Alyssa Milano shows hair loss caused by coronavirus – Daily Mail

Alyssa Milano has shown her shocking amount of hair loss as a result of having COVID-19 after experiencing acute symptoms in April.

The 47-year-old actress took to Twitter on Sunday to share a video of herself brushing her locks after a shower which resulted in her pulling out several strands.

She began the video by saying: ‘Hey everybody, I just wanted to show you the amount of hair that is coming out of my head as a result of COVID.

People who experienced long-term symptoms of COVID-19 say hair loss is a side effect of the virus, according to recent studies. 

‘This is a detangler brush, my favorite detangler brush. As you can see in there is no hair in there right now.’ 

Milano began brushing through her brunette tresses while wearing a New York Giants robe as she kept pulling bunches of locks from her brush.

She concluded the video by lifting the entire bunch of long hairs and saying: ‘One brushing, this is my hair loss from COVID-19. Wear a damn mask!’

The actress captioned the shocking video to her 3.7million followers writing:  ‘Thought I’d show you what #Covid19 does to your hair. Please take this seriously. #WearADamnMask #LongHauler.’  

Multiple clinics and studies have reported a link between COVID-19 and hair loss with survivors of the disease reporting their hair falling out in clumps. 

Experts say most COVID-19 patients are suffering telogen effluvium (TE), a temporary condition that involves hair shedding, caused by physical or emotional stress, high fever, illness or weight loss of over 20 pounds, according to WebMD.  

Dr. Natalie Lambert from the Indiana University School of Medicine conducted a survey along with Survivor Corps to study virus survivors who experienced long-term symptoms and found over 400 patients out of 1,500 experienced hair loss, according to CBS News.  

Milano recently revealed that she had tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies after  testing negative three times after experiencing symptoms in April and said she is considered a ‘long hauler’ by physicians.

On Saturday she shared a selfie wearing a rainbow while sitting in a hospital bed.

She captioned the image: ‘I was acutely sick w/ Covid19 in April. I still have many symptoms. I am what they call a “long hauler”. Last night, I had real heaviness in my chest. 

‘I went to the ER just to make sure it wasn’t a blood clot. Thankfully, it wasn’t. This virus sucks. Please take it seriously.’

One fan asked where she believes that she had contracted the virus and Milano responded:  ‘Traveling between Portland, NY and LA. [sad face emoji]’

Days earlier Milano revealed that she has tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies in lengthy Instagram post on Wednesday.

She opened up about her weeks-long battle with the coronavirus and the lingering symptoms she was left with after struggling to get a positive diagnosis.

Milano said she was tested twice for the virus and once for antibodies and received negative results but pushed for a fourth test that finally revealed she was positive.

‘This was me on April 2nd after being sick for 2 weeks,’ she began in an Instagram caption. ‘I had never been this kind of sick. Everything hurt. Loss of smell.’

‘It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t keep food in me. I lost 9 pounds in 2 weeks. I was confused. Low grade fever. And the headaches were horrible,’ she said detailing her symptoms.

The Charmed star added: ‘I basically had every Covid symptom.’

In the image posted, Milano is seen at the height of her illness sitting in bed with her reading glasses on, wearing a medical breathing mask.  

The actress said she was tested twice for COVID-19 in March and did a ‘finger prick test’ for antibodies once she was feeling better and all three came back negative.

Despite the negative tests results, Alyssa explained that she had brutal lingering symptoms like ‘vertigo, stomach abnormalities, irregular periods, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, zero short term memory, and general malaise.’

The Who’s the Boss star decided to listen to her body and seek out some additional blood work.

‘I am POSITIVE for covid antibodies. I had Covid19,’ Alyssa told her followers. ‘I just want you to be aware that our testing system is flawed and we don’t know the real numbers.’

The podcaster added gravely: ‘I also want you to know, this illness is not a hoax. I thought I was dying. It felt like I was dying.’

Along with her sick bed selfie, the star shared a screen grab of her positive antibody result on social media. 

Milano said she is going to donate her plasma for antibody research with the hopes that it could save lives.

‘Please take care of yourselves. Please wash your hands and wear a mask and social distance,’ she implored. ‘I don’t want anyone to feel the way I felt. Be well. I love you all (well, maybe not the trolls. Just the kind people.)’ 

 Alyssa joins other celebrities like Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston who have since recovered from the fatal virus and have donated their blood plasma to COVID-19 research.