The relationship between alopecia and coronavirus is an issue that in recent months, within the framework of the pandemic caused by the Coronavirus, has increased within patient consultations.
They have detected a precipitous hair loss or have experienced a hair loss greater than before they had COVID-19.
One of the effects of the Coronavirus in some of the patients who have suffered the disease is related to hair loss.
This can be caused both as a consequence of the infectious process itself, and by the stress experienced by the patient, although there are still no conclusive studies that establish this relationship between alopecia and Coronavirus.
In addition, as data of interest, the degree of affection is not decisive in terms of suffering or not alopecia, that is, hair loss is being seen both in patients who have suffered from COVID-19 in a serious way, and who have had than to be admitted to the ICU, as in patients who have had the disease in a milder way.
However, it has not yet been officially confirmed whether COVID-19 infection can also affect hair through these mechanisms or other more specific ones.
Seasonal telogen effluvium
A telogen effluvium is a diffuse alopecia that is produced by “detachment” as a consequence of an exogenous or endogenous attack on the hair follicles, which causes an alteration of the hair cycle.
Telogen effluvium occurs when many hair follicles that are in the anagen phase – of growth – go prematurely to the telogen phase – of hair loss. This is where its name comes from.
It is simply the fact of finding a greater number of follicles in a resting state and may not affect all parts of the scalp equally, being the usual thing that the hair becomes thinner in the upper part of the head.
In spring, seasonal telogen effluvium occurs, which affects most of the population due to the photoperiod, through which light alters our hormones and, these in turn, our hair.
It can also occur as a result of suffering an episode of significant stress, suffering from an illness, undergoing an operation, and it can even appear after taking certain drugs.
Therefore, this so-called seasonal telogen effluvium may be suffering from many of the patients who have been affected by COVID-19, as well as the entire population in general, as one of the consequences of confinement.
At Dr. Panno’s Transplant Clinic we are specialists in applying hair regeneration treatments to restore strength, quality and optimal density to hair to recover after this type of alteration.
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