Doctors at Delhi's Indraprastha Apollo Hospital said that usually, they would record four to five complaints of hair loss a week. However, the number of cases has started increasing since mid-May. India witnessed an increase in the number of post-COVID-19 complications during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, which wreaked havoc on the country's healthcare system.
"A consolidated report says we have been seeing double the number of cases since then", a spokesperson for the hospital told media.
The condition known as telogen effluvium is temporary in nature, and patients used to experience it a month after recovering from COVID-19 infection. However, doctors have said that now the condition is being observed during the infection period as well.
Along with deficiencies due to a change in diet, repetitive fever due to the viral infection, and stress, post-COVID inflammation has been a major contributor. "It is a result of the shock the body sustains after suffering from fever and other symptoms during COVID-19", Dr Kuldeep Singh, senior consultant, cosmetology and plastic surgery, said in a statement.