Female Baldness And Covid

My wife is on the phone right now with an old friend of hers...whom is in tears.
Her friend had Covid about 4 months ago and got through it just fine...even after also getting pneumonia.

She is upset now because, for the past few days, her hair has been coming out in clumps.

She says her doctor said it was a side effect of having the China Virus.

This is the first time I've heard of this, regarding CV.
Has this happened to any other women here?

a reply to: IAMTAT

Not heard any reports of that being a symptom of Long Covid here in the UK.....yet. But wouldn't surprise me in the least.
Will revert back if I find anything.

Rainbows
Jane

a reply to: IAMTAT

At least now I have something to blame.

I think I have had COVID for about 5 years now.

a reply to: IAMTAT

Women lose hair for a variety of reasons. It's so strange that a doctor would pin it on Covid first thing (if that's what he did).

Hormonal changes, stress, thyroid issues, the list is endless.

Well, teogen effluvium is a condition which often follows illness, not just Covid-19. Here's the description from the British Dermatologists...

BAD Teogen Eff..

Common triggers of telogen effluvium include childbirth, severe trauma or illness, a stressful or major life event, marked weight loss and extreme dieting, a severe skin problem affecting the scalp, a new medication or withdrawal of a hormone treatment. No cause is found in around a third of people diagnosed with telogen effluvium.

So, to the OP, her doctor was probably right.

I'll have more info when wife gets off the phone with her...she seems very distraught.

originally posted by: paraphi
Well, teogen effluvium is a condition which often follows illness, not just Covid-19. Here's the description from the British Dermatologists...

BAD Teogen Eff..

Common triggers of telogen effluvium include childbirth, severe trauma or illness, a stressful or major life event, marked weight loss and extreme dieting, a severe skin problem affecting the scalp, a new medication or withdrawal of a hormone treatment. No cause is found in around a third of people diagnosed with telogen effluvium.

So, to the OP, her doctor was probably right.

Is this hair loss permanent?

EDT...read your link.
Looks like hair loss continues for 100 days but is not permanent.

originally posted by: IAMTAT
Is this hair loss permanent?

I'm as bald as a coot, so it was for me!

On a seious note, I think it's temporary.

www.ctvnews.ca...

Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Abdu Sharkawy, too, said that hair loss can be induced by stress and an immune reaction from a difficult infectious episode. He said it may be too early to know what the exact relationship between hair loss and COVID-19 is at this time.

“Whether this is specifically related to COVID-19 in particular, or simply the immune system having a difficult recovery period after the infection itself is unknown,” he told CTV News on Tuesday.

I was sick in February and March last spring, and my fingernails peeled in layers for about six months. Don’t know if it was Covid, no testing then, but I’ve never been sicker. Never had fingernails peel apart like that either.....so the hair loss does make sense..

a reply to: IAMTAT

Having Covid19 could be stressful, people lose hair with stress.

originally posted by: paraphi
Well, teogen effluvium is a condition which often follows illness, not just Covid-19. Here's the description from the British Dermatologists...

BAD Teogen Eff..

Common triggers of telogen effluvium include childbirth, severe trauma or illness, a stressful or major life event, marked weight loss and extreme dieting, a severe skin problem affecting the scalp, a new medication or withdrawal of a hormone treatment. No cause is found in around a third of people diagnosed with telogen effluvium.

So, to the OP, her doctor was probably right.

Passed along your article to her via the Mrs...seemed to offer her some comfort.
TY.
They're talking about "cute" wigs now.

a reply to: IAMTAT

Not necessarily the covid.
Pfffttt! Doctors!!! So MUCH they don't know, and won't admit.

More likely a side effect of the massive drugs given to help her regain her health.

I took a drug my body didn't like, and two months later, I shed quite a bit of hair.
It stopped before too much damage happened.

IMHO, as I am not a doctor.I

ETA
Although it stopped, the loss of hairline, it never returned.


ETA2
This used to be a good site
www.hairlosstalk.com...

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
I took a drug my body didn't like, and two months later, I shed quite a bit of hair.

Can you tell us which ones? Asking for a friend who has a very hairy back and it's definitely not DB I'm talking about.

So, is there anything COVID won't cause?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus
It was a legal synthetic estrogen my former doctor said was 100% safe.

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
It was a legal synthetic estrogen my former doctor said was 100% safe.

OMG, this is perfect, now DB's, er, my friend's, moobs will grow too.

First wife battled BC for 8 years before succumbing to it.
When her hair started coming out in clumps from her first round with chemo...she shaved her hair off immediately.
She'd always had a full, beautiful head of hair...but wanted to avoid experiencing the loss day by day.

In time, her hair eventually grew back...but it was completely different in fullness, texture and curliness...from how it used to be.

Perhaps a bit off topic, but, sometimes, I like to reminisce about her strength and bravery.

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: IAMTAT

Women lose hair for a variety of reasons. It's so strange that a doctor would pin it on Covid first thing (if that's what he did).

Hormonal changes, stress, thyroid issues, the list is endless.

Yes.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

SMH!!!!

You guys crack me up!!!

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: IAMTAT

Women lose hair for a variety of reasons. It's so strange that a doctor would pin it on Covid first thing (if that's what he did).

Hormonal changes, stress, thyroid issues, the list is endless.

Indeed!!!
Any serious surgery, illness, stress, 2020 in general could do the trick, in men as well as women.
Something as minor as a shed to loss or hairline, to more serious losses.