COVID-19 can be linked to noticeable hair loss, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association.
Six things to know:
1. Individuals may find their hair falling out in large clumps months after recovering from COVID-19.
2. Temporary hair loss can be normal after fever or illness, according to the AADA. Fever is a possible symptom of COVID-19. Some people see noticeable hair shedding two to three months after fever or illness.
3. This hair loss is a hair shedding process known as telogen effluvium. It occurs when more hairs than normal enter the shedding phase of the growth cycle at the same time. Fever or illness can push more hairs into this phase.
4. The shedding can last for six to nine months. For most, hair then stops shedding and returns to normal.
5. Among the millions of Americans who have had COVID-19, hair loss has been a common consequence for patients whose symptoms resolve relatively quickly and for those who develop long COVID, Esther Freeman, MD, PhD, dermatologist and epidemiologist at Boston-based Harvard Medical School and principal investigator for the COVID-19 Dermatology Registry, told The Atlantic. Researchers don't yet know exactly how prevalent hair loss is among COVID-19 patients. A study published by the Lancet in January 2021 found that 22 percent of virus patients at a China hospital reported hair loss months later.
6. Hair loss can also be caused by excessive stress or trauma, which millions of Americans had suffered amid the pandemic. Intense physical or emotional stress can push as much as 70 percent of your hair into the telogen phase, according to The Atlantic.