Over the 2 years of coexistence with the virus, we have gone through several stages of its perception - from fear and misunderstanding of the process to acceptance and the ability to treat the consequences of its impact on the human body. Today, we must recognize that this virus has firmly entered the group of seasonal infections and we need to learn how to live with this pathogen.
Finally, statistics on the consequences of an infection have appeared, unfortunately there are many of them, but we are only interested in those that relate to aesthetic medicine.
A third of those who have been ill complain of atypical hair loss. Moreover, it can be both diffuse alopecia and an exacerbation of an already existing androgenetic alopecia, and in some cases COVID-19 was a trigger for alopecia areata. According to statistics, "hair fall" begins on average 45-60 days after the onset of the disease and lasts an average of about one and a half months. Fortunately, most of the affected hair is restored in full without additional effort, but some patients complain that even a year after the infection, there is no positive dynamics.
Let's look at the causes of hair loss after COVID-19:
1. Heat. After an increase in body temperature for any reason above 38 degrees, we have the right to expect increased hair loss, whether it be the flu, overheating of the head in direct sunlight in hot countries, or the virus under discussion. The longer the temperature lasts, the more likely it is to start the telogen.
2. Taking medications: antibiotics, antiviral, hormonal drugs, etc. The list of drugs that cause hair loss is very long. The more drugs a person took during an illness, the longer he drank them - the higher the chance of alopecia after an illness. Many people continue to take medication after being discharged from work, this fact should also be taken into account when drawing up a treatment program.
3. Stress or COVID-panic. Any stress leads to a deterioration in microcirculation in the small vessels of the skin, as well as the vessels that feed the hair follicle. To survive under stress, you need the heart, brain, muscles and other organs. The skin and hair are supplied with blood according to the residual principle, hair in a state of hypoxia also switches to telogen.
4. Genetic predisposition to hair loss - it is easily and quickly realized in any severe somatic or viral disease.
5. Deficiencies of vitamins, trace elements and nutrients exacerbate the situation and will also contribute to hair loss. First of all, we are talking about such indicators as total protein, hemoglobin and iron levels, vitamins D and C, levels of zinc, copper, selenium.
According to statistics, the severity of the course of coronavirus infection is directly related to the degree of hair loss and its earlier onset.
How can we, specialists in aesthetic medicine, help this group of patients? First we need a small check-up of the patient:
1. A general blood test is needed in order to make sure that there is no acute inflammatory process and anemia.
2. Biochemical blood test to determine the state of the liver, the level of total protein and glucose.
3. We can exclude iron deficiency states by the level of hemoglobin in the general blood test, it would be nice to additionally pass the OZHSS, find out the level of iron and ferritin.
4. Exclude the pathology of the thyroid gland (free T3 and T4, TSH) as one of the causes of hair loss.
5. Exclude androgenetic alopecia in women (pass hormonal status).
6. Identify vitamin D, zinc, copper and selenium deficiencies.
If deviations in blood tests are detected, we send them to a specialized specialist, in parallel we correct deficiencies, and only under such conditions can we hope for a good result of therapy. Hair loss treatment must be comprehensive!
For our part, we can prescribe external therapy to be applied to the scalp daily (serums, tonics, lotions to stimulate hair growth) and, of course, a course of mesotherapy.
When compiling a mesotherapy program, pay attention to the following drugs:
- ADN Restart: due to its pronounced anti-inflammatory action, PDRN stops hair loss, stimulates the transition of hair from telogen to anagen. The GHK tripeptide in the cocktail has a good evidence base in trichology and perfectly complements the action of DNA-RNA complexes.
- Hair X Vita Line B+: basic cocktail for mesotherapy, enriches tissues with vitamins, microelements and amino acids, nourishes the hair follicle , providing hair with a building material. Ideal for the situation of thin and dull hair, especially after pregnancy and lactation.
- Hydro Line: similar in composition to Hair X Vita Line B+, but supplemented with hyaluronic acid and antioxidants. Ideal for dry skin, for rare visits to the beautician (1 time in 10-14 days). The ideal patient is diffuse alopecia with stopped hair loss.
- Hair X Peptide: a complex peptide preparation to stimulate new hair growth, stop hair loss, nourish and improve microcirculation. Suitable for diffuse, focal alopecia, as part of complex therapy for androgenetic alopecia.
- Hair X DNA Peptide: complex peptide drug with antiandrogenic action, suitable for stimulating new hair growth, stopping hair loss , nutrition and microcirculation improvement.
You can also use other preparations with vitamins and antioxidants, focusing on the composition. The effectiveness of local mesotherapy will be enhanced by capillary mesotherapy with vascular agents with ginkgo biloba extract and troxerutin.
Whatever drug you choose to treat alopecia, do not forget to guide the patient to a course of 10-12 weekly treatments, no less! Explain to the patient that you need to be patient and the "Rapunzel effect" will not come after 1-4 treatments. Hair has gone into telogen sleep. The task is to get them to wake up and go into the growth phase of anagen, and this takes time.
If the patient is against injections, prescribe external products for daily application, the choice of drugs is large (here, pay attention to hair products from the Japanese brand Hinoki Clinical), but the effectiveness of mesotherapy is ten times higher.
In addition to mesotherapy, you can use placental preparations, PRP therapy, DNA-based reparations. The main thing is not to sit back and not wait until everything gets better by itself, there are no guarantees. It is better to help the body a little and enjoy the results together with the patients in just 3-4 months.
The timing of the start of therapy depends on the patient's health, but the sooner you start the injections, the better. A month after the disease, you can already safely proceed to active correction.
If you have the skills to consult genetic tests - you can predict hair loss in a particular patient and prevent hair loss in advance, regardless of the type of alopecia, remember this!
In conclusion, I would like to once again focus on the fact that the treatment of hair loss should be comprehensive. And the more tools will be involved in hair restoration, the faster and more noticeable the result will be!
The photo shows a 30-year-old patient with alopecia after suffering a COVID-19 infection before and after mesotherapy with Hair X Peptide preparations in the alternation of Hair X DNA Peptide No. 10 + KMT (photo provided by trichologist Kukushkina K.S.)
