What You Need to Know About Hair Loss Post COVID Exposure
Months after recovering from COVID-19, many people find that their hair is falling out in large clumps.
With COVID, we’ve learned to expect the unexpected. The hair loss that many people develop, however, may actually be expected. Because temporary hair loss is normal after a fever or illness
Fever has been a common symptom of COVID-19. So, a few months after having a high fever or recovering from an illness like COVID, many people notice hair loss.
While many people think of this as hair loss, it’s actually hair shedding. The medical name for this type of hair shedding is telogen effluvium. It happens when more individual hairs than normal enter the shedding (telogen) phase of the hair growth lifecycle at the same time. A fever or illness can force more hairs into the shedding phase.
Many people who’ve been ill with COVID see noticeable hair shedding two to three months after having the illness. Handfuls of hair can come out when showering or brushing the hair. The condition of shedding may last for six to nine months before it stops.
