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An overwhelming number of people are reporting severe hair fall post COVID infection. Dr. Sneha Sood, Consultant - Dermatologist, Aster RV Hospital, J. P. Nagar, Bangalore shares, “We are seeing many patients who have gone through the full course of COVID disease experiencing heavy hair-fall once they have recovered. Whenever any person experiences severe infection, hair fall is not an unusual after-effect. Since the body has sustained an attack and there are chemical changes in the system as the body tries to fight off the virus, it can lead to hair loss a few weeks post recovery from COVID.”

As per Dr Sood, “Usually this will correct itself after a few months and the hair growth patterns will return to normal. While bodily stress caused by the COVID virus is one factor that causes hair-fall, mental stress can also contribute to it. 1-3 months after the illness, the hair which has entered the telogen phase prematurely during illness tends to shed to pave way for new healthy hair to grow. This causes the hair to fall at a rate of more than 100-200 per day which can be distressing for the patient. Usually this type of hair fall is temporary and tends to normalize in around 3 -6 months. The hair lost during the shedding phase grows back again with minimal volume loss.”

However, during this time it’s important to identify which factors are responsible for the hair-fall. Moderate hair fall can be controlled at home with the help of diet, exercise, yoga meditation, getting appropriate sleep, etc. A few months’ post recovery, if you start noticing baby hairs growing along your hairline again, this is a sign that your body is rebalancing itself and going back to normal.
Dr. Deepa Krishna Murthy, Consultant – Dermatologist, Columbia Asia Hospital Sarjapur Road (A unit of Manipal Hospitals) shares that hair loss up to 100 hair per day is normal. Hair goes through a cycle where it cycles from growth phase to resting phase to shedding phase. Covid or any viral illness/ fever forces more hair into the shedding phase due to the inflammation and stress in the body, which is called telogen effluvium.

While hair may regrow on its own, we recommend treatments like hair supplements and peptide-based serums to help it grow more quickly. Nutritional deficiencies if any also need to be evaluated and treated appropriately.