65% of COVID-19 survivors surveyed report experiencing hair loss, among other long-term effects

LOS ANGELES - Nearly eight months into the coronavirus pandemic, scientists are still learning about the varying short and long-term effects of the disease, from kidney failure, temporary loss of smell and now hair loss.

According to a survey conducted by Survivor Corps, a nonprofit aimed at coronavirus education for survivors of the illness, and Dr. Natalie Lambert from Indiana University School of Medicine, 65.7% of 1,700 respondents reported experiencing hair loss.

The survey was taken using responses from Survivor Corps’ Facebook page asking its members if they had experienced a wide array of coronavirus symptoms. 

Some of the other symptoms included cough, sore throat, loss of smell, loss of taste, heart palpitations, facial rash and more.

Members of groups like Survivor Corps have commonly been referred to as “long haul survivors,” and thousands of them can be found in dozens of other support groups on Facebook. 

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Nearly 40 percent of the respondents reported experiencing symptoms lasting over three months. 

Lambert published a report titled “COVID-19 ‘Long Hauler’ Symptoms Survey Report” on July 25, explaining that ”Many members of Survivor Corps report suffering from long-term symptoms of COVID-19 and have taken to calling themselves “Long Haulers.”

“While the impact of COVID-19 on the lungs and vascular system have received some media and medical attention, the results of this survey suggest that brain, whole body, joints, eye, and skin symptoms are also frequent-occurring health problems for people recovering from COVID-19,” Lambert wrote.

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While Facebook is not typically used as a basis for medical studies, Lambert said the Survivor Corps group was valuable for crowdsourcing experiences.

“Until there is more research that helps us to understand why these long-term symptoms are happening and how to treat them, thousands of long haulers will continue to suffer at home; both from painful COVID-19 symptoms and uncertainty about when they will feel well again,” Lambert said.

The CDC published a separate survey last month which acknowledged that a large percentage of people who contract the novel coronavirus experience a prolonged symptom duration.

It was the first acknowledgment of its kind from the CDC, with the authors of the report noting that “disability are common in adults hospitalized with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).”

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During a telephone survey conducted across the country in which symptomatic adults who had a positive outpatient test result for the novel coronavirus, 35% said they did not return to their usual state of health when interviewed nearly a month after testing.

But many of the symptoms found in Lambert’s report are not found on the CDC’s website for coronavirus symptoms which currently include: 

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

Still, acknowledgement from the CDC on prolonged suffering from the apparent effects of COVID-19 has been long awaited by a large number of those who have reported experiencing coronavirus symptoms that seem to persist for months. 

 FOX News contributed to this story.