Hair loss and Covid

In recent months, many dermatologists have reported an increase in patients suffering from hair loss, a symptom they attribute to an unprecedented level of anxiety caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many testimonies have circulated of people who have begun to notice hair loss, according to them, as a result of covid. But, not only those positive in covid have noticed this, there are also many cases in which the stress and uncertainty of the pandemic have been the causes of hair loss.

It is clear that everything is related to this pandemic, but what exactly is happening?

What are the causes of hair loss?

According to some experts, it is a drop temporal of hair due to shock in the system. This usually market also in the postpartos and in the menopause due to hormonal changes in women, with the difference that this condition "does not discriminate", can be seen on all genders, ethnicities, skin types, and hair textures.

For Some, is the consequence to contract coronavirus immune, for others is he trauma psychological of the pandemic, whether it's social isolation and depression or the anxiety of trying to combine working from home with raising children.

It is also believed that one of the triggers is he change from our habits everyday, such as changes in diet, lack of exercise or the deprivation of our hobbies or ways that each one uses to get rid of the tension of everyday life.

Yet no with You know very well if the cause from drop of fur by covid it is related to the virus itself or to the overwhelming stress that this situation represents for many.

hair loss and stress

What causes hair loss? And even more, what does the pandemic have to do with all this?

When we we face to a factor of stress physicist O emotional important, the Body responds pushing plus by the from usual to phase telogen (it is the final phase of the hair life cycle), or the resting phase of the hair cycle. With the weather, this makes the dough of growing up and, months later, fall simultaneously.

The good news is that normally, once the stressor has been mitigated, the drop usually to last of three a six months, according to the hair cycle of each person.

The typical progression of telogen effluvium it goes something like this: The hair starts to fall out between weeks and months after the stressor, the shedding lasts about three months, you will notice that the fall slows down and, from that moment, you will start to notice a new growth: the hairs are coming back to the anagen phase (or active growth). It is a slow process that can take up to a year.

It's not understood very well why I know produce It is change, but it is probable which is due to the stress interferes on the ability of the follicles for work optimally. Which makes sense if we think about the fundamentals of the human fight-or-flight response, in moments of stress, the hormones cortisol and adrenaline activate our mechanism primary of survival, triggering a chain of reactions physiological designed to help us do front to threat imminent.

The flow sanguine that reaches the skin and the parts distal from the body is reduced and diverted to the muscles, brain, lungs and heart. Basically, the body tries to preserve resources for organs vital and essential functions, and hair is considered an appendage, not a priority.

Normally the 90 percent of our leather hairy is in the growth phase (anagen) and the 10 percent on the telogen phase, but when the occurs telogen effluvium, more than 20 percent of the hair enter in mode telogen. For many people, it may be 50 percent.

According to dermatologists, what plus he view during the pandemic has been the telogen effluvium but They are also increasing other types of hair loss, such as alopecia areata.

this is a disease autoimmune where the system cells immune attack the follicles hairy and can be triggered by extreme anxiety. In this case, the initial moments of hair loss and sudden increases in hair loss usually occur after periods of stress, which is why so many cases have been seen in the last year.

When and why to go to the dermatologist for hair loss

Because telogen effluvium is a temporary condition, which resolves on its own once stress and anxiety are controlled, doctors often reassure patients that they should be calm and maintain a healthy routine. Although there are cases in which the pandemic is the triggering factor, the period of stress is prolonged and the hair loss does not disappear, so the ideal is to put yourself in the hands of professionals, both a dermatologist and a psychologist, since the trigger is the stress