker again, as is the bod😫). I notice Omega 369(complete) and iron makes a big difference for me. I’ve been told by dr that fat stores hormones, hormones and fat can affect hair health and growth.
Fats and hormones definitely aid hair growth. Low ferritin (stored form or iron) is linked to hair loss. Hair loss can also come from after fevers, so that could be another COVID association. Basically hair growth seems very sensitive to overall health.
Good luck, stay safe.
Stress can definitely cause hair loss. I read the sudden tooth loss story last week, and that is certainly baffling. It is hard to predict what the full list of long-haul effects will be.
As for hormonal effects – Being peri/menopausal right now is like a double whammy, what with also worrying over the virus and its terrible effects on our society. Significant stress and/or hormone levels can cause a very long list of symptoms, including skin issues such as cherry angiomas (little red moles).
Besides the Coronavirus side effects, I lost a huge amount of hair when a sibling died when I was in my 20s. Last spring I again started the hair loss routine, which I attributed to stress. This time I used women’s Rogaine foam and the hair is growing back. Just a tip for the stress aspect of it.
I had this happen when I was in the hospital for 10 days with a severe infection. A few months later it started to come back as exhibited by millions of tiny baby hairs above my normal curly hair like a halo. My hair dresser said that your body uses energy for infections first, hair is the last priority. When you are fully recovered you body goes back to growing hair. That seemed to be true for me, but no idea where my hairdresser got that info.
That is interesting information (and actually makes sense).
My hairdresser once said that hair will grow and shed in cycles, which is why hair loss seems more evident and is later followed by the baby hair growth you describe.
I lost more hair than a normal shedding cycle after my grandfather’s death when I was 19. The hairdresser wanted me to visit a dermatologist, as she noticed how much hair was coming out during a cut/style. Her comment helped me realize just how stressed I was and soon the loss slowed down.
Yes exactly. Covid is emotionally stressful, but also physically stressful. I was exhausted for months after my infection. I had a weird random abscess that eventually had to be drained. Months later I would still have spells of feeling weak. It was a long time before I felt normal. You have to think with Covid the impact would be just as draining. It is a new virus your body has never fought before. Essentially a 5 alarm fire for your immune system. I bet we learn all kinds of after effects about it for years to come.
So true. Anything that rocks the immune system can cause havoc within the body.
I will never understand why some people act as if the flu is no big deal (both pre-COVID and now). The flu or any type of infection are big deals! I don’t think everyone understands the risk of sepsis and how initially insidious an infection can be.
I’m glad you recovered and hopefully had no long-lasting effects.
She’s 47, these things can happen naturally too.
Yeah, a lot of women experience this in early to mid 40s. She’s a rich celeb, so I would expect her to have it later but not to escape it. She could be experiencing natural aging, which is probably still scary for her as a rich celeb.
A psychiatrist I spoke with yesterday said he’s been getting a ton of calls from people over the last several months who are having long lasting mental/emotional issues from having covid-and these are people that did not have these issues prior to having the virus. That’s scary too.
Various vitamin deficiencies can also cause hair loss. My hair was falling out insanely a few years ago and I was having severe insomnia, so I had my vitamin levels checked. The first doctor noted my low iron levels but said everything else was borderline okay and could not be causing my hair and sleep issues. But a second doctor, a specialist endocrinologist, helped pinpoint my low Vitamin D and hypothyroidism and why they were low, despite my healthy diet. He discussed with me how ‘borderline low’ can be fine for some people but for others requires additional supplements. There isn’t just one minimum level for good health. These ‘minimums’ (and ‘maximums’) are merely helpful guides. For me, taking small supplements for Vitamin D and hypothyroidism had very large paybacks. My hair loss decreased and, more importantly, my sleep improved. Just getting my sleep patterns back in order probably helped everything else feel and work better. In addition to stress, folks’ lifestyles have changed during the lockdowns — what they eat, how much sun exposure (Vitamin D) they get, how much they sleep, how much they exercise. These things can affect your body.
what supplements did you take for the hypothyroidism?
