Almost a year has passed since the novel coronavirus came into our lives and disrupted it with all its might.

According to a recent study, several COVID survivors have reported hair loss as one of the long term effects of SARs-COV-2.

What is long COVID and how long does it last?
Long COVID is a term used to define the symptoms faced by the people and the effects the coronavirus has on various individuals for weeks or months beyond the initial illness.

As per the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), long COVID lasts for more than 12 weeks. However, other studies claim that symptoms can last for more than eight weeks to become long COVID.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), one in five coronavirus patients exhibit symptoms “for a period of five weeks or longer”.

A recent lancet study claimed that COVID survivors faced symptoms even after six months of recovery, of which hair loss was a major source of concern.

Hair loss in long haulers, as per new study

While alopecia or loss of hair may be a prevalent and a common issue faced by many people around the globe for various reasons, recent findings have suggested that it can be a possible coronavirus symptom.
According to a study published in The Lancet, a quarter of COVID survivors had complained of hair loss as a major after-effect of COVID-19.

Researchers conducting the study evaluated 1,655 patients hospitalised in Wuhan, China, of which 359 individuals (22%) had experienced hair loss six months after being discharged.

The study went on to specify that hair loss was more prevalent in women than in men.

Other symptoms listed down in the study

Besides hair loss, the findings of the study also reported prevalence of symptoms such as fatigue or muscle weakness, sleep difficulties, and anxiety or depression.

As per the reports, “Patients who were more severely ill during their hospital stay had more severe impaired pulmonary diffusion capacities and abnormal chest imaging manifestations, and are the main target population for intervention of long-term recovery.”

While hair loss was reported in 22% of patients, 26% complained of difficulty in sleeping and anxiety and depression was reported in 23% of patients.

(Times of India)