Actress Alyssa Milano has gone public with her coronavirus diagnosis, giving her followers a revealing look at one of COVID-19’s little known symptoms – hair loss. 

The Charmed star felt like she was “dying” after contracting COVID-19 several months ago.

“Please take care of yourselves,” she wrote, posting an image of her hooked up to a ventilator.

“Please wash your hands and wear a mask and social distance. I don’t want anyone to feel the way I felt.”

View this post on Instagram

This was me on April 2nd after being sick for 2 weeks. 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. I basically had every Covid symptom. At the very end of march I took two covid19 tests and both were negative. I also took a covid antibody test (the finger prick test) after I was feeling a bit better. NEGATIVE. After living the last 4 months with lingering symptoms like, vertigo, stomach abnormalities, irregular periods, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, zero short term memory, and general malaise, I went and got an antibody test from a blood draw (not the finger prick) from a lab. I am POSITIVE for covid antibodies. I had Covid19. I just want you to be aware that our testing system is flawed and we don’t know the real numbers. I also want you to know, this illness is not a hoax. I thought I was dying. It felt like I was dying. I will be donating my plasma with hopes that I might save a life. Please take care of yourselves. Please wash your hands and wear a mask and social distance. 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.)❤️

A post shared by Alyssa Milano (@milano_alyssa) on

A little understood symptom of COVID-19 is hair loss, which Milano is currently dealing with.

Advertisement
Advertisement

“Thought I’d show you what #Covid19 does to your hair. Please take this seriously,” she captioned a video showing her own hair loss experience.

“One brushing. This is my hair loss from COVID-19,” she explains, holding a clump of hair up to the camera after brushing it for less than a minute.

In a study conducted by Dr. Natalie Lambert from Indiana University School of Medicine and Survivor Corps, it was revealed that “long haulers’ [those suffering from long-lasting COVID-19] symptoms are far more numerous than what is currently listed on the CDC’s [Centers For Disease Control And Prevention] website”.

From the 1500 responses, over 400 of the patients said they experienced hair loss.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Want more? Listen to this best bit from Jonesy & Amanda!
Alyssa Milano Coronavirus covid-19 hair loss symptom