Does COVID cause hair loss?
The short answer is yes, it can. It’s important to know why. Anytime someone gets sick, especially with a fever, there is a good chance they will experience hair loss 2-4 months after the illness. Our bodies are brilliant, and they know in times of sickness and stress to send nutrients and energy to other body parts that we need for survival, like the heart, lungs, kidneys, etc.
Did you know that the cells to grow hair require tremendous energy and nutrients? It’s true that these cells divide and replicate very rapidly during the growth stage of the hair cycle, called the Anagen phase. So, suppose your body is fighting an illness like a viral or bacterial infection or cancer, or you are experiencing a stressful situation. In that case, your body will pull all that energy and nutrients away from the hair growth cycle and send it to the areas of the body needed to fight the illness. This process can send our hair prematurely into the resting phase of hair growth called the Telogen phase, where we usually have about 6-8% of all hair in this stage, but during significant stress events or shocks, it could be as much as 50%! The hair usually stays in this phase for about 100 days before shedding. The average amount of hair shed in this phase is anywhere from 50-100 hairs daily, but during stress and illness, you will see many more hairs than 100 every day. This type of hair loss is called Telogen Effluvium and is usually temporary. The loss will slow down or stop once the cause is identified and eliminated. It usually takes 6-9 months to see the new hair growing back. Hair growth depends heavily on a healthy body. To rule out any other health conditions or medications that might contribute to hair loss, it would probably benefit you to visit your primary physician or dermatologist and check your hormone, iron, and vitamin levels to ensure you are balanced. Suppose you plan to seek treatment with a hair loss expert or through a hair restoration clinic to regain as much hair as possible and as healthy and robust as possible. In that case, this information is beneficial to ensure any nutritional concerns are being corrected and speeding up the overall hair growth process.
As we all know, these last couple of years have been quite trying at times, if not downright stressful and filled with fear and uncertainty, so finding healthy ways to relieve stress and deal with all the uncertainty is vital to our overall health, which in turn is essential to our hair health. I have found that yoga, walking, gardening, or just stepping outdoors to breathe deeply and focus on nature, and all my blessings have helped me tremendously reduce stress. I hope you, too, will find peace in these uncertain times.
