Coronavirus update: Researchers find hair loss an unreported COVID-19 symptom

It would seem that the symptoms of coronavirus do not only pertain to ailment-like symptoms, but it also manifests itself by disrupting an aesthetic aspect of the body. Researchers discovered recently that hair loss might just be another COVID-19 symptom that patients have to deal with.

The new study, "COVID-19 'Long Hauler' Symptoms Survey Report," conducted by Dr Natalie Lambert at the Indiana University School of Medicine, and Survivor Corps, a grassroots COVID-19 survivor group, revealed the potential long-term symptoms that were not reported by patients before. One of these symptoms was hair loss.

Using a Facebook poll among Survivor Corps members, researchers surveyed more than 1,567 recovered individuals who reported suffering from long-term coronavirus symptoms. Referring to themselves as the long-haulers, they revealed 98 more possible symptoms, which might be associated with the virus.

Lambert stated that the study they conducted among the long-haulers identified new symptoms. These include difficulty sleeping, difficulty concentrating, blurry vision, severe nerve pain, and even hair loss. Fox News reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists 17 symptoms on their website, which include, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, fever, chills, body ache, loss of smell or taste, headache, sore throat, congestion, nausea, diarrhoea, and vomiting. The new ones identified by Lambert and the team were not among those listed by the health agency.

From the survey, the researchers noted that 26.5 percent of the symptoms that were reported were painful. These pain-related symptoms also included those that were listed by the CDC such as chest pain, back pain and heartburn. The rest of the symptoms like hair loss no longer point to pain, although some, like anxiety and memory problems, do affect mental health. Two more notable symptoms were blurry vision and dizziness.

One long-hauler, whose name was withheld by researchers, noted that she has already lost approximately 75 percent of her hair. She had COVID-19 in early April and now, to cover for her hair loss, she is making plans of getting a wig.

Dermatological symptoms

The recent discovery of a dermatological symptom is not new. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) was also monitoring dermatological coronavirus symptoms. Among these were "COVID toes," a condition characterised by swollen and discolored toes, it observed in a number of patients.

Dr. Esther Freeman, who leads AAD's coronavirus efforts, told Today that they have also seen patients suffering from hair loss. She noted that this might be linked to telogen effluvium, a condition where people lose hair after experiencing stressful events.