Getty
Alyssa Milano describes the long term effects of her COVID-19 diagnosis.
Alyssa Milano revealed on Instagram that she recently tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies despite having previously tested negative for them. The 47-year-old actress, who suffered from coronavirus back in April, described the long term effects the COVID-19 continues to have on her body.
She wrote on Instagram, “After living the last four 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.”
On Sunday, the actress shared a video on both her Instagram and Twitter pages, where she has a combined 6 million followers, to show one of the possible long term effects COVID-19: Hair loss.
Milano captioned the video, “Thought I’d show you what #Covid19 does to your hair. Please take this seriously. #WearADamnMask #LongHauler.”
While Milano brushes her hair with a detangler, clumps of hair get caught in her comb, which she says is due to her battle with COVID-19.
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 after testing positive for coronavirus.
On July 25, Lambert wrote in her “COVID-19 ‘Long Hauler’ Symptoms Survey Report” that ”Many members of Survivor Corps report suffering from long-term symptoms of COVID-19 and have taken to calling themselves “Long Haulers,” as Milano did in her Instagram post.
Lambert added, “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.”
Otherwise young and healthy #COVID19 patients are experiencing prolonged symptoms for weeks and months after their diagnosis.
The best thing we can do is take this seriously and focus on prevention: Wash our hands, wear masks in public, and avoid crowds. https://t.co/kY3CWitTc9
— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) August 7, 2020
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also reported that a large percentage of those who contracted COVID-19 suffer from prolonged symptoms. Their report says, “COVID-19 can result in prolonged illness even among persons with milder outpatient illness, including young adults. Among persons aged 18–34 years with no chronic medical conditions, one in five had not returned to their usual state of health.”
Milano Said She Lost 9 Pounds in 2 Weeks While Suffering From Coronavirus
Four days ago, Milano shared a photo of herself on Instagram using what appears to be a breathing machine. She wrote, “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-19 symptom.”
Milano’s reasoning for sharing personal information about her illness is to help spread the message that coronavirus needs to be taken seriously. She said, “This illness is not a hoax. I thought I was dying. It felt like I was dying.”
The Who’s the Boss? star also said that she will be donating her plasma in the future “with hopes that I might save a life.”
Milano Urges Everyone to Wear a Mask as Protection Against COVID-19
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) May 23, 2020
In late May, Milano shared a photo of her family and tweeted, “Show me your masks! Masks keep people safe and healthy. Show me yours! Ready? Go! #WearAMask.”
After Milano was heavily trolled online for wearing a mask with what appeared to have large obvious holes in it, the actress clapped back to show that her mask did have protection underneath. She tweeted, “Mask has a filter in it for f**’s sake. A carbon one. My mom makes them.” Then added, “A**holes, mask has a carbon filter in it. So, yes, it might be crochet but totally safe.”
The Melrose Place star then retweeted a message that read, “What a metaphor for life…idiots judging something on the surface without knowing what lies beneath…do better people.”
Can Trump Legally Issue Executive Orders on Economic Relief?