Don’t get me started on hair loss. By best features have always been my hair and my eyes. I can’t see a damn thing anymore and widening sparse hair sections have me palpitating through tears. Top two symptoms among a litany. You know aging would be a whole lot easier with a few face punches, but no, we have to get our feet swiftly kicked from underneath us, fall on hot asphalt then stabbed in the gut lol.
I also had a huge bought of hair loss and my hair at the front is like a small Afro circling my face with the rest of it at my shoulders (my hair is curly). I look a bit nuts but I’m hopeful that means it’s growing back. I’m two years postpartum but this hair loss was extreme. We think we may have had covid after travelling by airplane last Christmas, I wonder if we did and it’s connected.
I’m giving the Karen Hurd bean protocol diet a try, I’ve seen others have success with their hair and skin on it. It addresses endocrine/hormonal issues as well as others. I’m eating a lot of beans lol. Crazy times we are living in.
I’m so sorry. If your hair is falling out, please get your thyroid gland checked. A friend with long haul covid discovered that hers had gone hypo, possibly connected to having had covid. It’s an easy blood test and thyroid stuff is chronically under diagnosed especially in women.
This was one of the symptoms of my thyroid disease that I pretty much ignored (just thought it was stress)-also eyebrow hair looking “patchy.”
@MaryContrary, thank you for sharing, I am actually having very similar symptoms and have been attributing my moderate eyebrow hair loss to stress. I’ve put off getting my annual done due to COVID but will schedule for it soon and ask to get my thyroid checked.
I follow a site called thestrandie that talks about toppers and wigs for hair loss/girls with thin hair. (promise I am not affiliated). So if anyone needs it, there are resources out there for guidance with thinning hair!
I’ve dealt with thinning hair loss for years.
I suggest finding a good dermatologist.
The first one I saw did the usual tests and then shrugged his shoulders.
The second one found my iron levels were in the very low range of normal and started me on a high dose supplement.
She also started me on a medicine called spironolactone. After a month or so, I could feel stubble of new growth on my head and it started falling out less.
Don’t stress about hair loss unless it’s coming from the root, a little white bulb at the end of a strand.
If you see the root, then be sad. If you don’t see the root, It’ll grow back, don’t worry about it.
I met a 43 year old man who had covid. He said it was two awful weeks and then he felt mostly ok. But he has since been dealing with hair loss and prostrate issues, neither of which he had prior to covid. His doctor told him he’s seen this in others as well.
Teeth. Falling. Out???!!! That is a literal nightmare scenario.
This is my recurring nightmare. I wake up and spit out my teeth. When my husband told me covid was causing tooth loss I decided I’m good not leaving the house indefinitely.
Yeah, this scares me. If the teeth are falling out with no blood or pain, and there seems to be Something going on with the Blood vessels means that implants are probably not an option for replacement!
Well, I was vigilant before but this makes me want to never go out.
SAME
Female hair thinning runs in my family. My mother used to visit a top NYC dermatologist who specialized in hair loss twice a year. He emphasized Rogaine, the only proven hair regrowth serum, which you can now get at any drugstore. I use the mousse form for women every night. His other emphasis is worth thinking about as we work from home and lots of us are using dry shampoo. He said to wash your hair every other day because many people with hair loss get oily dandruff which contributes to the hair not regrowing properly. He prescribed his own shampoo, but it had the same active ingredient as in Nizoral. Worth trying.
As a hairdresser for 25 years I’m here to tell you 70-100 hairs a day shedding is normal, and of course longer hair will appear to be more substantial than short. Menopause, and medications will also cause shedding, saying this, medication used to treat Covid patients can expedite hair loss. People also have to consider normal breakage, which can also look like shedding, to the untrained eye.
One of the medications I take- one of the only ones that has proved reliable in helping to treat my mental illness- causes hair loss. It was really, really upsetting at first. I tried different medications, and in the end I had to come back to this one. But during all this my doctor said “what’s more important, your mental health or physical appearance?” As though a decline in your physical appearance can’t affect your mental health.
I don’t know how it works in other countries, but here in the U.S. dental care is considered separate & apart from health insurance, and that’s a damn shame. Dental work is so cost prohibitive that many people can’t afford. And even if you do obtain dental insurance they pay only a small portion of the bill. It’s shameful really.
