Alyssa Milano continues to document her experience with COVID-19, after she revealed in early August that she tested positive for the deadly virus’ antibodies. The actress, 47, took to both Instagram and Twitter to share a frightening update about her ongoing battle with coronavirus on Monday. In a candid video of herself, Alyssa brushed her hair to show the hair loss she’s experiencing — more than four months after she said she first began feeling coronavirus symptoms.
Thought I’d show you what #Covid19 does to your hair. Please take this seriously. #WearADamnMask #LongHauler pic.twitter.com/H0wCmzYswV
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) August 9, 2020
“Thought I’d show you what #Covid19 does to your hair. Please take this seriously,” she wrote, adding the hashtag, #WearADamnMask.” Alyssa also used the hashtag #LongHauler, in reference to the group of coronavirus patients who continue to experience symptoms months after their initial diagnosis, according to Today. After she brushed her hair in the camera, Alyssa she picked up her fallen hair and said, “One brushing, this is my hair loss from COVID-19, wear a damn mask.”
In a followup tweet under her video update, Alyssa informed her followers that “65% of COVID-19 survivors surveyed report experiencing hair loss, among other long-term effects.” She pulled the latter statistic from a survey of 1,500 COVID-19 patients who experienced long-term symptoms, including hair loss. The survey was conducted by Dr. Natalie Lambert from Indiana University School of Medicine, along with the nonprofit Survivor Corps. “Have you had thyroid checked also?” one fan asked on Twitter, to which Alyssa replied, “I’m going today to get more blood work.”
Alyssa’s health update came just three days after she took a trip to the emergency room on August 7, after experiencing “heaviness” in her chest. She shared a photo of herself wearing a mask, while hooked up to an IV in a hospital bed.
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. pic.twitter.com/JcMkVSNn4y
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) August 9, 2020
Alyssa first revealed she tested positive for coronavirus antibodies in a post on both Instagram and Twitter on August 5. “This was me on April 2nd after being sick for 2 weeks,” she wrote in a lengthy caption, alongside a photo of herself wearing an oxygen mask. A second photo showed her positive antibodies test results.
This was me on April 2nd after already being sick for 2 weeks. I had never been this kind of sick. Everything hurt. pic.twitter.com/X598YtqKbx
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) August 6, 2020
“I had never been this kind of sick,” she admitted, recalling, “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,” the Charmed alum explained.
“At the very end of March, I took two Covid-19 tests and both were 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,” she continued, confirming that she tested “POSITIVE for covid antibodies. I had Covid19,” she wrote. At the time, Alyssa also added that she “will be donating [her] plasma with hopes that [she] might save a life.”