Alyssa Milano has revealed that she’s still suffering the lingering effects of COVID-19, six months after she first experienced symptoms.
The Hollywood actress, 47, continues to experience shortness of breath and even fever-induced hallucinations, putting her in the category of long COVID sufferers.
‘There are still lingering effects, like I still have shortness of breath,’ she said in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment. ‘I still have heart palpitations.’
Struggle: Alyssa Milano has revealed that she’s still suffering the lingering effects of COVID-19, six months after she first experienced symptoms
Continuing to list her ongoing symptoms, she continued: ‘I have, like, a high-pitched noise in my ear. My hair is falling out.
‘It doesn’t feel like you’re only physically sick. It feels like there’s hallucinations because of fevers, there’s weird dreams. I think it’s because the brain is affected. That’s why people lose their sense of smell.’
The star also revealed her hopes for how preparations for the illness should be made in the future: ‘We should definitely begin to shift the focus on post-COVID syndrome and, you know, try to figure out what the lasting repercussions are,’ she said.
Telling her story: The star had previously revealed that she’d tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies after suffering from severe symptoms but getting negative results three times
‘This is a really rough, rough illness,’ insisted the former Who’s The Boss? star. ‘We can’t think that this is over and done with, because it surely is not.’
Earlier this month, Alyssa said on Instagram that in her wellness check that she is ‘starting to physically feel better’ as she continues her vitamin and aspirin regimen.
The Charmed star said: ‘Soooooo… how are you? This is a wellness check and a health update. I’m ok. I’m starting to physically feel better.’
She continued: I’m still taking an aspirin ever 3 days to thin my blood, fish oil, vitamin D, C, zinc and a B complex. I still have occasional heart palpitations. I still forget my words (absolute worst part).’
‘But it’s not nearly as bad as it was a few weeks ago. I feel better. I had a ct scan of my lungs and a cardiac MRI and both were normal,’ she said.
Alyssa added: ‘I get super scared sometimes, though. Not of getting sick again but of my loved ones getting sick. I don’t ever want them to have this thing. It’s a beast. So I vacillate between being so grateful and so terrified.’
Alyssa noted that she is ‘grateful that it was me who got sick and terrified that friends or family will be sick. And I can’t help but wonder – how are you? Please be safe. Please let me know you’re ok.’
Alyssa shared two selfies while rocking a patterned top with her tresses loose around her.
Demonstration: Alyssa recently showed her shocking amount of hair loss as a result of having COVID-19 after experiencing acute symptoms in March
Last month, the actress took to Twitter to share a video of herself brushing her locks after a shower which resulted in her pulling out several strands.
She began the video by saying: ‘Hey everybody, I just wanted to show you the amount of hair that is coming out of my head as a result of COVID.
People who experienced long-term symptoms of COVID-19 say hair loss is a side effect of the virus, according to recent studies.
‘This is a detangler brush, my favorite detangler brush. As you can see in there is no hair in there right now.’
Milano began brushing through her brunette tresses while wearing a New York Giants robe as she kept pulling bunches of locks from her brush.
Result: Last month, the actress took to Twitter to share a video of herself brushing her locks after a shower which resulted in her pulling out several strands
She concluded the video by lifting the entire bunch of long hairs and saying: ‘One brushing, this is my hair loss from COVID-19. Wear a damn mask!’
The actress captioned the shocking video to her followers writing: ‘Thought I’d show you what #Covid19 does to your hair. Please take this seriously. #WearADamnMask #LongHauler.’
Multiple clinics and studies have reported a link between COVID-19 and hair loss with survivors of the disease reporting their hair falling out in clumps.
Experts say most COVID-19 patients are suffering telogen effluvium (TE), a temporary condition that involves hair shedding, caused by physical or emotional stress, high fever, illness or weight loss of over 20 pounds, according to WebMD.
Showing off: She began the video by saying, ‘Hey everybody, I just wanted to show you the amount of hair that is coming out of my head as a result of COVID’
Alyssa recently revealed that she had tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies after testing negative three times after experiencing symptoms in April and said she is considered a ‘long hauler’ by physicians.
Last month, she shared a selfie wearing a rainbow while sitting in a hospital bed.
She captioned the image: ‘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.’
Hair loss: The former Who’s The Boss? star showed fans all the strands of lost hair in her hands
One fan asked where she believes that she had contracted the virus and Milano responded: ‘Traveling between Portland, NY and LA. [sad face emoji]’
Prior to the post, Alyssa revealed that she had tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies in a lengthy Instagram post.
She opened up about her weeks-long battle with the coronavirus and the lingering symptoms she was left with after struggling to get a positive diagnosis.
Alyssa said she was tested twice for the virus and once for antibodies and received negative results but pushed for a fourth test that finally revealed she was positive.
‘This was me on April 2nd after being sick for 2 weeks,’ she began in an Instagram caption. ‘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,’ she said detailing her symptoms.
The Charmed star added: ‘I basically had every Covid symptom.’
In the image posted, Milano is seen at the height of her illness sitting in bed with her reading glasses on, wearing a medical breathing mask.
The actress said she was tested twice for COVID-19 in March and did a ‘finger prick test’ for antibodies once she was feeling better and all three came back negative.
Despite the negative tests results, Alyssa explained that she had brutal lingering symptoms like ‘vertigo, stomach abnormalities, irregular periods, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, zero short term memory, and general malaise.’
‘Long hauler’: Last month, she also shared a selfie wearing a rainbow while in a hospital bed
The Who’s the Boss star decided to listen to her body and seek out some additional blood work.
‘I am POSITIVE for covid antibodies. I had Covid19,’ Alyssa told her followers. ‘I just want you to be aware that our testing system is flawed and we don’t know the real numbers.’
The podcaster added gravely: ‘I also want you to know, this illness is not a hoax. I thought I was dying. It felt like I was dying.’
Along with her sick bed selfie, the star shared a screen grab of her positive antibody result on social media.
Alyssa said she is going to donate her plasma for antibody research with the hopes that it could save lives.
‘Please take care of yourselves. Please wash your hands and wear a mask and social distance,’ she implored. ‘I don’t want anyone to feel the way I felt. Be well. I love you all (well, maybe not the trolls. Just the kind people.)’
Rouh: Alyssa explained that she had brutal lingering symptoms like ‘vertigo, stomach abnormalities, irregular periods, and heart palpitations, among others. Pictured in January