I don’t know how it works in other countries, but here in the U.S. dental care is considered separate & apart from health insurance, and that’s a damn shame. Dental work is so cost prohibitive that many people can’t afford it. And even if you do obtain dental insurance they pay only a small portion of the bill. It’s shameful really.
I am battling COVID and have been dealing with insanely high heart rates. 120’s are my new resting rate. I have to see a cardiologist and get a heart monitor. I am 37 and even more scared about the long term effects than what this virus has already done to me.
Am so sorry to hear this – hope you get better soon!
Ash, I’m so sorry you are going through this. I hope you heal quickly. Please try to only focus on getting well rather than the after-effects. I know that’s hard but you have no control over the future so please focus on the present. You do have some control over that. Rest, distract your mind with dumb tv or whatever you find enjoyable, follow doctor’s orders. Best wishes!
Scary stuff – I’ve had a tough year (my mum died and then we went straight in to lockdown a few weeks after her funeral) and it’s made my hair start to turn grey, not just the hair on my head. I’ve also been getting tingling sensations all over my body which I think are a mix of stress and the perimenopause.
Stay safe everyone!
I am so sorry for your loss. Its been years and I miss her still. Be well.
One option is to consult with an acupuncturist who prescribes Chinese herbs. There are formulas that can help with this.
COVID-related hair loss can be a matter of telogen effluvium:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/a_to_z/telogen-effluvium-a-to-z
I would most certainly speak with someone on the more natural medicine side before taking Rogaine, which can have nasty side effects:
https://www.drugs.com/rogaine.html
When a person has other factors added to the stress-related hair loss (thyroid, menopause, heredity, name your poison) it does make a difference to sit down with someone who can go over all factors that may contribute. A naturopathic physician, a functional medicine doctor, or an acupuncturist (my vote of course is for the acupuncturist) can give you clarity and effective support as you restore your health, including that of your hair.
Hair loss (not to mention tooth loss, my Goddess) is no kind of fun but there generally are things you can do about it if you find the right practitioner for you, are patient, and are able to see the hair as part of a bigger picture of your individual health and wellbeing.
I was going to say the same thing — most likely telogen effluvium in a lot of folks. This is where there is a shock to the body (stress, illness, etc.) and the majority of hair goes into the dormant phase and falls out. This happened to me four years ago when I had a bad reaction to a new medication. I lost 60% of my hair in a three-month period. My dermatologist confirmed it was telogen effluvium. The hair will eventually go into anaphase and new hair will start growing. It took about 8 months for my hair to go grow back to its normal thickness.
COVID-19 is a terrible. Sorry to hear you’re still suffering. Please focus on your healing, get lots of rest, take your vitamins, etc.
Maybe you could get those micro hair follicle transplants when you’re fully healed?
I have quizzed two dentists about tooth loss. Either medication or dry mouth connected to Parkinson’s likely caused my father rapid decay and loss of several teeth over a two-year period. He had previously had a cavity every few years and no other tooth loss before that. Ever since, I worry about rapid decay / sudden tooth loss.
Both dentists said that generally speaking, your teeth should last a lifetime with proper care. Exceptions would be taking numerous medications or anything that causes dry mouth.
That’s why reading about tooth loss after COVID seems especially jarring to me. I read about a 12 yo losing one of more of his adult teeth after COVID! One 30ish lady said that she could feel a loose tooth and it came out shortly afterwards.
Wow, I hadn’t heard this but have been struggling with enormous amounts of hair loss since October. Even my husband noticed the bald spots on my head, and he never notices anything. Seems extreme even for perimenopause or stress. We thought we had Covid in March/April, before testing was widely available. I didn’t connect the two but I’m just glad to know I’m not alone.
Well. This is is stressful.
