Losing Your Hair After COVID-19? There Is Good News University of Utah Health

Table Of Content

• Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School.
• Do not sell my personal information Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
• What does normal hair growth look like?
• How long will hair shedding last?
• Characteristics of hair loss after COVID‐19: A systematic scoping review
• A systematic review of hair loss as a consequence of COVID‐19 infection

Some may even experience multiorgan effects or autoimmune conditions with symptoms lasting weeks or months after COVID-19 illness, the CDC reports. While some may see hair growth return to normal after a few months, those who believe there may be more to it can seek counsel from a dermatologist, experts say. Dr. Powell Perng, a dermatologist at University of Utah Health, said most patients with chronic telogen effluvium will not lose all of their hair. "Anytime you have a shock to your system, it can shunt the hair into a shedding phase,” said Shoshana Marmon, M.D., clinical assistant professor of dermatology and director of clinical research in the Department of Dermatology at New York Medical College. This type of hair loss is hereditary, meaning that you can inherit it from your parents. Androgenic alopecia occurs gradually as you age and has predictable patterns for men and women.

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Their ability to identify different odorants was tested using microcapsules embedded with 10 sniff odorants that the researchers had placed on brown strips at the bottom of each page. “Our finding that more recent SARS-CoV-2 variants, most notably Omicron, exhibited less frequent smell loss accords with findings from earlier studies,” they added. Studies that included infants from South Africa and Zimbabwe found a statistically significant and higher ARG and MGE abundance compared with European infants.

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Scientists believe that the potential hair-growing properties may be related to the onion’s sulfur content. People with alopecia areata may see regrowth after applying crude onion juice to their scalp twice per day. Getting platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections into your scalp can help stimulate growth in areas already affected by hair loss.

What does normal hair growth look like?

There have been reports of the use of topical steroid applications46but the evidence is not very high. Getting the patient reassured, ensuring a nutritious high protein, high-calorie diet, and adequate sleep will go a long way in helping the patient deal with the hair fall. "There has been a dramatic rise in cases over recent years, with cases in the Americas reaching more than three million cases in 2023," the study authors wrote. "Since January 2024, Brazil has reported more than 3.5 million cases, marking the largest dengue outbreak on record."

Omicron covid symptom: Some patients experience hair loss - Fortune

Omicron covid symptom: Some patients experience hair loss.

Posted: Fri, 14 Jan 2022 08:00:00 GMT [source]

1. Search results and study selection

Figure 1 illustrates a PRISMA flow diagram that depicts the process of identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion or exclusion of the studies. The initial search of MEDLINE and EMBASE databases yielded 150 and 129 articles, respectively. 232 articles were screened based on their relevance and type of article. 143 articles that were either review articles, editorials, or conference abstracts were excluded from the study. Eighty‐nine articles were then evaluated for full‐text review for study inclusion per our eligibility criteria.

Telogen effluvium, whether it’s caused by COVID-19 or another trigger, usually isn’t permanent. “Shedding can occur, however, for three to six months before it stops,” Dr. Kuhn says. With telogen effluvium the hair growth cycle eventually normalizes and, because there is no damage to the scalp or hair follicles, all of the hair should grow back. But when an individual experiences a stressful event, such as COVID-19 infection, our bodies can prematurely shift a greater than normal proportion of growing anagen hairs into a resting telogen state. Again, “the type of hair loss caused by COVID-19 is called telogen effluvium, a prolonged hair shedding that occurs in response to a sudden stressor,” she says.

Psychological Stress

However, the definite mechanisms of hair shedding following COVID-19 infection are not well known and further studies to elucidate the exact mechanisms are required [7]. Although hair loss is considered a benign condition, it can be devastating to a patient’s self-esteem, self-image, and overall quality of life. A large longitudinal study on 538 COVID-19 survivors and 184 controls was conducted in Wuhan, China, to investigate the prevalence and predictors of COVID-19 clinical sequelae [4]. Alopecia was among the most prevalent complaint in convalescent COVID-19 patients, occurring after three to four months and being reported more commonly by women [4]. Multiple studies have been conducted to understand the association between COVID-19 infections and the development of TE; however, evidence concerning the prevalence of TE among recovered COVID-19 patients in Saudi Arabia is currently limited.

