Doctors confirmed that recovered COVID-19 patients suffer from hair loss and is one of the lingering problems based on a present survey conducted and reports from patients. 

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There have been many reports about recovered COVID-19 patients who continue to experience symptoms like fever, loss of sense of taste and smell, and more. However, a new report shows that patients who survived the virus also suffer hair loss. 

It was found that 27 percent or more than a quarter of recovering patients from COVID-19 in a survey participated by more than 1,500 people reported that they experienced hair loss. Participants of the survey were from the Survivor Corp Facebook Group.

According to the doctors, this is what they call telogen effluvium. According to Medical News Today, it is a temporary hair loss that usually happens if a person experiences stress, shock, or a traumatic event. Hair loss often occurs on the top of the scalp.

Dr. Esther Freeman, who directs the Dermatology COVID-19 Registry, also shared that there has been a growing number of patients who experienced hair loss. The data that she has is based on the dermatologic manifestations of COVID-19 that now contains 1,000 cases from 38 countries. However, she declined to give comments about the exact numbers of patients who suffer from this condition. 

Dr. Freeman also said that she is no longer surprised by the increasing number of patients who suffered hair loss three months after getting infected with the virus. Two of the reasons could be the traumatic experience and the stressful life event of having the virus. 

Moreover, hair loss is a condition not only experienced by COVID-19 patients or those recovering from the virus. Doctors said that they see more telogen effluvium regardless of illness status. They also added this happens this year because almost everyone is stressed on the negative impact brought by the virus. 

Today, people are not only worried about catching the virus, but they also get stressed in adjusting to a new normal world, and most of all job loss. Hair loss expert Dr. Marc Glashofer also noticed an overall increase in telogen effluvium cases in his years of practice. 

He said, "When I see somebody who has shedding, I don't ask about daily stress like your job or traffic. We're talking about big stress like the death of a loved one, change in career, a divorce, and COVID - COVID is a big stress."

He added that it is normal for a person to shed 100-150 hair strands a day. However, telogen effluvium means hundreds may fall out. Dr. Glashofer even shared that he has patients who come to his clinic with a bag filled with hair they collected from either the bathroom drain or their hairbrush 

Meanwhile, Dr. Freeman clarified that it is tough to know if COVID-19 may specifically cause hair loss. She noted that since they see a considerable number of persons having telogen effluvium who did not have COVID-19, there is a lot of stress involved. 

The good thing is this hair loss is just temporary. Patients can be reassured that this is not permanent. Hair growth will back over the next cycles of weeks or months, according to Dr. Glashofer. 

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