Not surprising considering how many are also reporting months of chronic fatigue following the infection. Younger people may be surviving it in greater numbers, but a fair number of people are still getting hit pretty hard. I mean…you figure it can take weeks to recover from the flu. Last time I got it, it was three weeks after initial symptoms were gone before I could exercise or exert myself beyond the norm without losing my breath within a minute or descending into a coughing fit. And COVID is more virulent, nastier than the flu? That’s a virus begging a long term immune battle and recovery. This is the problem with hyperfocusing on the death rate and not acknowledging the wider health implications, and we still don’t know what the long term impact will be for people. The vascular effects in particular I fear will be something people will be encountering issues with for years after.
My hair has been coming out just from the stress of the last nine months, but it’s not covid. It’s premenopausal symptoms and a bit of vanity. I haven’t had a hair cut since January and split ends make for breakable hair. I know a few others this is also happening too but they are chalking it up to changes in medication.
Our bodies can’t tell the difference between physical and emotional trauma, unfortunately. That’s why so many chronic illnesses can manifest as a result of any type of stress, including viral illness.
After a protracted period of emotional stress, I developed severe digestive issues (liquid diet only) and rheumatoid arthritis. It’s just the autoimmune system going bananas.
Severe illness, particularly one that involves infection along with loss of appetite and/or significant weight loss, is very much linked to hair loss. The body tries to conserve energy as much as possible, and will sacrifice non-essential functions such as hair growth while in conservation mode.
My hair is falling out too. All day everyday. Before it was just when I’d shower that I’d notice. I’m thinking it’s most definitely stress. That causes hair loss right?
Dear Celebitchy and others: I am so sorry for your hair loss, for whatever reason. I have felt so lousey for so many years, and have thought it was Lyme’s Disease (may still be), but my doctors say that it is Lupus, and fibromylgia. Be that as it may, I also have felt so rachet (my own silly word that makes me laugh), I thought I could have Covid. The crux of this story is that I am going to a clinic where they will give me ozone or oxygen treatments, which are also supposed to help covid. Or can. I just think alternative health measures may be able to help you. Years ago when I was bleeding out every month, western doctors knew nothing more than to give me progesterone and more progesterone. Didn’t help a minute. I was kidnapped by a friend and taken to her Chinese doctor, who treated me with acupuncture, and the nastiest tasting herbs (brewed) I’ve ever had. It worked. and it was the only thing that did. Don’t give up–keep trying. I wish you all well. (By kidnapping, I mean that my friend drove up and said “get in the car”, which is what I’ve heard they say to alcoholics in Texas….get in the car.)
I bought some castor oil to use on my eyebrows and eyelashes a couple of months ago when it was recommended in one of the amazon lists here. I put it on before bed and sometimes, I probably I use too much, or maybe it just migrates when I’m lying down and runs into my hairline, because in the morning, the hair around my forehead feels a little oily/greasy. I’ve always had baby hairs around my hairline that would never really grow into long hair. But they’re growing longer than ever now. So maybe castor oil applied around the hairline and directly in the part could help any of you who are experiencing hair loss? I’m not even applying it directly to those areas, but the run-off from applying it to my eyebrows has been enough to make the baby hairs grow substantially. My eyelashes are longer and my eyebrows are thicker.
I’ve always had long hair, but after Covid it was coming out by the fistful. I finally chopped it all off. It’s definitely slowed the chunks coming out, but having short hair for the first time in my life is very strange. I’m learning to like it (hopefully love it). I am currently rocking this crazy Albert Einstein look with the help of different products. My 3 grown children are horrified (Lol) but my high school students are offering all sorts of advice! I may be actually considered cool for once!
Look up wen by chaz dean lawsuits and you’ll know the real reason.
Damn… Do you, guys, remember what mutated humans in I am Legend looked like?
Fwiw a 50ish friend of mine who’s always had hair on the thinnish side was concerned about losing more of it as she gets older… so she tried the Viviscal supplement for several months. Nothing happened, in fact she said she kept losing more and more hair in her hairbrush/comb/shower (more than what Alyssa shows in the video). Then she tried the Hair Volume supplement (the one with the apple extract) and within 2 months her hair loss (as seen in the brush/comb/shower) has decreased significantly. She’s sworn she will use this Hair Volume forever!
Stress totally affects tooth health… I’m here to say that I had a tooth fall out after my divorce, and so extreme stress leading to tooth problems is totally a thing