A 23-year-old woman claims that contracting Covid-19 eight times has caused her to lose all her hair.
Lydia Morley says she enjoyed taking photos of herself until her long, thick brown hair began to thin and fall out in the shower in November 2023. In January 2024, her parents noticed a bald patch on the back of her head, prompting her to see a doctor.
Lydia was diagnosed with alopecia areata, an autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks hair follicles, leading to hair loss. However, Lydia believes her repeated bouts of Covid—eight since 2020—may have triggered the condition, and her doctor suspects long Covid could be a factor.
Lydia described feeling lonely and isolated during the early weeks of her diagnosis, losing 80% of her hair within five months. She later shaved off the remaining hair for charity, which boosted her confidence, allowing her to feel comfortable going out without a wig.
Recalling her experience, Lydia, from Newport, said: “In November last year, I noticed my hair was thinning. I used to have really long, thick hair. I’d lose clumps of it while showering, and by January, my dad spotted a bald patch on my head.”
At first, her doctor attributed the hair loss to stress, which Lydia rejected, noting she wasn’t stressed. Instead, she suspects her alopecia is linked to multiple Covid infections. “I’ve had Covid eight times, and I think it weakened my immune system, contributing to my hair loss.”
Though Lydia has seen some hair growth since shaving her head in May, she remains without eyelashes and eyebrows and knows the hair could fall out again at any time.
Lydia now wears a variety of synthetic and real-hair wigs but feels confident enough to go out without one when she chooses.