Characteristics of hair loss after COVID‐19: A systematic scoping review

“Though losing hair can be scary, I always reassure patients that they won’t go bald from COVID-related shedding,” Dr. Kuhn says. “Typically, the best thing to do is simply wait it out.” In the meantime, practicing healthy hair habits is paramount. “There’s no research to indicate that the COVID vaccines trigger hair shedding,” Dr. Kuhn says, adding that, in her experience, she hasn’t seen any people dealing with hair loss postvaccine. Dr. Bhanusali underscores the fact that there’s currently no direct data to connect the two. Stress that triggers telogen effluvium can be either physical—in the case of a car accident or major surgery, or after other illnesses such as the flu—or emotional, such as a particularly difficult breakup or the death of a loved one, Dr. Kuhn notes. Postpartum hair loss in people who have given birth is another example of telogen effluvium, in this case caused by hormonal changes.

In the telogen phase, hairs rest for 2 to 3 months before being shed from your scalp to allow for new hair growth. This is why hair loss due to TE happens so long after a triggering event, such as an illness or highly stressful period. About 90 percent of hairs on our scalp are in a growth phase, called anagen, and about 10 percent of hairs are in a resting phase, called telogen. On our scalp, anagen lasts for about three years, and then hairs begin transitioning into telogen, which lasts between two to six months. At the end of telogen, our hairs are shed from their follicles and gradually replaced by new anagen hairs. However, if your shedding persists beyond six months, Dr. Kuhn suggests consulting a board-certified dermatologist if you can.

“If a person has six months of hair shedding and it’s continuing at the same rate, they should follow up with a dermatologist,” says Dr. Jackson-Richards. Dr. Cline says that some people try minoxidil (Rogaine) twice a day on the scalp, but because this can take months to take effect, the telogen effluvium may already have resolved. If it’s Covid-19, that means waiting and trying not to stress about it even if clumps of hair are falling out.

Researchers instructed participants to take the 53-item Waterless Empirical Taste Test (WETT) and 40-item University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) to assess taste and smell function. But if you experience more sudden loss, loss in patches, or overall thinning, you may want to see a doctor. But make sure to do a patch test before using essential oils on larger areas of your skin.

There were no clear trends between COVID‐19 severity and the extent of hair loss. Analysis of the 58 cases also found similar results with most of the cases being female (82.8%), the median onset of hair loss of 2.0 months, and the median time to recovery of hair loss of 5.0 months with a resolution rate of 95%. Hair loss is a normal consequence of a viral infection or a stressful situation.

Hence, our study aims to explore the prevalence of hair loss among recovered COVID-19 patients and measure the impact of hair loss after COVID-19 on the quality of life among residents of Saudi Arabia. This study is the first systematic scoping review and analysis of existing case reports and series of hair loss in COVID‐19. However, patients could still experience prolonged time to recover from hair loss, and there were no clear trends between COVID‐19 severity and the extent of hair loss.

Ultimately, experts emphasize that telogen effluvium following Covid-19 is not usually permanent. However, some dermatologists may recommend a topical solution of minoxidil—the hair-growth drug that is the active ingredient in Rogaine. "A lot of what I do is counsel people when it occurs and play the role of a cheerleader for them, reassuring them that this will get better," said Arash Mostaghimi, director of dermatology inpatient service at Brigham and Women's Hospital. "Usually you'll know if you're losing hair long before anyone can actually clinically see it," Green said. For many, "Covid-19 has been a double whammy," combining "the mental stress of living through a pandemic" with "the physical stress of the illness itself," Sheikh writes.

The EMBASE and PubMed databases were searched for articles pertaining to “COVID‐19” and “alopecia” or “hair loss.” A total of 208 results were screened, and 28 studies were included (Figure 1). The quality of evidence provided by the included studies was established in Table 1. Most people who develop TE have noticeable hair loss 2 to 3 months after a triggering event.

When that period is over, those hairs will slowly shift back to normal. Telogen effluvium does not cause a person to lose their hair follicles. While hair may not temporarily grow, the hair follicles are still present, and hair will eventually regrow. Initially, you may notice hair all over your bathroom floor or an excessive amount in your hairbrush. Telogen effluvium usually doesn’t occur at the same time as the triggering event, though—it starts approximately three months after, Dr. Ziering says.